Charlie Parker
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Biography
[Edit]One of a handful of musicians who can be said to have permanently changed jazz, Charlie Parker was arguably the greatest saxophonist of all time. He could play remarkably fast lines that, if slowed down to half speed, would reveal that every note made sense. "Bird," along with his contemporaries Dizzy Gillespie and Bud Powell, is considered a founder of bebop; in reality he was an intuitive player who simply was expressing himself. Rather than basing his improvisations closely on the melody as was done in swing, he was a master of chordal improvising, creating new melodies that were based on the structure of a song. In fact, Bird wrote several future standards (such as "Anthropology," "Ornithology," "Scrapple from the Apple," and "Ko Ko," along with such blues numbers as "Now's the Time" and "Parker's Mood") that "borrowed" and modernized the chord structures of older tunes. Parker's remarkable technique, fairly original sound, and ability to come up with harmonically advanced phrases that could be both logical and whimsical were highly influential. By 1950, it was impossible to play "modern jazz" with credibility without closely studying Charlie Parker.
Born in Kansas City, KS, Charlie Parker grew up in Kansas City, MO. He first played baritone horn before switching to alto. Parker was so enamored of the rich Kansas City music scene that he dropped out of school when he was 14, even though his musicianship at that point was questionable (with his ideas coming out faster than his fingers could play them). After a few humiliations at jam sessions, Bird worked hard woodshedding over one summer, building up his technique and mastery of the fundamentals. By 1937, when he first joined Jay McShann's Orchestra, he was already a long way toward becoming a major player.
Charlie Parker, who was early on influenced by Lester Young and the sound of Buster Smith, visited New York for the first time in 1939, working as a dishwasher at one point so he could hear Art Tatum play on a nightly basis. He made his recording debut with Jay McShann in 1940, creating remarkable solos with a small group from McShann's orchestra on "Oh, Lady Be Good" and "Honeysuckle Rose." When the McShann big band arrived in New York in 1941, Parker had short solos on a few of their studio blues records, and his broadcasts with the orchestra greatly impressed (and sometimes scared) other musicians who had never heard his ideas before. Parker, who had met and jammed with Dizzy Gillespie for the first time in 1940, had a short stint with Noble Sissle's band in 1942, played tenor with Earl Hines' sadly unrecorded bop band of 1943, and spent a few months in 1944 with Billy Eckstine's orchestra, leaving before that group made their first records. Gillespie was also in the Hines and Eckstine big bands, and the duo became a team starting in late 1944.
Although Charlie Parker recorded with Tiny Grimes' combo in 1944, it was his collaborations with Dizzy Gillespie in 1945 that startled the jazz world. To hear the two virtuosos play rapid unisons on such new songs as "Groovin' High," "Dizzy Atmosphere," "Shaw 'Nuff," "Salt Peanuts," and "Hot House," and then launch into fiery and unpredictable solos could be an upsetting experience for listeners much more familiar with Glenn Miller and Benny Goodman. Although the new music was evolutionary rather than revolutionary, the recording strike of 1943-1944 resulted in bebop arriving fully formed on records, seemingly out of nowhere.
Unfortunately, Charlie Parker was a heroin addict ever since he was a teenager, and some other musicians who idolized Bird foolishly took up drugs in the hope that it would elevate their playing to his level. When Gillespie and Parker (known as "Diz and Bird") traveled to Los Angeles and were met with a mixture of hostility and indifference (except by younger musicians who listened closely), they decided to return to New York. Impulsively, Parker cashed in his ticket, ended up staying in L.A., and, after some recordings and performances (including a classic version of "Oh, Lady Be Good" with Jazz at the Philharmonic), the lack of drugs (which he combated by drinking an excess of liquor) resulted in a mental breakdown and six months of confinement at the Camarillo State Hospital. Released in January 1947, Parker soon headed back to New York and engaged in some of the most rewarding playing of his career, leading a quintet that included Miles Davis, Duke Jordan, Tommy Potter, and Max Roach. Parker, who recorded simultaneously for the Savoy and Dial labels, was in peak form during the 1947-1951 period, visiting Europe in 1949 and 1950, and realizing a lifelong dream to record with strings starting in 1949 when he switched to Norman Granz's Verve label.
But Charlie Parker, due to his drug addiction and chance-taking personality, enjoyed playing with fire too much. In 1951, his cabaret license was revoked in New York (making it difficult for him to play in clubs) and he became increasingly unreliable. Although he could still play at his best when he was inspired (such as at the 1953 Massey Hall concert with Gillespie), Bird was heading downhill. In 1954, he twice attempted suicide before spending time in Bellevue. His health, shaken by a very full if brief life of excesses, gradually declined, and when he died in March 1955 at the age of 34, he could have passed for 64.
Charlie Parker, who was a legendary figure during his lifetime, has if anything grown in stature since his death. Virtually all of his studio recordings are available on CD along with a countless number of radio broadcasts and club appearances. Clint Eastwood put together a well-intentioned if simplified movie about aspects of his life (Bird). Parker's influence, after the rise of John Coltrane, has become more indirect than direct, but jazz would sound a great deal different if Charlie Parker had not existed. The phrase "Bird Lives" (which was scrawled as graffiti after his death) is still very true.
Title: Singing The Fishing
Artist: Charlie Parker, Peggy Seeger Ewan MacColl
Genre: World Music, Songwriter/Lyricist, Contemporary Folk, Celtic, Folk
Title: The Big Hewer (Re-mastered)
Artist: Charlie Parker, Peggy Seeger, Ewan MacColl
Genre: World Music, Songwriter/Lyricist, Contemporary Folk, Celtic
Title: Complete Greatest Verve Bop Quintets (Bonus Track Version)
Artist: Charlie Parker
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Body Blow (Re-mastered)
Artist: Charlie Parker, Peggy Seeger, Ewan MacColl
Genre: World Music, Songwriter/Lyricist, Contemporary Folk, Celtic
Collections
Title: Jazz Central Station Global Poll Winners, Vol.2
Genre: Jazz
Title: Vintage Songs, Ambient Street
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz Classics: Blue Lake
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz Classics: Blue Lake
Genre: Jazz
Title: Coffee House Jazz
Genre: Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: Jazz 1 - Timeless Legends
Genre: Jazz
Title: Roads of Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Best of the Cole Porter Songbook
Genre: Jazz
Title: Valentine's Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: Tea for Two - For the Love of Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz Superstars
Genre: Jazz
Title: Superstars of Jazz: The Best Recordings of the 40s
Genre: Jazz
Title: Savoy Jazz Timeless Sampler
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Great Jazz Soloists - Finest Performances
Genre: Jazz
Title: Early Bebop Brass Pioneers
Genre: Jazz
Title: Be-bop Classics (Be-Bop Classics Vol. 1)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Cole Porter Songbook: Night and Day
Genre: Jazz
Title: Pop American Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Most Influential Jazz Saxophonists
Genre: Jazz
Title: American Jazz Essentials
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz Ballads, Vol. 1
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz Explosion - The Greats Volume Nine
Genre: Jazz
Title: Hi-Fi Jazz Session
Genre: Jazz
Title: Giants of Jazz: Love Songs
Genre: Jazz
Title: American Jazz With Class
Genre: Jazz
Title: Irresistible You
Genre: Jazz
Title: American Jazz With Class
Genre: Jazz
Title: 50 Of the Best
Genre: Jazz, Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: Jazz Club (Masterpieces)
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz Explosion - The Greats Volume One
Genre: Jazz
Title: Giants of Jazz: Guitar
Genre: Jazz
Title: Swinging Christmas, Vol. 2
Genre: Jazz, Traditional Pop Music
Title: Jazz Explosion - The Greats Volume Four
Genre: Jazz
Title: Golden Legends: Jazz Legends
Genre: Jazz
Title: The American Jazz Scene - 1950's
Genre: Jazz
Title: Top 20 Jazz Saxophone
Genre: Jazz
Title: Giants of Jazz: Ballads
Genre: Jazz
Title: "G", George Gershwin
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz Compilation, Vol.4
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Jazz Saxophone
Genre: Jazz
Title: Parker’s Pals / Parker's Pals
Genre: Alternative
Title: The George Gershwin Songbook: 40 Greatest Hits
Genre: Jazz
Title: Ken Burns Jazz - The Story of America's Music
Genre: Jazz
Title: Savoy 60th Anniversary - Timeless
Genre: Jazz
Title: Essential Bebop
Genre: Jazz
Title: L.A. Jazz Noire - Hip Cats & Their Combos
Genre: World Music
Title: Essential Jazz Sax
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz Love: Love Instrumental, Vol. 10
Genre: Pop
Title: The Best of for Lovers
Genre: Jazz
Title: Smash Jazz Hits Vol 2
Genre: Jazz
Title: This Is Jazz, Vol. 1
Genre: Jazz
Title: A Variety of Hits, Vol. 2
Genre: Pop
Title: Best of Afro Cuban Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: Jazz Explosion - The Greats Volume Two
Genre: Jazz
Title: The Big Apple - Music from New York
Genre: Jazz, Theatre/Soundtrack
Title: Vintage Paris! Classic Melodies for French Lovers
Genre: Jazz, World Music
Title: Jazz Explosion - Volume 3
Genre: Jazz
Title: Cool Daddy-O - '60s Beatnik Songs
Genre: Rock, Rock & Roll
Title: Greatest R&B Hits of 1946, Vol. 3
Genre: Hip Hop/R&B, Soul, Pop
Title: Kansas City Jazz
Genre: Jazz
Title: Latin Jazz Classics
Genre: Jazz
Featuring albums
Title: Complete Dial Masters - All Known Existing Takes (1946-48)
Artist: Dizzy Gillespie
Genre: Jazz, Vocal Jazz, Latin, Bop
Title: Ken Burns's Jazz: Dizzy Gillespie
Artist: Dizzy Gillespie
Title: Smooth Jazz (New Stereo Recordings by the Original Artists)
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Jazz
Title: Dizzy's Diamonds: The Best of the Verve Years
Artist: Dizzy Gillespie
Title: Swedish Schnapps + The Great Quintet Sessions 1949-51, Vol. 5
Artist: The Charlie Parker Quintet
Genre: Jazz
Title: Rewound & Reworked - Jazz Remixes Vol. 2
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Electronica, Jazz, Dancefloor
Title: Christmas Remixed 2
Artist: Various Artists
Genre: Electronica, Dancefloor, Traditional Pop Music
Title: Swedish Schnapps + The Great Quintet Sessions 1949-51 Vol. 5
Artist: The Charlie Parker Quintet
Genre: Jazz