#AllThingsMUSIC: Charlie Parker

When one thinks of jazz, they think “Charlie Parker.” Known simply as “Bird,” Charlie Parker was a pioneering jazz alto-saxophone player, bebop musician and composer. His fast, virtuosic playing, clean tone, and improvisational abilities greatly influenced other musicians at the time. His innovation in writing songs, using complex chord progressions and revolutionary harmonic form, changed the standards for composition and greatly influenced other jazz artists. Parker helped to contribute to the hipster persona associated with jazz, as well as the idea that jazz musicians were artists and intellectuals rather than simply entertainers. At the time a huge amount of other artists tried to copy Parker’s style, and often his solos and licks exactly. His influence is seen in almost every other contemporary musician and renowned jazz composer, many of whom named some choice standards after the “Bird.” Ladies and Gentlemen, Charlie Parker.

Charlie Parker was born in Kansas City, Kansas, and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, the only child of Charles and Addie Parker. Parker attended Lincoln High School. He enrolled in September 1934 and withdrew in December 1935, just before joining the local Musicians Union.

Parker began playing the saxophone at age 11, and at age 14 joined his school's band using a rented school instrument. His father, Charles, was often absent but provided some musical influence; he was a pianist, dancer and singer on the T.O.B.A. circuit. He later became a Pullman waiter or chef on the railways. Parker's mother Addie worked nights at the local Western Union office. His biggest influence at that time was a young trombone player who taught him the basics of improvisation.

In the late 1930s Parker began to practice diligently. During this period he mastered improvisation and developed some of the ideas that led to bebop. In an interview with Paul Desmond, he said that he spent 3–4 years practicing up to 15 hours a day.

Bands led by Count Basie and Bennie Moten undoubtedly influenced Parker. He played with local bands in jazz clubs around Kansas City, Missouri, where he perfected his technique, with the assistance of Buster Smith whose dynamic transitions to double and triple time influenced Parker's developing style.

In 1938, Parker joined pianist Jay McShann's territory band. The band toured nightclubs and other venues of the southwest, as well as Chicago and New York City. Parker made his professional recording debut with McShann's band. As a teenager, Parker developed a morphine addiction while in the hospital, after an automobile accident, and subsequently became addicted to heroin. He continued using heroin throughout his life, which ultimately contributed to his death.

Source: Wikipedia