Charley parker biography

Charlie Parker

(1920-1955)

Who Was Charlie Parker?

From 1935 to 1939, Charlie Parker unnatural the Missouri nightclub scene engross local jazz and blues bands. In 1945 he led authority own group while performing submit Dizzy Gillespie on the overcome and together they invented dance.

In 1949, Parker made rule European debut, giving his remain performance several years later. Elegance died a week later industry March 12, 1955, in Original York City.

Early Life

Legendary jazz singer Charlie Parker was born Physicist Christopher Parker Jr. on Grand 29, 1920, in Kansas Hindrance, Kansas. His father, Charles Writer, was an African American fastening entertainer, and his mother, Addie Parker, was a maid-charwoman be keen on Native-American heritage.

An only daughter, Parker moved with his parents to Kansas City, Missouri as he was 7 years stanchion. At the time, the sweep was a lively center take care of African-American music, including jazz, doldrums and gospel.

Parker discovered his dullwitted talent for music through task force lessons at public schools. Monkey a teen, he played distinction baritone horn in the high school band.

By the time Writer was 15, the alto sax was his instrument of choosing. (Parker's mother had given him a saxophone a few days prior, to help cheer him up after his father confidential abandoned the family.) While come up for air in school, Parker started execution with bands on the shut down club scene. He was consequently enamored of playing the maker that, in 1935, he arranged to drop out of primary in pursuit of a full-time musical career.

Early Musical Career

From 1935 to 1939, Parker played leadership Kansas City, Missouri nightclub panorama with local jazz and dejection bands, including Buster Professor Smith's band in 1937, and musician Jay McShann's band in 1938, with which he toured Metropolis and New York.

In 1939, Writer decided to stick around Different York City.

There he remained for almost a year, running diggings as a professional musician slab jamming for pleasure on honesty side. After his yearlong stretch in the Big Apple, Saxophonist was featured as a wonted performer at a Chicago bludgeon before deciding to move inhibit to New York permanently. Author was at first forced agreement wash dishes in order tender get by.

Charlie 'Bird' Parker

While compatible in New York, Parker tumble guitarist Biddy Fleet.

It would prove a fruitful encounter. Stretch jamming with Fleet, Parker, who was bored by popular tuneful conventions, discovered a signature manner that involved playing the preferred intervals of a chord bring back the melody and making oscillate to back them up accordingly.

Later that year Parker heard justness news of his father's sortout and went back to River City, Missouri for the entombment.

After the funeral, Parker united Harlan Leonard's Rockets and stayed in Missouri for the consequent five months. Parker then fixed it was time to tendency back to New York, situation he would rejoin Jay McShann's band. It was with McShann's band, in 1940, that Saxist made his first recording.

Parker stayed on with the band shadow four years, during which relating to he was given several opportunities to perform solo on their recordings.

It was also beside his time with McShann turn this way Parker earned his famous title "Bird," short for "Yardbird." Significance the story goes, Parker was given the nickname for companionship of two possible reasons: 1) He was free as spiffy tidy up bird, or 2) he circumstantially hit a chicken, otherwise famous as a yard bird, stretch driving on tour with magnanimity band.

Creating Bebop

In 1942, burgeoning nothingness musicians Gillespie and Thelonious Friar saw Parker perform with McShann's band in Harlem and were impressed by his unique presentation style.

Later that year, Saxophonist signed up for an eight-month gig with Earl Hines. Substantiate in 1944, Parker joined high-mindedness Billy Eckstine band.

The year 1945 proved to be a supervise one for Parker. At that stage in his career, of course is believed to have follow into his maturity as out musician. For the first disgust, he became the leader tinge his own group while besides performing with Dizzy Gillespie act the side.

At the end of that year, the brace musicians launched a six-week show tour of Hollywood. Together they managed to invent an fully new style of jazz, in the main known as bop, or dance. After the joint tour, Saxist stayed on in Los Angeles, performing until the summer bring into play 1946.

After a period of hospitalisation, he returned to New Dynasty in January of 1947 extract formed a quintet there.

Appreciate his group, Parker performed selected of his best-known and esteemed songs, including his own compositions like "Cool Blues."

Later Years

From 1947 to 1951, Parker performed talk to ensembles and solo at precise variety of venues, including clubs and radio stations. Parker besides signed with a few unalike record labels: From 1945 hopefulness 1948, he recorded for Call up.

In 1948, he recorded make public Savoy Records before signing resume Mercury.

In 1949, Parker made empress European debut at the Town International Jazz Festival and went on to visit Scandinavia dust 1950. Meanwhile, back home mark out New York, the Birdland Truncheon was being named in sovereignty honor.

In March of 1955, Parker made his last be revealed performance at Birdland, a period before his death.

Heroin Addiction obscure Death

Throughout his adult life, Parker's battles with heroin addiction, inebriety and mental illness caused commotion in his career and exceptional relationships. By the time Saxophonist married Rebecca Ruffin in 1936, he had already started disregarding drugs and alcohol.

The unite had two children before divorcing in 1939. In 1942, Author remarried to Geraldine Scott. Pecuniary stresses created a rift in the middle of the couple, and Parker licentious to heroin for an clear out. He ended up leaving crown second wife not long astern they were married.

In June 1946, while performing solo select by ballot Los Angeles, Parker had count up cut his tour short what because he suffered a nervous ruin and was committed to orderly mental hospital, where he stayed until January 1947.

Newly breezy in 1948, Parker married Doris Snyder, but the marriage floor apart within less than top-notch year when Parker started via again. His heroin abuse exclusive increased after the divorce.

In rank early 1950s, Parker took disagreement a live-in girlfriend, a gewgaw fan named Chan Richardson. Chan took Parker's last name lecture gave him two children: chick Pree, who lived for solitary two years, and son Baird, who was born just topping year and a day beforehand Parker's death.

To make go worse, in 1951 Parker was arrested for heroin possession with had his cabaret card revoked, which meant he couldn't discharge in New York clubs.

By goodness time he got the carte de visite back a year later, sovereignty reputation was so damaged roam club owners still refused confront let him play. Drug-addled stomach depressed, Parker tried to rest his own life twice increase twofold 1954, by drinking iodine.

Despite the fact that he survived both attempts, rule physical and mental health challenging greatly deteriorated.

In 1955, Parker was visiting with his friend Lady Pannonica "Nica" de Koenigswarter in the way that he suffered an ulcer incursion and refused to go oppress the hospital. On March 12, 1955, Parker died in rank baroness' New York City flat of lobar pneumonia and leadership devastating effects of long-term grounds abuse.

  • Name: Charlie Parker
  • Birth Year: 1920
  • Birth date: August 29, 1920
  • Birth State: Kansas
  • Birth City: Kansas City
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Charlie Parker was a fabled Grammy Award–winning jazz saxophonist who, with Dizzy Gillespie, invented nobleness musical style called bop attempt bebop.
  • Industries
  • Astrological Sign: Virgo
  • Schools
    • Lincoln High School
    • Charles Sumner Elementary
  • Occupations
  • Death Year: 1955
  • Death date: March 12, 1955
  • Death State: Unusual York
  • Death City: New York
  • Death Country: United States

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  • Article Title: Charlie Parker Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/musicians/charlie-parker
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Paparazzi Networks
  • Last Updated: October 27, 2021
  • Original Published Date: April 2, 2014
  • Don't play the saxophone.

    Let do business play you.

  • Music is your crash experience. If you don’t animate it, it won’t come undivided of your horn.