- Born
- 29 August 1920, Kansas City, Kansas, United States
- First work
- 1942: The Jumpin' Blues
- Peak
- 1944 to 1953 (estimated)
- Last work
- 1955: Charlie Parker Plays Cole Porter
- Died
- 12 March 1955, New York City, United States; aged 34; illness
Charlie Parker
Music: saxophonist, composer, bandleader, United States
Charlie Parker, known familiarly as Yardbird or Bird, was an American alto saxophonist and composer who transformed jazz as a co-creator of bebop. Born in Kansas City, Kansas, in 1920, he developed a radically fast, harmonically complex and syncopated style that swept through New York clubs in the 1940s alongside Dizzy Gillespie. Compositions such as Ornithology and Ko Ko set enduring benchmarks for modern improvisation. Parker's brilliant phrasing influenced generations of instrumentalists across genres. Despite struggling with severe health problems exacerbated by substance abuse, his playing remained incandescent. He died of pneumonia and a perforated ulcer in Manhattan in March 1955 at the age of thirty-four.
Who else was born on 29 August or who died on 12 March.
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Signature works
- Ko Ko song1945
- Billie's Bounce song1945
- Yardbird Suite song1946
- Ornithology song1946
- Donna Lee song1947
- Scrapple from the Apple song1947
- Bird and Diz album1952
Honours
- Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, 1984
- Grammy Award for Best Jazz Performance, Soloist, 1974
Groups: Howard McGhee Quintet.