Biography of Charlie Parker. Musicians of the 20th century: Charlie Parker Parker was a true jazz icon

Great innovator, alto saxophonist, composer. This name has long been included in all music encyclopedias. His recordings are constantly being reissued. Dozens of books, hundreds of articles, thousands of pages have been written about him.

Before I put pen to paper, I tried to honestly answer myself the question: why? Why add a couple more pages to these mont Blancs of printed matter? After all, everything has already been thoroughly researched. And yet there were arguments in favor. Firstly, out of these thousands of pages, it’s good if a dozen or two were published in the vastness of the former “indestructible union of free republics.” And if we take Belarus separately? Official publishers have never spoiled us with jazz literature, just a teaspoon a year. More and more foreign sources and samizdat translations had to be used. Fortunately, there were ardent enthusiasts of this cause - in Voronezh, in Moscow, in St. Petersburg, and here, in Minsk. And then there were some risky people who decided to start publishing a jazz magazine. Where else to start then, if not with the most legendary?

If, once again turning to mountaineering analogies, we imagine the world of jazz music in the form of a certain mountain system, then for me the five peaks will stand out noticeably in their power and height, I would name five names among the greatest giants - Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Miles Davis. I readily admit that from another point of observation of this “mountain system” some other “peaks” will seem higher than some of those named, but Parker will certainly be noted under any circumstances. Each of the musicians mentioned above is an era in jazz, but Parker is not just the creator of a new jazz style. Bebop, to the birth of which he was directly related, marked a gigantic “tectonic fault” that forever separated traditional jazz from all later movements, collectively called modern jazz. For a young neophyte who has only recently become interested in jazz music, both Parker and, for example, Kid Ory are “legends from ancient times.” It is all the more important to try to understand who Charlie Parker was and remains for the world of jazz.

"And then came Charlie Parker, the kid from his mother's woodshed in Kansas City. He played his taped viola among the logs, practicing on it on rainy days, and only got out of the woodshed to see with his own eyes how old Basie swings, and hear the Benny Moten ensemble, where Hot Lips Page played, and everyone else... Charlie Parker left home and came to Harlem, where he met the crazy Thelonious Monk and the even crazier Gillespie... "Charlie Parker in his youth years when he received punches and, while playing, walked around in circles with his hat." (Jack Kerouac, American writer).

Charles Christopher Parker was born on August 29, 1920. This happened in the very heart of America, its Midwest, in Kansas City. Actually, today there are two such cities on the map of the United States - one in Kansas, the other in Missouri. A deep river divides the former state of the rebel Confederacy, the state where slavery reigned, and the state that remained free. Slavery and freedom. Parker is a representative of the third generation of black Americans who did not know slavery, but it seems to me that both of these concepts passed through his entire life. Slavish dependence on his self-centered character, alcohol, drugs and - enormous inner freedom in creativity, in daring, bold ideas, in the music that overwhelmed him.

Charlie spent his childhood in the black ghetto of Kansas City, where there were many bars, entertainment venues, and music was always playing. The father, a third-rate singer and dancer, soon abandoned the family, and the mother, Eddie Parker, gave all the heat of her love to the boy, exhausted herself, trying to ensure that he would not be denied anything, and spoiled him greatly. The next, as it turned out later, fateful gift was a battered alto saxophone, bought for 45 dollars. Charlie began to play. He forgot about everything else. He studied on his own, alone through all the problems, alone discovering the laws of music. His passion for music has not left him since then. In the evenings he listened to city musicians play, and spent days learning to play himself. There was no time left for textbooks.

At the age of 15, Charlie left school and took the road that led him until the very end of his life - becoming a professional musician. There was, of course, still little professionalism in this selfish, reserved half-boy - half-youth. He tries to copy the famous Lester Young's solo, plays in jams, and changes various local lineups. He recalled later: “We had to play non-stop from nine in the evening until five in the morning. We received one dollar twenty-five cents per night.” What did Charlie play? Since childhood, he had heard the blues, and blues intonations gradually permeated his musical thinking. He mostly had to play pop music. The pop music of that era was swing. This was the era of the great big bands, collective improvisations, smooth, coherent sounds. Despite the rapid progress in playing technique, young Charlie did not really fit into this style. He always tried to play in his own way, constantly searching for his own unique music. Not everyone liked this. There is a textbook story about how, at one of the night jam sessions, drummer Joe Jones, enraged by Parker’s “stuff,” threw a cymbal into the audience. Charlie got ready and left. He left the hall, but not the music. He was doomed to this sweet torment for the rest of his life.

And life took its toll and took it very quickly. At age 15, Charlie married 19-year-old Rebecca Ruffing. This was his first marriage, but just as fleeting and unsuccessful as the subsequent ones. At 17, Bird (short for his original nickname, "Yardbird") became a father for the first time. At the same time or a little earlier, he first became acquainted with drugs. And this acquaintance is also marked by the sign of fate.

After going through a number of lineups, visiting Chicago and New York and returning to Kansas City at the end of 1938, Byrd joined the orchestra of pianist Jay McShann. He played with this lineup for just over three years, and Parker's first known recordings were also made with this orchestra. Here he became a mature master. His colleagues highly regarded him as an alto saxophonist, but what he had to play still did not satisfy Charlie. He continued to find his way: “I was fed up with the stereotypical harmonies that everyone was using. I kept thinking that there must be something different. I heard it, but I couldn’t play it.” And then he played: “Yes, that evening I improvised for a long time on the theme of “Cherokee” and suddenly I noticed that by building a melody from the upper intervals of the chords and inventing new harmonies on this basis, I suddenly managed to play what was always in me. It's like I was born again."

After Byrd opened his way to freedom, he could no longer play with McShann. At the beginning of 1942 in New York, he left the orchestra and, leading a half-starved, miserable existence, continued to play his music in various New York clubs. Parker worked primarily at Clark Monroe's Uptown House. It was there that like-minded people first heard him.

Since 1940, another club, "Minton's Playhouse", gathered, as they would say today, fans of alternative music. Pianistelonius Monk, drummer Kenny Clarke, bassist Nick Fenton and trumpeter Joe Guy constantly worked in the club's lineup. Evenings and nights regularly jam sessions were held, where guitarist Charlie Christian, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, pianist Bud Powell and other musicians were frequent guests. Together with Parker, they would become the fathers of a new jazz style. One autumn evening, Clark and Monk went to Uptown to listen to the alto saxophonist there , rumors about which reached Minton's. It’s simply impossible to resist quoting Clark’s impressions: “Byrd played something unheard of. He played phrases that, as it seemed to me, I had invented myself for the drums. He played twice as fast as Lester Young and in harmonies that Lester had never dreamed of. Byrd "he walked along our same road, but was much ahead of us. It is unlikely that he knew the value of his finds. It was just his way of playing jazz, it was part of himself."

Naturally, Parker soon found himself at Minton's. Now he was among his own. The exchange of fresh musical ideas became even more intense. And the first among equals here was Byrd. His freedom triumphantly burst out in cascades of amazing, unheard of sounds. Standing next to him was those years Dizzy Gillespie, who was practically not inferior to Byrd in creative imagination, but had a much more cheerful and sociable character. Byrd and Dizzy were Romulus and Remus, St. Paul and St. Peter, Marx and Engels of new music. Almost by 1942 The main stylistic features of this music were finally formed, and a circle of its listeners and fans was formed.

“The sounds of the saxophone were no longer musical phrases, now only screams were heard - from “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah” down to “Beep!”, up to “Eee-ee!”, down again, to notes that came out of nowhere, and then - to the sound of a trumpet, echoed on all sides." (Jack Kerouac, American writer).

It’s probably impossible to talk about Parker without saying at least a few words about what, in fact, bebop was (aka reebop, aka just bop - all these are onomatopoeias characteristic of the style’s voices, primarily saxophone ones), it’s probably impossible. Boppers began to widely use intervals that were previously completely atypical for jazz; sharp, nervous musical phrases seemed to fit together in a completely chaotic manner. The listener received as if a kind of musical dotted line, the gaps between the lines of which he was left to fill in himself. As a result, well-known jazz themes were changed beyond recognition in bop. All this happened against the background of a noticeably accelerated tempo compared to swing, and with a constant change in rhythmic accents. The importance of solo improvisation has sharply increased, and small groups - combos - have become the favorite compositions of boppers. It was completely new music for that time. Almost everyone considered Parker to be its king.

The king behaved like an absolute and very capricious monarch. It seemed that the recognition that his music received only complicated this man's relationship with the outside world. Slavery took revenge on freedom. Byrd became even more intolerant, irritable, and peremptory in his relationships with colleagues and loved ones. Loneliness wrapped itself in an increasingly dense cocoon. Drug addiction grew stronger, and attempts to get rid of it threw Parker into the arms of another demon - alcohol. This diabolical duo - alcohol and drugs - played their black theme more and more confidently.

But the bright theme continued to unfold in unison - the theme of creative freedom. In 1943, Parker played with pianist Earl Hines' orchestra, and in 1944 with Hines' former vocalist Billy Eckstine. By the end of the year, Bird began performing with Gillespie at a club on 52nd Street in New York. The change of addresses of jazz clubs seems to reflect Parker's evolution: 138th Street (Uptown) - 118th Street (Minton's) - and finally 52nd, which became the recognized center of bop. In February-March 1945 Byrd and Dizzy recorded a series of records that presented the new jazz style to the world in all its brilliance.The next, no less significant recordings appeared in November.

Bop split the jazz world. To a certain extent, as a reaction to bop on the one hand and the commercialization of swing on the other, a revival of interest in Dixieland began. Many musicians and critics were hostile to bop. Guitarist Eddie Condon said that to him, bop is as musical as a cough. The great Louis Armstrong was no less decisive: “Everything they do is exhibitionism, and here every technique is suitable, as long as it is different from what you have played before.” Venerable jazz specialists such as Rudy Blesh in the States and South Panassier in Europe denied bop its belonging to jazz music. But there were also many adherents of the new style. Jazz aficionado and successful impresario Norman Granz recruited Parker and Gillespie to participate in his famous Jazz at the Philharmonic concert series. Ross Russell in Los Angeles recorded the boppers, who moved to California at the end of 1945, on his small company "Dial". It was in California that Parker suffered his first serious nervous crisis. The jazz world saw Byrd return to active activity again only in early 1947. This time, the young Miles Davis (trumpet) and Max Roach (drums) entered the Charlie Parker Quintet in New York. Communication with Byrd turned out to be an invaluable school for these later major musicians. But they could not withstand such communication for very long. Already in 1948, both refused further cooperation. But even before that, in September 1947, Parker made a triumphant appearance at Carnegie Hall. The famous jazz critic Leonard Feather helped organize this concert. In 1948, Byrd was named musician of the year in Metronome magazine's questionnaire. That same year, a new jazz club in New York was named BIRDLAND in his honor. The struggle between freedom and slavery continued in this tattered, exhausted and brilliant man.

"I will tell you where the word" BOP "came from; when a policeman beats a Negro with a club on the head, the club says: Bop-Bop-Ribop." (Langston Hughes, American poet).

As a social phenomenon, bop reflected changes in the consciousness of black musicians and the black community in America as a whole. By the end of the 40s, black intellectuals and black World War II veterans had already emerged and began to feel increasingly dissatisfied with their situation. It was during those years that a strange movement of “black Muslims” was born, and some jazzmen changed their names to Islamic ones. Many of them are no longer satisfied with the role of entertainer. Boppers are emphatically strict, sometimes emphatically indifferent to the public; on stage they do not entertain white gentlemen, they play for themselves and play serious music. And it was Parker who “worked” especially hard on this image. By the way, as Joachim-Ernst Behrendt writes, Parker’s five favorite composers looked like this: Brahms, Schoenberg, Ellington, Hindemith, Stravinsky. Only one jazzman! The image of Byrd, who was closed and constantly in conflict with the outside world, was imitated.

And not just blacks. Bop was equally enthusiastically received not only by a narrow group of jazzmen and critics, but also by a number of marginal white intellectuals, mostly people of intellectual professions, who even then realized that they were not on the same path with official America. It was then that hipsters and beatniks began to appear, the older brothers of the hippies of the 60s. It is no coincidence that the music of Byrd and his colleagues was perceived as their own by such people as Kerouac, Ginsberg, Ferlinghetti, and the beatnik bible, Jack Kerouac's On the Road, seemed to be permeated with the sounds of the rebellious and beautiful alto saxophone of Charlie Parker.

Europeans saw Byrd in person for the first, but not the last time, in 1949, when he and his quintet arrived at the Paris Jazz Festival. But now, after parting with Gillespie, and then with Davis and Roach, there were other people next to him - strong professionals, but people, to put it mildly, not so bright, who more or less resignedly endured the escapades of their leader. The recordings with a string orchestra that soon followed gave Byrd additional reason for stress. Although they brought in good money, these recordings alienated some who had recently been ardent fans. There were accusations of commercialism. Slavery began to overcome freedom. Tours increasingly began to be interspersed with visits to psychiatric clinics. In 1954, Byrd received a severe and very painful blow - his two-year-old daughter Pri died.

All of Byrd's attempts to regain psychological balance and find ground under his feet were in vain. It was impossible to hide from myself in the idyllic rural wilderness. He was imperiously drawn to New York - the city of his glory and his Golgotha. A series of performances at Birdland ended in scandal. In another fit of rage, Parker dispersed his musicians and interrupted the performance. The club's owners refused to deal with him. The bird was banished from its country.

Parker's last refuge was the house of his wealthy admirer, Baroness de Koenigswarter. The agony lasted from March 9 to March 12, 1955. The stomach pains intensified, Parker did not want to see the doctor. On March 12, he sat in front of the TV and watched the Dorsey Brothers Show. Death overtook him at that moment. Slavery stifled freedom. The doctors who were finally called named the cause of death as cirrhosis of the liver and a stomach ulcer. Byrd did not live to see 35 years of age.

However, only the mortal body passed away. What remains are "KOKO", "ANTHROPOLOGY", "YARDBIRD SUITE", "BACK HOME BLUES", "JUST FRIENDS" and dozens of other evidence of his brilliant talent. Almost immediately after his death, Charlie became a cult figure. Obviously, there are fewer people worshiping his memory today than those mourning Kurt Cobain, but they exist. Masters of various forms of art are not indifferent to Parker and his fate. The outstanding Argentinean Julio Cortazar dedicated one of his most powerful books to the memory of Parker - the story “The Pursuer” (1959). A notable phenomenon at the Cannes Film Festival in 1988 was the film "The Bird". Forrest Whittaker, who played Parker, was awarded the Grand Prix for Best Actor. And the title of the best biography of Byrd, written by Ross Russell, “And the Bird Lives!” is especially symbolic. (1973).

And so it is. The bird lives and the bird sings. The bird will always sing as long as people want to listen to it.

LEONID AUSKERN

"Jazz Square" No. 1/97

29/08/2010

American jazz saxophonist and composer Charles Christopher Parker(Charles Christopher Jr. Charlie Parker) was born on August 29, 1920 in the black section of Kansas City. His father was a vaudeville performer, his mother a nurse. Charlie attended a school with a large orchestra, and his first musical experiences were playing the wind baritone and clarinet. Constantly listening to jazz, the boy dreamed of an alto saxophone. His mother bought him an instrument and since then his passion for music has not left him.

He studied music on his own. In the evenings I listened to the city musicians play, and during the days I studied myself. At the age of 14, Charlie dropped out of school and devoted all his time to mastering the saxophone. He played with local groups and tried to get into Count Basie's orchestra, but his intricate improvisations were not understood by the orchestra's musicians. He went through a number of trains, visited Chicago and New York.

At the end of 1938, back in Kansas City, Charlie Parker joined pianist Jay McShann's orchestra. He played with this composition for more than three years, and his first known recordings were also made with this orchestra.

Parker's early career nickname was "Yardbird", which was later shortened to Bird. This nickname was often used in the titles of his works (Yardbird Suite and Bird Feathers).

Later, the New York club Birdland was named in honor of Parker.

At the beginning of 1942, he left Jay McShann's orchestra and, leading a half-starved, miserable existence, continued to play his music in various New York clubs. Parker primarily worked at Clark Monroe's Uptown House club.

At that time, the so-called after hours were popular among jazzmen - games after work, which later became known as jam sessions. Each jam had its own group of musicians. Parker regularly appeared at jam sessions at Minton's Playhouse, gaining a reputation as one of the most powerful instrumentalists. At jams in Harlem clubs, primarily at Henry Minton's club, according to legend, Parker created his own style of new music, which began to be called bebop, reebop, or bop (the term "bebop" is most likely onomatopoeic).

In 1943, when a position as a tenor saxophonist became available, Parker moved to Earl Hines' orchestra. In 1944, he played alto saxophone in the quintet of former Hines vocalist Billy Eckstine, which brought together all the future bebop stars - Gillespie, Navarro, Stitt, Emmons, Gordon, Damron, Art Blakey.

In February-March 1945, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillepsie recorded a series of records that presented the new style in all its brilliance. The next, no less significant recordings appeared in November in California from Ross Russell at the Dial company.

In 1945, Parker assembled his own quintet. By the end of the year, he began performing in one of the clubs on 52nd Street, which became the street of boppers, Bop Street. Young people returning from the war enthusiastically embraced bebop and Parker.

In 1946, he went to the West Coast with Norman Granz's Jazz At The Philharmonic and played in Howard McGee's ensemble. The quintet's recordings with Miles Davis, Duke Jordan, Tommy Potter and Max Roach (1947), recordings with a string group (1950) and original compositions (Billies Bounce, Nows The Time, K.C. Blues, Confirmation, Ornithology, Scrapple From The Apple) brought enormous success. , Donna Lee, Ko Ko).

Parker's career was uneven, he had a quarrelsome character, often let down his partners and spent a lot of time in clinics. Drug addiction grew stronger, and attempts to get rid of it threw Parker into the arms of alcohol. In 1946, in Los Angeles, Parker “snapped” and ended up in the Camarillo hospital, after leaving which the musicians collected money for him to buy clothes and an instrument.

He returned to active work only at the beginning of 1947. In September 1947, Parker made a triumphant appearance at Carnegie Hall. In 1948, Byrd was named Musician of the Year in Metronome magazine's questionnaire.

In 1949, Parker performed at the first international jazz festival in Paris and returned to New York to open the Birdland club.

The next year he toured Scandinavia, Paris, London, and had a concert at Massey Hall in Toronto. Then there was a series of club performances, binges, recordings, scandals and suicide attempts.

In 1954, Byrd suffered a severe blow when his two-year-old daughter Pri died. All of Parker's attempts to regain psychological balance were in vain. A series of his performances at the New York club, named Birdland in his honor, ended in scandal: in another fit of rage, Parker dispersed all the musicians and interrupted the performance. The club's owners refused to deal with him. Many other concert venues found themselves in similar relationships.

On March 12, 1955, Charlie Parker died. Death overtook him in New York in the house of his wealthy admirer, Baroness de Koenigswarter, while he was sitting at the TV watching a show by the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra. Doctors named the cause of death as cirrhosis of the liver and a stomach ulcer.

The musical world recognizes alto saxophonist Charlie Parker as one of the most important figures in 20th-century jazz. He was a virtuoso, the greatest jazz innovator, one of the founders of bebop.

Clint Eastwood made the film "Bird" (1988) about him, and Julio Cortazar made him the hero of the story "The Pursuer". In 2006, the publishing house Skifia published Robert George Reisner's book "Birdy. The Legend of Charlie Parker."

Charlie Parker is considered by many to be the father of modern jazz. He was often as insufferable in private as he was magnificent on stage. His habit of putting himself above others became fatal for him: he was never able to fully reveal all his talent.

Parker's quarrelsome character, disdainful attitude towards his partners and frequent stays in clinics made his career very difficult and uneven. Nevertheless, he has always enjoyed unwavering respect in modern jazz.

(Charles (Charlie) Parker) was born on August 29, 1920 in the suburbs of Kansas City. His father, Charles Parker Sr., was a country singer and dancer. Eight years later, his family moved to a black ghetto in the city center. There, Parker Sr. wanted to find a job. However, he failed, and a year later Parker Sr. left the family.

Charlie's mother, Eddie Parker, did her best to brighten up his difficult childhood. One of her gifts to her son, which determined his entire fate, was an old alto saxophone, bought for 45 dollars.

Parker began learning to play on his own, without textbooks or teachers. He studied 11-15 hours a day. Charlie had a quarrelsome character since childhood, so he even refused the help of jazz masters that they offered him.

At the age of 15, Charlie left school and began to study music professionally. He played in various jazz bands and performed in nightclubs.

At the same time, Parker received his nickname “Yardbird,” which was soon shortened to “Bird.” According to one version, Charlie got it because fried chicken was his favorite food. Later this nickname appeared in the titles of his works such as “Yardbird Suite” and “Bird Feathers”.

At age 17, Parker became involved with drugs. This addiction did not let him go for the rest of his life. When he tried to get rid of it, he was immediately drawn to alcohol.

At the end of 1938, Charlie was accepted into the orchestra of pianist Jay McShann, in which he performed for more than three years. In 1940, the orchestra recorded several plays for radio. These recordings were the first in Parker's musical career. With McShann he became a true master, but he felt that he could not find his own style here.

At the beginning of 1942, Charlie left the orchestra. He had to live in squalid conditions, but continued to play his own music in various New York clubs. And this led him to success. Parker found his like-minded people. They turned out to be trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and pianist Thelonious Monk.

In February and March 1945, together with Dizzy Gillespie made a whole series of recordings in which a new style - bebop - sounded in all its glory. Parker became the king of this style. He was at the pinnacle of success and was admired by both the public and the musicians. One of his best compositions, “Koko,” became a kind of “calling card” of Parker. She appeared at the very beginning of the bop era, at one of his performances in November 1945.

Of course, Parker possessed the highest technique of performance, but besides this, there was something inherent in his playing that was unique to him. He was able, through interpretation, to extract from his instrument almost imperceptible modulations of sound that cannot be described by any musical notes. Charlie Parker's themes, as a rule, were only short episodes of musical works, but they were what made these compositions unique.

At the end of 1945, Parker had his first nervous crisis. He was able to return to the stage only at the beginning of 1947. Charlie gathered the entire previous composition of his orchestra and successfully continued his performances. In September 1947, he gave a triumphal concert at Carnegie Hall. And in 1948, in the Metronome magazine questionnaire, Charlie Parker was named musician of the year.

However, mental illness has already left an indelible mark on Parker's personality.

Charlie Parker (08/29/1920 - 03/12/1955)

“Music is your own experience, your wisdom, your thoughts. If you don’t live it, then nothing will ever come out of your instrument. We are taught that music has its own certain boundaries. But art has no boundaries...”

Charlie Parker is one of the few artists who was called a genius during his lifetime, whose name was and remains legendary. He left an unusually vivid mark on the imagination of his contemporaries, which was reflected not only in jazz, but also in other arts, in particular in literature. Today it is difficult to imagine a truly jazz musician who, in one way or another, would not have experienced not only the captivating influence of Parker, but also his specific influence on his performing language. Charlie Parker, also known as "Bird", can rightfully be called the father of modern jazz. His bold improvisations, completely free from the melodic material of themes, were a kind of bridge between the sweet sound of popular jazz and new forms of improvisational art.

Charles Christopher Parker was born on August 29, 1920 in Kansas City. Parker spent his childhood in the black ghetto of Kansas City, where there were many bars, entertainment venues, and music was always playing. His father, a third-rate singer and dancer, soon abandoned the family, and his mother, Eddie Parker, who gave all the heat of her love to the boy, spoiled him greatly. The next, and as it turned out later, fateful gift was a battered alto saxophone, bought for 45 dollars. Charlie began to play and forgot about everything else. He studied on his own, alone through all the problems, alone discovering the laws of music. His passion for music has not left him since then. In the evenings he listened to city musicians play, and during the days he studied on his own.
There was no time left for textbooks. At the age of 15, Charlie left school and became a professional musician. However, there was still little professionalism in this selfish, reserved young man. He tries to copy Lester Young's solos, plays in jams, changes various local lineups. He recalled later:

Despite his rapid progress in playing technique, young Charlie did not really fit into the coherent, smooth sounds of the big bands. He always tried to play in his own way, constantly searching for his own unique music. Not everyone liked this. There is a textbook story about how, at one of the night jam sessions, drummer Joe Jones, enraged by Parker’s “stuff,” threw a cymbal into the audience. Charlie got ready and left.
At the age of 15, Charlie married 19-year-old Rebbeka Ruffing - this was his first marriage, but just as fleeting and unsuccessful as the subsequent ones. At age 17, "Bird" (short for his original nickname, Yardbird) became a father for the first time. At the same time or a little earlier, he first became acquainted with drugs.
After going through a number of lineups, visiting Chicago and New York, and returning to Kansas City at the end of 1938, Byrd joined the orchestra of pianist Jay McShann. He played with this lineup for more than three years, and Parker's first known recordings were also made with this orchestra. Here he became a mature master. He was highly regarded by his colleagues as an alto saxophonist, but Charlie was still not satisfied with what he had to play. He continued to find his way:

And then he played:

After Byrd opened his way to freedom, he could no longer play with McShann. At the beginning of 1942, he left the orchestra and, leading a half-starved, miserable existence, continued to play his music in various New York clubs. Parker primarily worked at Clark Monroe's Uptown House club. It was there that like-minded people first heard him.
Since 1940, another club, “Minton's Playhouse,” gathered, as they would say today, fans of alternative music. The club’s lineup constantly included pianist Thelonious Monk, drummer Kenny Clark, bassist Nick Fenton and trumpeter Joe Guy. Evenings and nights regularly hosted jam sessions, where guitarist Charlie Christian, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, pianist Bud Powell and other musicians were frequent guests.One autumn evening, Clark and Monk went to Uptown to listen to an alto saxophonist there, rumors of whom had reached Minton's club.

Naturally, Parker soon found himself at Minton's club. Now he was among his own. The exchange of fresh musical ideas became even more intense. And the first among equals here was Byrd. His freedom burst out triumphantly in cascades of amazing, unheard-of sounds. Standing next to him in those years was Dizzy Gillespie, who was almost as good as Bird in creative imagination, but had a much more cheerful and sociable character.
The music that was born was called bebop. Almost everyone considered Parker to be its king. The king behaved like an absolute and very capricious monarch. It seemed that the recognition that his music received only complicated the relationship between this man and the world around him. Byrd became even more intolerant, irritable, and peremptory in his relationships with colleagues and loved ones. Loneliness wrapped itself in an increasingly dense cocoon. Drug addiction grew stronger, and attempts to get rid of it threw Parker into the arms of alcohol.
However, Parker's career continued its upward movement at that time. In 1943, Parker played in the orchestra for pianist Earl Hines, and in 1944 for former Hines vocalist Billy Eckstine. By the end of the year, Bird began performing in one of the clubs on 52nd Street.
In February-March 1945, Bird and Dizzy recorded a series of records that presented the new style in all its brilliance. The next, no less significant recordings appeared in November in California from Ross Russell at the Dial company. Here Parker suffered his first serious nervous crisis.
The jazz world saw Byrd return to active activity again only in early 1947. This time the Charlie Parker Quintet included young Miles Davis (trumpet) and Max Roach (drums). Communication with Byrd turned out to be an invaluable school for these later major musicians. But they could not withstand such communication for very long. Already in 1948, both refused further cooperation. But even before that, in September 1947, Parker made a triumphant appearance at Carnegie Hall. In 1948, Byrd was named Musician of the Year in Metronome magazine's questionnaire.
Europeans saw Parker for the first, but not the last, time in 1949, when he and his quintet arrived at the Paris Jazz Festival. But now, after parting with Gillespie, and then with Davis and Roach, there were other people next to him - strong professionals, but not so bright, who meekly endured the escapades of their leader.
The recordings with a string orchestra that soon followed gave Byrd additional reason for stress. Although they brought in good money, these recordings alienated some of their formerly ardent ideological fans. There were accusations of commercialism. Tours began to be increasingly interspersed with visits to psychiatric clinics. In 1954, Byrd suffered a severe blow when his two-year-old daughter Pri died.
All of Byrd's attempts to regain psychological balance were in vain. It was not possible to hide from himself in the idyllic rural wilderness - he was drawn to New York, the world center of jazz. A series of his performances at the New York club, named "Birdland" in his honor, ended in a scandal: in another fit of rage, Parker dispersed all the musicians and interrupted the performance. The club's owners refused to deal with him. Many other concert venues found themselves in similar relationships. The bird was banished from its country.
Parker's last refuge was the house of his wealthy admirer, Baroness de Koenigswarter. On March 12, 1955, he sat in front of the television and watched a show by the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra. Death overtook him at that moment. Doctors named the cause of death as cirrhosis of the liver and a stomach ulcer. Byrd did not live to see 35 years of age.

Charlie "Bird" Parker (Charlie Parker) - one of the founders of the bebop style, American saxophonist, jazz composer. Considered one of the most influential jazz musicians, along with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington.

Parker is one of the few artists whose genius was recognized by his contemporaries during his lifetime. He remains a legend and a significant influence on today's performers. It is difficult to imagine a modern jazz musician who, to one degree or another, has not been influenced by the performing language of Charles Parker.

In one of his many interviews in the 50s, the musician recalled how he and guitarist Beedie Flint played “Cherokee” at night in 1939. At that moment, a sudden idea came to his mind about how he could make the solo more varied. This discovery became one of the most significant innovations in the world of jazz: a melody can be directed to any key if you use all 12 sounds of the chromatic scale. This destroyed some of the principles of solo construction that had been accepted in jazz until then.

Parker’s themes were called “Ornithology”, “Fallen Leaves”, “Bird’s Nest”... He performed at the famous “Birdland” (New York) with Shearing’s lullaby and Zawinul’s marches, it is not surprising that among jazzmen he soon received the nickname “Bird” " - "Bird". At this time, the young musician studied with the then famous American composer and arranger Maury Deutsch.

Charlie joins the ranks of young performers playing at the Harlem clubs Clark Monroe Uptown House, Three Duchess, Onyx and Minton Playhouse. Among the aspiring musicians were Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Clarke and Charlie Christian. Today they are an adornment of the jazz “pantheon of fame,” but then they were just young troublemakers in New York clubs. It was during that era that the main position of the boppers was formulated, expressed: “We want to make music that “they” cannot play.” “They” are the bandleaders, arrogant and ambitious whites who adopted the black swing style and made good money from it.

The bebop style at an early stage of its development was harshly criticized by jazzists who were adherents of swing. They treated their young colleagues condescendingly and did not particularly listen to new trends. In turn, boppers gave representatives of the “old school” the nickname moldy figs, which can be translated as “moldy form.” Perhaps only Benny Goodman and Hawkins Coleman, who participated in joint jams and recording studio records, seriously listened to young talents. Unfortunately, due to the ban on making commercial recordings in the United States from 1942 to 1944, almost no early bebop audio recordings have survived. Before the end of World War II, the new direction was presented only on the waves of terrestrial radio and did not gain wide recognition among listeners. After the ban was lifted, Parker, Gillespie, Roach and Powell seemed to burst into the jazz world, turning it upside down. Subsequently, their famous first performance “Concert at New York Town Hall. June 22, 1945" was republished several times. Bebop has received well-deserved recognition among both jazzists and music lovers. A few months after this pivotal event, in November 1945, Charles Parker recorded for the Savoy label, which is still called "the greatest jazz session of all time."

Discography of Charlie "Bird" Parker:

The Immortal Charlie Parker

Bird: Master Takes

Dizzy Gillespie - Groovin" High

The Genius Of Charlie Parker

The Charlie Parker Story

Charlie Parker Memorial, Vol. 2

Charlie Parker Memorial, Vol. 1

Bird At The Roost, Vol. 1

Newly Discovered Sides By Charlie Parker

The "Bird" Returns

Bird At The Roost, Vol. 2

Bird At The Roost

An Evening At Home With Charlie Parker Sextet

Red Norvo's Fabulous Jam Session

Alternate Masters, Vol. 2

The Bird Blows The Blues

Cool Blues c/w Bird's Nest

Alternate Masters, Vol. 1

Crazeology c/w Crazeology, II: 3 Ways Of Playing A Chorus

Charlie Parker, Vol. 4

Jazz At The Philharmonic, Vol. 2

Jazz At The Philharmonic, Vol. 4

Various Artists - Potpourri Of Jazz

The Charlie Parker Story, #1

The Genius Of Charlie Parker, #7 - Jazz Perennial

Jazz At The Philharmonic, Vol. 7

Jazz At The Philharmonic - The Ella Fitzgerald Set

The Complete Charlie Parker On Verve - Bird

The Genius Of Charlie Parker, #4 - Bird And Diz

The Charlie Parker Story, #3

The Genius Of Charlie Parker, #8 - Swedish Schnapps

The Genius Of Charlie Parker, #6 - Fiesta

The Genius Of Charlie Parker, #3 - Now's The Time

The Quartet Of Charlie Parker

The Genius Of Charlie Parker, #5 - Charlie Parker Plays Cole Porter (released posthumously)

The Genius Of Charlie Parker, #1 - night and day - Verve MGV-8003- mono (released posthumously)

Bird's Eyes, Vol. 1 (Philology)

Charlie Parker With Jay McShann And His Orchestra - Early Bird (Stash)

Jay McShann Orchestra Featuring Charlie Parker - Early Bird (Spotlight)

Jay McShann - The Early Bird Charlie Parker, 1941-1943: Jazz Heritage Series (MCA)

The Complete Birth Of The Bebop (Stash)

Birth Of The Bebop: Bird On Tenor 1943 (Stash)

Every Bit Of It 1945 (Spotlight)

Charlie Parker, Vol. 3 Young Bird 1945 (Masters of Jazz)

Dizzy Gillespie - In The Beginning (Prestige)

Bird's Eyes, Vol. 17 (Philology)

Charlie Parker On Dial, Vol. 5 (Spotlight)

Red Norvo's Fabulous Jam Session (Spotlight)

Dizzy Gillespie/Charlie Parker - Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 (Uptown Records (jazz))

Bird's Eyes, Vol. 4 (Philology)

Yardbird In Lotus Land (Spotlight)

Rappin' With Bird (Meexa)

Jazz At The Philharmonic - How High The Moon (Mercury)

Charlie Parker On Dial, Vol. 1 (Spotlight)

The Legendary Dial Masters, Vol. 2 (Stash)

Various Artists - Lullaby In Rhythm (Spotlight)

Charlie Parker On Dial, Vol. 2 (Spotlight)

Charlie Parker On Dial, Vol. 3 (Spotlight)

Charlie Parker On Dial, Vol. 4 (Spotlight)

Various Artists - Anthropology (Spotlight)

Allen Eager - In The Land Of Oo-Bla-Dee 1947-1953 (Uptown)

Charlie Parker On Dial, Vol. 6 (Spotlight)

Various Artists - The Jazz Scene (Clef)

Gene Roland Band Featuring Charlie Parker - The Band That Never Was (Spotlight)

Bird's Eyes, Vol. 6 (Philology)

Bird on 52nd St. (Jazz Workshop)

Charlie Parker (Prestige)

Charlie Parker - Live Performances (ESP)

Charlie Parker On The Air, Vol. 1 (Everest)

Charlie Parker - Broadcast Performances, Vol. 2 (ESP)

The Metronome All Stars - From Swing To Be-Bop (RCA Camden)

Jazz At The Philharmonic - J.A.T.P. At Carnegie Hall 1949 (Pablo)

Rara Avis Avis, Rare Bird (Stash)

Various Artists - Alto Saxes (Norgran)

Bird On The Road (Jazz Showcase)

Charlie Parker/Dizzy Gillespie - Bird And Diz (Universal (Japan))

Charlie Parker - Bird In Paris (Bird in Paris)

Charlie Parker In France 1949 (Jazz O.P. (France))

Charlie Parker - Bird Box, Vol. 2 (Jazz Up (Italy))

Bird's Eyes, Vol. 5 (Philology)

Charlie Parker with Strings (Clef)

Bird's Eyes, Vol. 2 (Philology)

Bird's Eyes, Vol. 3 (Philology)

Dance Of The Infidels (S.C.A.M.)

Charlie Parker Live Birdland 1950 (EPM Musique (F) FDC 5710)

Charlie Parker - Bird at St. Nick's (Jazz Workshop JWS 500)

Charlie Parker At The Apollo Theater And St. Nick's Arena (Zim ZM 1007)

Charlie Parker - Bird's Eyes, Vol. 15 (Philology (It) W 845-2)

Charlie Parker - Fats Navarro - Bud Powell (Ozone 4)

Charlie Parker - One Night In Birdland (Columbia JG 34808)

Charlie Parker - Bud Powell - Fats Navarro (Ozone 9)

Charlie Parker - Just Friends (S.C.A.M. JPG 4)

Charlie Parker - Apartment Jam Sessions (Zim ZM 1006)

V.A. - Our Best (Clef MGC 639)

The Genius Of Charlie Parker, #4 - Bird And Diz (Verve MGV 8006)

The Persuasively Coherent Miles Davis (Alto AL 701)

Charlie Parker - Ultimate Bird 1949-50 (Grotto 495)

Charlie Parker - Ballads And Birdland (Klacto (E) MG 101)

Charlie Parker Big Band (Mercury MGC 609)

Charlie Parker - Parker Plus Strings (Charlie Parker PLP 513)

Charlie Parker - Bird With Strings Live At The Apollo, Carnegie Hall And Birdland (Columbia JC 34832)

Charlie Parker - The Bird You Never Heard (Stash STCD 10)

Norman Granz Jazz Concert (Norgran MGN 3501-2)

Charlie Parker At The Pershing Ballroom Chicago 1950 (Zim ZM 1003)

The Charlie Parker Story, #3 (Verve MGV 8002)

Charlie Parker - Bird In Sweden (Spotlite (E) SPJ 124/25)

Charlie Parker - More Unissued, Vol. 2 (Royal Jazz (D) RJD 506)

Machito - Afro-Cuban Jazz (Clef MGC 689)

An Evening At Home With Charlie Parker Sextet (Savoy MG 12152)

The Genius Of Charlie Parker, #8 - Swedish Schnapps (Verve MGV 8010)

The Magnificent Charlie Parker (Clef MGC 646)

The Genius Of Charlie Parker, #6 - Fiesta (Verve MGV 8008)

Charlie Parker - Summit Meeting At Birdland (Columbia JC 34831)

Charlie Parker - Bird Meets Birks (Klacto (E) MG 102)

Charlie Parker - The Happy "Bird" (Charlie Parker PLP 404)

Charlie Parker Live Boston, Philadelphia, Brooklyn 1951 (EPM Music (F) FDC 5711)

Charlie Parker - Bird With The Herd 1951 (Alamac QSR 2442)

Charlie Parker - More Unissued, Vol. 1 (Royal Jazz (D) RJD 505)

Charlie Parker - New Bird, Vol. 2 (Phoenix LP 12)

Charlie Parker/Sonny Criss/Chet Baker - Inglewood Jam 6-16-"52 (Jazz Chronicles JCS 102)

Norman Granz" Jam Session, #1 (Mercury MGC 601)

Norman Granz" Jam Session, #2 (Mercury MGC 602)

Charlie Parker Live At Rockland Palace (Charlie Parker PLP 502)

Charlie Parker - Cheers (S.C.A.M. JPG 2)

The Genius Of Charlie Parker, #3 - Now's The Time (Verve MGV 8005)

Miles Davis - Collectors" Items (Prestige PRLP 7044, released posthumously in 1956)

Charlie Parker - Montreal 1953 (Uptown UP 27.36)

Charlie Parker/Miles Davis/Dizzy Gillespie - Bird With Miles And Dizzy (Queen Disc (It) Q-002)

Charlie Parker - One Night In Washington (Elektra/Musician E1 60019)

Charlie Parker - Yardbird-DC-53 (VGM 0009)

Charlie Parker At Storyville (Blue Note BT 85108)

Charlie Parker - Star Eyes (Klacto (E) MG 100)

Charles Mingus - The Complete Debut Recordings (Debut 12DCD 4402-2)

The Quintet - Jazz At Massey Hall, Vol. 1 (Debut DLP 2)

The Quintet - Jazz At Massey Hall (Debut DEB 124)

Charlie Parker - Bird Meets Birks (Mark Gardner (E) MG 102)

Bud Powell - Summer Broadcasts 1953 (ESP-Disk" ESP 3023)

Charlie Parker - New Bird: Hi Hat Broadcasts 1953 (Phoenix LP 10)

The Quartet Of Charlie Parker (Verve 825 671-2)

Hi-Hat All Stars, Guest Artists, Charlie Parker (Fresh Sound (Sp) FSR 303)

Charlie Parker - Kenton And Bird (Jazz Supreme JS 703)

The Genius Of Charlie Parker, #5 - Charlie Parker Plays Cole Porter (Verve MGV 8007)

Charlie Parker - Miles Davis - Lee Konitz (Ozone 2)

V.A. - Echoes Of An Era: The Birdland All Stars Live At Carnegie Hall (Roulette RE 127)

Live at Townhall w. Dizzy (1945)

Yardbird in Lotus Land (1945)

Bird and Pres (1946) (Verve)

Jazz at the Philharmonic (1946) (Polygram)

Rapping with Bird (1946-1951)

Bird and Diz at Carnegie Hall (1947) (Blue Note)

The Complete Savoy Live Performances (1947–1950)

Bird on 52nd Street (1948)

The Complete Dean Benedetti Recordings (1948–1951) (7 cds)

Jazz at the Philharmonic (1949) (Verve)

Charlie Parker and the Stars of Modern Jazz at Carnegie Hall (1949) (Jass)

Bird in Paris (1949)

Bird in France (1949)

Charlie Parker All Stars Live at the Royal Roost (1949)

One Night in Birdland (1950) (Columbia)

Bird at St. Nick's (1950)

Bird at the Apollo Theater and St. Nicklas Arena (1950)

Apartment Jam Sessions (1950)

Charlie Parker at the Pershing Ballroom Chicago 1950 (1950)

Bird in Sweden (1950) (Storyville)

Happy Bird (1951)

Summit Meeting at Birdland (1951) (Columbia)

Live at Rockland Palace (1952)

Jam Session (1952) (Polygram)

At Jirayr Zorthian's Ranch, July 14, 1952 (1952) (Rare Live Recordings)

The Complete Legendary Rockland Palace Concert (1952)

Charlie Parker: Montreal 1953 (1953)

One Night in Washington (1953) (VGM)

Bird at the High Hat (1953) (Blue Note)

Charlie Parker at Storyville (1953)

Jazz at Massey Hall aka.The Greatest Jazz Concert Ever (1953)