charlie parker (1920-1955) “ bird ”. charles christopher parker, jr was born in kansas city...
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Charlie Parker (1920-1955)
“Bird”
Charles Christopher Parker, Jr was born in Kansas City Kansas, the only son of Addie and Charles
Parker Sr. Charles Sr. was a vaudeville performer who
became a chef on the railroad. He left home when Charlie was
eleven and did not return. When Charlie was 13 years old, he
enrolled in band class. He was assigned to play the baritone
horn, but he soon became bored. He asked his mother to buy him
a saxophone. All she could afford was a 30 year old
instrument that cost her $45.00 (which was several weeks wages).
Charlie Parker
Charlie was an especially bright child, received good grades in school and was well liked by his teachers. When Charlie
was a child, his favorite hobby was reading.
Charlie loved practicing his saxophone. At the age of 14
he was a pretty good musician. Unfortunately he
spent so much time practicing, he neglected his schoolwork. He stopped going to class and began to fail all his courses.
By the time he was a sophomore in high school, he just quit school all together.
Charlie Parker
At the age of sixteen, Charlie began performing professionally. One winter night, he and his band members were driving to a city to perform and their car hit a patch of ice and skidded out of control. One of the band members was killed and the rest were seriously injured. Charlie suffered several broken ribs and a fractured spine. He was in great pain and had to stay at home for two months
to recuperate. The good thing was that Charlie received a check for several hundred dollars from an insurance company as restitution for his accident.
Charlie took the money a beautiful new saxophone.
Charlie Parker was commonly known as Yardbird. Sometimes people called him “Yard” and
sometimes they called him “Bird”, but it is reported that
Charlie himself liked the name Yardbird. No one knows for
sure how he got that name, but one speculation is that he got it
because he loved a good chicken dinner. In the South
(where Charlie was from), chicken was sometimes called yardbird because chickens ran
around freely in people’s yards. Bird Parker
As a teenager Charlie was hanging around the night clubs of Kansas City playing when he could and
listening to “riff”, a new jazz style evolving from African music and
developing in Kansas City. Charlie was unconventional and not
accepted by most of the musicians. At one jam session
when he tried to improvise, everyone laughed. Another time when he was invited to play with
Count Basie, the drummer threw a cymbal at his feet because Charlie
was off key and playing in the wrong time.
Count Basie
Charlie decided to go to New York, which was the center of jazz at the time.
However Charlie felt restricted with the
routines and arrangement of a big
band. He started spending time playing at Minton’s in Harlem. The
musicians there recognized Charlie’s
abilities and skills and accepted him and his
music.
Charlie’s talent continued to grow and he developed a style of music called “BeBop”
which stresses improvisation over a
more traditional melody. Charlie was also known for his technical ability on the saxophone. His
fingers were “lightening fast” and could play
notes rapidly.
Charlie traveled to Hollywood with Dizzy Gillespie and played in a local club. He soon started his own group which featured Miles Davis. During his stay in California his dependency on
illegal drugs and alcohol increased until he suffered a breakdown and was committed to a mental hospital. After 6
months he was released and returned to New York. He seemed a different person and composed music and played
steadily for the next two years.
Charlie with Dizzy Gillespie Charlie with Miles Davis
Night in Tunisia is a well known song written by Dizzy Gillespie and played by Dizzy and Charlie.
It is a classic bebop song.Tunisia is a country on the north edge
of the African continent.
In 1949 Bird made his first tour overseas playing in Paris at the International Jazz Festival. When he
returned, he was honored by the opening of a New
York club that was named Birdland.
Charlie’s success led to tours of Europe and
America including shows in Sweden, London, Los Angles and San Francisco
Unfortunately Charlie Parker returned to his use of narcotics and alcohol. His health was ruined
and in 1955 at the age of 35 he died in a hotel from
pneumonia brought on by his hard lifestyle.
Charlie was a jazz giant. His break from the big band
music gave rise to BeBop. His individualism gave
courage to hundreds of young musicians to
experiment and innovate with their music.
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