The Charlie Parker Jazz Festival
Until 25 August
(More outdoor jazz events until September 7)

Towards the end of the big band era, a strange thing happened: the big jazz orchestras continued to enjoy great popularity and still spent most of their time traveling all over the country, playing in one big ballroom after another.

Even the more moderately popular bands – not just the superstars – could draw huge crowds of at least thousands of dancers wherever they performed. Swifty Lazar and other Hollywood agents remember the days when representing bands was far more lucrative than representing actors.

Musicians say that around 1945, small sections of the audience began to gather around the bands. Most of the crowd continued dancing, but the idea of ​​even a few dozen people just standing and listening astonished everyone.

From the perspective of a later era, we know that this was the real beginning of big band jazz as concert music rather than dance music; it developed into the dominant style in the music and lasted for about 70 years.

Something remarkable happened at the Charlie Parker Festival on Friday night. I arrived expecting the usual sit-down concert that has been the norm during my long experience as a listener at jazz events. In fact, the annual Charlie Parker Festival, the largest outdoor jazz event in New York, is named after the musician who did more than anyone else to transform jazz into a music to listen to.

But a significant portion of the thousand or so people in attendance refused to stay in their seats: thanks to the venue, Marcus Garvey Park in Harlem – just a short walk from the historic site of the legendary Home of Happy Feet, the Savoy Ballroom, which was the dance capital of the known universe for 30 years. But above all, it was the music: bassist and bandleader Christian McBride brought his 17-piece big band, and on this surprisingly cool and pleasant August evening, the assembled masses couldn’t help but move.

The evening began on a somber note: Jazzmobile’s Robin Bell-Stevens commented on the death of a great man in the jazz community, the now legendary guitarist Russell Malone, who died earlier that day of a heart attack while on tour at the age of just 60; full details have not yet been made public.

From there, the opening set by trumpeter Wallace Roney Jr. and his quartet was a celebratory song. Mr. Roney and his drumming cousin, Kojo — who played at the park last Friday — are both the epitome of a millennial jazzer. Friday night’s set was true to the genres and subgenres in which both of Mr. Roney’s parents, trumpeter Wallace Roney Sr. and pianist and composer Geri Allen, were most comfortable: a mix of hard bop, modal music and occasional free-form flights.

The quartet played works by Wayne Shorter, “Over Shadow Hill Way,” Dexter Gordon, his 1979 arrangement of Harold Arlen’s “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” and Lenny White’s “Guernica.” This is an aggressive and hard-hitting, but focused quartet featuring pianist Victor Gould, bassist Paul Beaudry, and drummer Terreon Gully.

The audience enjoyed Roney’s performance and gathered on both sides of the concert hall – the bleachers – before it was over, knowing what to expect. Mr. McBride, ever the showman, in the best James Brown tradition, made a point of giving us a grand entrance after the band had already started playing.

There was only a small gap between the front row and the stage, but it immediately filled with dozens of dancers. The space at the front was so narrow that only the most petite dancers could use it. For those of us lucky enough to sit in the front rows, however, it was a fitting visual spectacle to match the music.

The band began with “Shake ‘n’ Blake,” named after tenor saxophone soloist Ron Blake. In the tradition of Oscar Pettiford’s “Tricotism,” it was a fast, upbeat, and lively piece that put the bandleader’s bass playing at the center.

Next it was Mr. McBride’s turn to honor Russell Malone, his friend – let’s face it, Russell Malone was everyone’s friend – and frequent collaborator. Mr. McBride chose an original work for jazz orchestra dedicated to Rosa Parks, which he had also recorded as a duet with Malone: ​​”Sister Rosa.”

This was an appropriately serious piece to honor the icon of the civil rights movement, but it was more than rhythmic enough to convey a very different mood to the dancers: a more romantic and meditative tune, performed by trombonist Steve Davis and Mr. Blake on soprano. It had a 1970s-style texture, reminiscent of Thad Jones or Sammy Nestico.

Then the band’s singer, Melissa Walker, who is married to Mr. McBride, took the stage. Like her husband, she is a talented singer who is a crowd pleaser. The only problem with her three-song mini-set was that the technicians, who wanted to make sure she could be heard despite the 13 horns, turned her microphone up way too high, which was a real strain on our ears.

That was a shame, because the singing and arrangements were all excellent, starting with Marv Jenkins’ “Big City,” which most of us know from the 1964 Cannonball Adderley and Ernie Andrews “Live Session,” and ending with a hard-swinging “Come Rain or Come Shine” – more Arlen. In between, she lovingly crooned British songwriter Billy Reid’s “I’ll Close My Eyes,” inspired by the 100th anniversary of Dinah Washington’s birth. It was an inspired choice, a song too rarely heard, and her most impactful moment – not least because of the technology.

Mr. McBride readily admits that he and his big band were essentially influenced by ’60s and ’70s funk as much as they were by jazz, particularly James Brown and Maceo Parker. He usually plays at least one of those numbers per set and tells us he likes jazz with a little funk and funk with a little jazz.

He switched to the Fender bass and played us a big band arrangement of Earth, Wind & Fire’s 1975 “Africano/Power,” and by this point even most of the people in the seating area were standing up. The band’s guitarist played a solo, mostly in single notes, and I couldn’t help but think that he, like the rest of us, was thinking of Russell Malone.

When the Charlie Parker Festival began 30 years ago, it seemed more like the icing on the cake of warm-weather music – the Ghost of Newport in New York, the JVC Jazz Festival and then the Knitting Factory Festivals and the ongoing Vision Festival were the main events. Recently, however, I’ve become increasingly aware that some of the best shows I’ve seen in recent years have taken place at Marcus Garvey Park.

The festival continues on Saturday at Marcus Garvey, featuring Carmen Lundy, Helen Sung and Chris Potter, among others, and on Sunday afternoon at Tompkins Square Park with Louis Hayes, SuperBlue with Kurt Elling and Charlie Hunter, and Ekep Nkwelle, among others. There’s also a similar concert on September 7, which I’m looking forward to, featuring singer Allan Harris, Burnt Sugar and others at the Sugar Hill Luminaries Lawn on West 155th Street.

After asking the promoter for another five minutes, Mr. McBride ended the concert with a pure hard bop sound, with Freddie Hubbard’s powerful “Thermo,” which the bassist had played many times with the late trumpeter. The piece culminated in a rousing acoustic solo by the bandleader, and we all left the park feeling like we had not just attended another concert, but a real experience, a real event.