Relaxin' At Camarillo

The "Camarillo" is Camarillo State Hospital in Ventura County, California. Parker was sent there after spending 10 days in jail, charged with indecent exposure, resisting arrest, and suspected arson. Charlie parker moved to California from New York after cashing in his return ticket for heroin money. During this time junk was hard to come by, and he substituted it with large quantities of alcohol, which greatly altered his behavior for the worse. Parker racked up a string of charges, including indecent exposure, resisting arrest and suspected arson, which led to a 10 day stint in prison. All of these offenses happened on a single unlucky night - July 29, 1946 - when Parker had streaked through a hotel lobby, then set his hotel bed on fire with an unsupervised cigarette. In Bird Lives, the biography of Parker's Dial Records label boss, Ross Russell (published in 1973), he describes the incident that led to Parker's arrest and rehabilitation. "The very next night after that infamous session [part of the 'Dial sessions' recorded in Los Angeles], Bird got drunk and set his hotel room on fire. He was found wandering in the hall of his hotel and in the street, half naked. He was arrested and was sent to the Psychopathic Ward of the Los Angeles State Jail, booked as insane." Parker stayed at Camarillo for six months. He wrote "Relaxin' at Camarillo" shortly after his release from the hospital, and his return to New York where his heroin addiction continued.

It was Dial Records head Ross Russell who titled this jazz instrumental "Relaxin' At Camarillo." Parker wanted to call it "Past Due," and was not pleased with Russell's title. In Henry Martin's 2020 book Charlie Parker, Composer, he writes: "Parker certainly named some of his pieces and probably approved titles that weren't his, but the only tune whose title particularly disturbed him is 'Relaxin' At Camarillo,' which he wished to be called 'Past Due.'" It stands to reason that Parker might haven wanted to put the memory of his breakdown and Camarillo behind him.

Charlie parker played alto sax on this track. The other musicians on the track are: Howard McGhee - trumpet Wardell Gray - tenor sax Dodo Marmarosa - piano Red Callender - bass Don Lamond - drums Barney Kessell - guitar