King of Be-BOP
Charlie Parker not only serves as one of the most important impacts in Jazz but also the development of Bop. He was born in Kansas City on August 29, 1920. At an early age, Charlie was infatuated by music and eventually started playing the saxophone. At the beginning of his career, Parker started off performing for small clubs. Soon after he joined pianist Jay McShann’s band writing arrangements and leading the sax section. He then began to receive serious recognition from other musicians. In 1943, Charlie Parker played in Earl Hine’s band along with the real recognized Dizzie Gillespie. Eventually, the band broke up and by 1943 Parker began to experiment on his own. However, around this time he met Miles Davis. Alon with Dizzy, these extraordinary men created what is known as Be-Bop. This new music style became high in demand and in early 1946 they toured California. Unfortunately, this is when Parker’s drug problem started to arise. He spent six months at a mental hospital and afterward was back in the studio sounding better than ever. He recorded ‘Relaxing at Camarillo’, ‘Stupendous’, ‘Cool Blues’, and ‘Bird’s Nest’. After he finished in Los Angeles he went back to New York. In 1949 he recorded with Jimmy Carroll Orchestra for what became the quintessential, Charlie Parker With Strings. As well as conducting the classic recording Bird and Dizz, Dizzie Gillespie. Unfortunately, things got bad for Charlie Parker and died at age 34, however, he had the body of a man over 50. Even though his life ended at an early age, in a short time Charlie Parker helped make modern jazz sound the way it does today.
