It is Superbowl Sunday in the United States. The Superbowl is an event in which the top two National Football League teams play one another for the league championship. Tickets to the game sell for as much as $5,000. The television audience numbers in the millions. Our photograph shows Al Hirt at the Superbowl in 1967. Jazz musicians are no longer invited to play there; rock and roll dominates the halftime show. Before today’s kickoff, Lady Gaga sang the national anthem.
On the off chance that there are Americans who won’t be watching the game and with the certainty that many Rifftides readers in other countries don’t follow US football, we offer an alternative. Here is a bebop superbowl from the 1950s. The participants are Sonny Stitt, alto saxophone; Howard McGhee, trumpet; J.J. Johnson, trombone; Walter Bishop, piano; Tommy Potter, bass; and Kenny Clarke, drums. Mr. Johnson introduces the tune.
Happy Sunday.
Late Sunday night addendum: The Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers 24 to 10.