[Dixielandjazz] "Yardbird" or "Bird" was Kenny G's "reed squeaks".

[Stephen Barbone]

How did "Bird" get the name?  The following from Henry (Buster) Smith,
sax player/bandleader, who was Charlie Parker's primary influence. They
were together in Kansas City from 1936 to 1939, and then in New York
City when Smith moved there in 1939 and was followed by Parker who first
stayed at Smith's apartment there when he arrived shortly thereafter.

>From an interview with Chris Goddard on behalf of the oral history
project at Rutgers University in New Jersey, circa 1981, about Bird's
early days pre 1940.

GODDARD asks "How did he get the name?" (in the context of Parker's
gigging with Smith's band circa 1936-38 in the Kansas City area)

SMITH replies "When he'd get off work at night, he said, 'I'm goin' home
and knock me over one of them Yardbirds'. So the boys would ask him, I
even asked him, "What's do you mean yardbird?' He said, "I'm going to
get me one of those chickens."

GODDARD: "He liked to eat chickens?"

SMITH: "Yeah, yeah. . . he was staying with his parents and he'd have
them cook him a chicken. Middle of the night, didn't make no difference
to him. And so the boys got to callin' him Yardbird."

Regarding Kenny G and his "reed squeaks" theory, well, consider the
source. Kenny G can play all that Coltrane stuff too? Well, consider the
source. He obviously has limited knowledge about these facets of jazz.

Cheers,
Steve Barbone