People, Locations, Episodes

Charlie (Bird) Parker, Saxophonist born

Charlie Parker

Charlie Parker was born on this date in 1920. He was a Black alto saxophone player, a founder of the bebop jazz style, and one of the most influential musicians in jazz history.

Born Charles Parker, Jr., in Kansas City, Kansas, Parker acquired the nickname "Yardbird" (usually shortened to "Bird") as a young man. Largely self-taught, Parker could listen, and a willingness to practice enabled him to progress rapidly on the saxophone. By 1935, he was playing professionally in local swing bands. In 1939, Parker visited New York City and soon played with other young American musicians.

They included trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, pianist Thelonious Monk, and drummer Kenny Clarke. During the early 1940s, Parker, Gillespie, and a few other players gradually developed a complex style of jazz that became known as bebop. The early bebop recordings he and Gillespie made seemed complicated and unintelligible to critics and listeners. Soon, however, these recordings came to be regarded as jazz classics.

After 1945, Parker usually led his small jazz groups, typically comprised of a trumpeter, pianist, bassist, and drummer, and himself on saxophone.  American musicians performed in Parker’s combos, including trumpeter Miles Davis, pianist Bud Powell, and drummer Max Roach. Parker experienced many personal difficulties throughout his life. Often in debt and addicted to alcohol and drugs, he endured broken marriages, suicide attempts, and even imprisonment.  His death in 1954 at the age of 34 resulted from several ailments, including stomach ulcers, pneumonia, cirrhosis of the liver, and a heart attack.

Parker received several honors during his lifetime. He won several jazz polls in Down Beat magazine and was placed in its Hall of Fame in 1955. His mastery of bebop made him a role model for jazz players worldwide. For decades, musicians have copied his favorite melody patterns, his playing methods, and even his entire solos.

To Become a Musician or Singer