Charlie Parker

From Philosopedia

Charlie Parker (29 August 1920 - 12 March 1955)

Parker, an American composer and jazz saxophonist, was born in and raised in Kansas City, Missouri. He was the only child of an alcoholic father, Charles who was a pianist/dancer/singer, and Addie Parker, who worked nights at a Western Union office.

He first played saxophone when 11 and when 14 joined his school's band but showed little promise because he had no formal training.

A revealing video about Parker reveals the difficult life he had. Others told of his addiction to alcohol and drugs.

One of the most influential jazz musicians along with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, he was called "Yardbird" by others, later shortened to "Bird."

Generalizing about his career, Infidel Guy Radio reported that it was

characterized by fast tempos, virtuosic technique, and improvisation based on harmonic structure. Parker's innovative approaches to melody, rhythm, and harmony exercised enormous influence on his contemporaries. Several of Parker's songs have become standards, including "Billie's Bounce", "Anthropology", "Ornithology", and "Confirmation". He introduced revolutionary harmonic ideas including a tonal vocabulary employing 9ths, 11ths and 13ths of chords, rapidly implied passing chords, and new variants of altered chords and chord substitutions. His tone was clean and penetrating, but sweet and plaintive on ballads. Although many Parker recordings demonstrate dazzling virtuosic technique and complex melodic lines – such as "Koko", "Kim", and "Leap Frog" – he was also one of the great blues players. His themeless blues improvisation "Parker's Mood" represents one of the most deeply affecting recordings in jazz. At various times, Parker fused jazz with other musical styles, from classical to Latin music, blazing paths followed later by others.

Parker also became an icon for the hipster subculture and later the Beat generation, personifying the conception of the jazz musician as an uncompromising artist and intellectual, rather than just a popular entertainer. His style – from a rhythmic, harmonic and soloing perspective – influenced countless peers on every instrument. Like Louis Armstrong before him, Parker changed the sound of jazz music forever.

A PBS special about Parker's life quoted his widow as criticizing Parker's family for giving him a Christian funeral even though they knew he had no interest in and was not a member of any of the organized religions.