It’s 80 years since legendary Jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker led a recording of what was labelled ‘the greatest Jazz session ever’. On 26th November 1945, Charlie “Bird” Parker recorded a series of tracks including ‘Now’s The Time’ with Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Curley Russell and Max Roach.
In this month’s blog, we explore the fascinating life and music of the man who helped change the face of Jazz, and was credited with developing the sound of Bebop.
(Image by William P. Gottlieb)
Charlier Parker’s early life
Charles Parker Jr was born on 29th August 1920 in Kansas City, Kansas. His father, Charles Parker Sr, had worked in Vaudeville as a pianist, dancer and singer, later working as a waiter and chef on the railways. His mother, Adelaide Bailey (known as “Addie”), was devoted to her son.
Parker began playing the saxophone when he was 11, growing up surrounded by music in the “Jazz district” of Kansas City, Missouri. Parker played in the Lincoln High School band and it was around this time that his mother bought him a saxophone of his own, supporting him in his musical ambitions despite financial hardship.
By the time he was 16, Parker had left school, playing in gigs around Kansas City and taking part in jam sessions with more experienced musicians. Things did not always go well: when he was 16 he joined a jam session at Kansas City’s Reno Club. Parker started well, but then lost the beat. In the band was Count Basie’s drummer, Jo Jones, who dropped his cymbal on the floor as a sign the session was over, humiliating Parker.
However, this only spurred Parker on to improve his playing and particularly his improvisation. He spent many hours a day practising, claiming he would practise for 11 to 15 hours a day.
A musical breakthrough, and the beginnings of Bebop
In the late 1930s, Parker worked with a number of bands and moved to New York in 1939, taking on non-music jobs alongside performing. During this period he came across alto saxophone player Buster Smith, who became a big influence on Parker.
It was in New York that Parker had his musical breakthrough which changed his performance style, and the future of Jazz. He reflected:
“I'd been getting bored with the stereotyped changes that were being used all the time at the time, and I kept thinking there's bound to be something else. I could hear it sometimes but I couldn't play it ... Well, that night I was working over 'Cherokee' and, as I did, I found that by using the higher intervals of a chord as a melody line and backing them with appropriately related changes, I could play the thing I'd been hearing. I came alive.”
In 1940, Parker returned to Kansas City for the funeral of his father. While there, he joined Jay McShann’s band, with whom he made his first professional recording. It was through this connection that he met Dizzy Gillespie. Back in New York, Parker performed in various Harlem venues where he, Gillespie, pianist Thelonious Monk, guitarist Charlie Christian, drummer Kenny Clarke and pianist Mary Lou Williams pioneered a new genre of Jazz – Bebop.
It was around this time that Parker acquired his nickname “Yardbird”, which was abbreviated to “Bird”, the name he is still referred to by today.
Unfortunately the early days of Bebop were not captured for posterity. Between 1942-44 there was a recording ban due to a strike against the major American record companies, because of disagreements over royalty payments. The American Federation of Musicians banned all recordings except for V-Discs, a record label that provided records for military personnel during World War 2.
Parker had joined the Earl Hines band, and they travelled between New York and Chicago. Parker said this allowed him to develop a style that was “a combination of the Midwestern beat and the fast New York tempos”. During this period Parker also began composing, partly due to his friendship with Dizzy Gillespie who had begun notating Parker’s solos as melodies.
(Image: William P. Gottlieb)
In 1944, Parker left Hines’ band and formed a new group with Gillespie, piano player Al Haig, bass player Curley Russell, and drummer Stan Levey. The group was notable for two key reasons – it was racially integrated and did not use a guitar as part of the rhythm section. This allowed the band freedom in harmonies and rhythm. Their style was dubbed “Bebop” for the first time. Initially many musicians objected to Bebop, feeling it threatened more traditional styles of Jazz, but it acquired a devoted audience.
Parker’s iconic recordings
The following year, once the recording ban was lifted, Parker made a series of classic recordings with Gillespie’s quintet including ‘Salt Peanuts’ and ‘Shaw Nuff’ and in his first solo recording session he recorded ‘Now’s the Time’ and ‘Koko’.
By this time, Parker and Gillespie’s band were busy touring, but Parker’s unreliability due to his addiction to drugs, including heroin, caused issues for the band. Gillespie responded by employing vibraphonist Milt Jackson to cover for Parker’s absences. In the summer of 1946, Parker collapsed due to his addiction and was admitted to hospital.
When he was released from hospital, Parker formed his own quintet which included trumpeter Miles Davis and drummer Max Roach. Alongside gigs in New York, they toured major U.S. cities and abroad. In 1949, a Broadway nightclub was named “Birdland” after Parker and he performed there on opening night. It later became one of the most famous 1950s jazz clubs.
Some of Parker’s most iconic recordings were made between 1945-48 on the Savoy and Dial labels including ‘A Night in Tunisia’, ‘Embraceable You’, ‘Donna Lee’ and ‘Ornithology’. These recordings demonstrate his distinctive sound and use of phrasing – using irregular phrase lengths and asymmetrical accenting. He also developed an amazing speed of execution with precise playing even during very fast tempos.
In 1950, Parker recorded with Gillespie, pianist Thelonious Monk, bassist Curly Russell and drummer Budy Rich – the album ‘Bird and Diz’ became a classic. Parker’s band toured Europe featuring a young saxophonist, John Coltrane.
Charlie “Bird” Parker’s last days and legacy
Parker continued touring and winning over audiences in the U.S. and Europe. But he increasingly felt that racial discrimination was preventing him from achieving his full potential. At the same time, by the early 1950s his lifestyle had become more chaotic, and his unreliability led to him losing live bookings.
In 1954, tragedy struck for Parker when his young daughter died from pneumonia. He struggled to come to terms with the loss, at one point attempting suicide. Though he had begun to make a partial recovery, excessive drug and alcohol use over the years had taken its toll, and Parker died on 12th March 1955, aged just 34.
A clap of thunder is said to have been heard at the moment he died. The Charlie Parker official website states:
“Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, who gave Parker refuge and comfort during his final days in her suite in the Hotel Stanhope on 5th Avenue in New York, recalled, ‘At the moment of his going, there was a tremendous clap of thunder. I didn’t think about it at the time, but I’ve thought about it often since; how strange it was.’ One musician speculated that Parker disintegrated into ‘pure sound’.”
In his short life, Parker managed to change the course of musical history. He created a sound of his own and influenced countless musicians, both during his lifetime and in the decades since, and is still considered one of the giants of Jazz.
Further reading
Discover more about Charlie Parker and ‘Now’s The Time’ at:
The website udiscovermusic.com
Charlie Parker’s official website
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