Why is Parker's day filled with references to a night of jazz?
Parker's English name was inspired by two jazz musicians, Charlie Parker and John Coltrane. Parker is an avid upright bass player and spends much of his free time studying and praciticing music: in school, at home, with a tutor and as part of the Junior District Orchestra and the String Ensemble of The Capital Symphonic Youth Orchestras.
Music is an important part of his life and in our home. We've peppered our celebration with subtle and not-so-subtle musical references. Here are a few examples:
The invitation invokes the architecture common in the middle east and replicated in many synagogues worldwide. While designing it, we had the jazz classic A Night in Tunisia in mind.
Mr. PC is a nickname that's been used for Parker since the day he was born. The original Mr. PC was Paul Chambers, the upright bassist who played with both Miles Davis and John Coltrane. John Coltrane composed the jazz piece called Mr. PC in tribute to Chambers.
The song itself appeared on Coltrane's album Giant Steps. Considering how giant a step it is for a child to become bar mitzvah, we couldn't ignore that this event would be Parker Coltrane's "Giant Step," and you might see our own version of the album cover during the event.
For Parker, his bass is a source of comfort and strength, so it was natural to incorporate bass imagery throughout the day, including the 𝄢 icon used on much of our stationery: it's not just a pretty flourish, but the bass clef, a notation indicating the range of notes on sheet music played by a bassist.
