I'm listening to the 1950 recording of alto sax great Charlie Parker where he is backed by a studio orchestra. I last heard this in high school, when I thought the music stupid. Now, I've mellowed a bit, Parker's alto playing is effortless and even Mitch Miller on oboe is tolerable in this context.
Wikipedia: One of Parker's longstanding desires was to perform with a string section; he was a keen fan of classical music. Contemporaries reported that he was keenly interested in the music of Igor Stravinsky...When he did record and perform with strings, some fans thought it was a "sell out" and a pandering to popular tastes. Time demonstrated Parker's move a wise one...
I just ran across this Steve Reich quote in an interview by Sholto Byrnes:
Then in a short space of time, a friend played him records of The Rite of Spring, Bach's Fifth Brandenburg Concerto, and Charlie Parker, Miles Davis and Kenny Clarke. "It's like someone said [he puts on a deep voice]: 'You're about to be 14 years old, and there's one room you haven't seen in this house, son.'" He drops the voice. "I walked into that room," he explains, "I closed the door, and that's where I lived the rest of my life.
wikipedia: dancing in the dark mitch miller
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