Who teaches the bird to sing? This is a very stupid question. The bird is born with this calling. For her, singing and breathing are the same concepts. The same can be said about one of the most popular performers of the last century, Charlie Parker, who was often called Bird.
Charlie is an immortal jazz legend. American saxophonist and composer who became one of the founders of the bebop style. The artist managed to make a real revolution in the world of jazz. He created a new idea of what music is.
Bebop (be-bop, bop) is a jazz style that developed in the early and mid-1940s of the XX century. The presented style can be characterized by fast tempo and complex improvisations.
Childhood and youth of Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker was born on August 29, 1920 in the small provincial town of Kansas City (Kansas). He spent his childhood in Kansas City, Missouri.
The guy from early childhood was interested in music. At the age of 11, he mastered playing the saxophone, and three years later Charlie Parker became a member of the school ensemble. He was genuinely happy that he had found his calling.
In the early 1930s, a particular style of jazz music was created in the place where Parker was born. The new style was distinguished by penetration, which was “seasoned” with blues intonations, as well as with improvisation. Music sounded everywhere and it was simply impossible to fall in love with it.
The beginning of the creative career of Charlie Parker
In adolescence, Charlie Parker decided on his future profession. He dropped out of school and joined the band. The musicians performed at local discos, parties and restaurants.
Despite the exhausting work, the audience estimated the performances of the guys at $ 1. But the meager tip was nothing compared to the experience the musician had on stage. At that time, Charlie Parker was nicknamed Yardbird (Yardbird), which in the army meant "rookie".
Charlie recalled that at the initial stage of his career he had to spend more than 15 hours in rehearsals. Tiredness from classes made the young man very happy.
In 1938 he joined jazz pianist Jay McShann. From that moment began the professional career of a beginner. Together with Jay's team, he toured America, and even visited New York. Parker's first professional recordings date back to this time, as part of the McShann ensemble.
Charlie Parker moving to New York
In 1939, Charlie Parker realized his cherished dream. He moved to New York to pursue his career. However, in the metropolis, he had to earn not only music. For a long time, the guy worked as a dishwasher for $ 9 a week at the Jimmies Chicken Shack, where the famous Art Tatum often performed.
Three years later, Parker left the place where his professional musical career had begun. He said goodbye to the McShann Ensemble to play in the Earl Hines Orchestra. There he met trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.
Charlie and Dizzy's friendship developed into a working relationship. The musicians began to perform in a duet. The beginning of Charlie's creative career and the formation of a new bebop style remained practically without confirmed facts. It was all the fault of the strike of the American Federation of Musicians in 1942-1943. Then Parker practically did not record new compositions.
Soon the jazz "legend" joined the group of musicians who performed in nightclubs in Harlem. In addition to Charlie Parker, the group included: Dizzy Gillespie, pianist Thelonious Monk, guitarist Charlie Christian and drummer Kenny Clarke.
The boppers had their own vision of the development of jazz music, and they expressed their opinion. Monku once said:
“Our community wants to play music that 'it' can't play. The word “it” should mean white bandleaders who have adopted the style of swing from black people and at the same time make money from music ... ".
Charlie Parker, along with his like-minded people, performed at nightclubs on 52nd Street. Most often, the musicians went to the clubs "Three Duchess" and "Onyx".
In New York, Parker took paid music lessons. His teacher was the talented composer and arranger Maury Deutsch.
The role of Charlie Parker in the development of bebop
In the 1950s, Charlie Parker gave a detailed interview to one of the prestigious publications. The musician remembered one of the nights in 1939. Then he played Cherokee with guitarist William "Biddy" Fleet. Charlie said that it was on that night that he had the idea of how to diversify the "insipid" solo.
Parker's idea made the music sound very different. He realized that, using all 12 sounds of the chromatic scale, it is possible to direct the melody into any key. This violated the general rules of the usual construction of jazz solos, but at the same time made the compositions “tastier”.
When bebop was in its infancy, most music critics and jazzmen of the swing era criticized the new direction. But boppers were the last thing they cared about.
They called those who denied the development of a new genre, moldy figs (means "moldy trifle", "moldy forms"). But there were professionals who were more positive about bebop. Coleman Hawkins and Benny Goodman participated in jams, studio recordings, along with representatives of the new genre.
Because the two-year ban on commercial recordings was from 1942 to 1944, much of bebop's early days are not recorded on audio recordings.
Until 1945, the musicians were not noticed, so Charlie Parker remained in the shadow of his popularity. Charlie, with Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach and Bud Powell, rocked the music world.
It's one of Charlie Parker's best performances.
One of the most famous performances by a small group was re-released in the mid-2000s: “Concert at New York Town Hall. June 22, 1945". Bebop soon gained widespread recognition. The musicians gained fans not only in the form of ordinary music lovers, but also music critics.
That same year, Charlie Parker recorded for the Savoy label. The recording later became one of the most famous jazz sessions of all time. The sessions of Ko-Ko and Now's the Time were especially noted by critics.
In support of the new recordings, Charlie and Dizzy went on a massive tour of the United States of America. It cannot be said that the tour was successful. The tour ended in Los Angeles at Billy Berg's.
After the tour, most of the musicians returned to New York, but Parker remained in California. The musician exchanged his ticket for drugs. Even then, he was addicted to heroin and alcohol so much that he could not control his life. As a result of this, the star ended up in the Camarillo state psychiatric hospital.
Charlie Parker's addiction
Charlie Parker first tried drugs when he was far from the stage and popularity in general. The artist's addiction to heroin is the first reason for the regular cancellation of concerts and the fall in his own earnings.
Increasingly, Charlie began to make a living through "asking" - a street performance. When he did not have enough money for drugs, he did not hesitate to borrow them from colleagues. Accepting gifts from fans or pawning his favorite saxophone. Often the organizers of performances before the Parker concert went to the pawnshop to redeem the musical instrument.
Charlie Parker created real masterpieces. However, it is also impossible to deny that the musician was a drug addict.
When Charlie moved to live in California, getting heroin was not so easy. It was a slightly different life here, and it was not like the environment in New York. The star began to compensate for the lack of heroin with excessive alcohol consumption.
Recording for the Dial label is a clear example of the state of the musician. Prior to the session, Parker consumed a whole bottle of alcohol. On Max Making Wax, Charlie skipped a few bars of the first chorus. When the artist finally joined, it became clear that he was drunk and could not stand on his feet. When recording Lover Man, producer Ross Russell had to support Parker.
After Parker was released from the psychiatric hospital, he felt great. Charlie recorded some of the most masterpiece compositions of his repertoire.
Before leaving California, the musician released the Relaxin' at Camarillo theme in honor of his stay in the hospital. However, when he returned to New York, he picked up an old habit. Heroin literally ate the life of a celebrity.
Interesting facts about Charlie Parker
- The names of many songs recorded by Charlie are associated with birds.
- In 1948, the artist earned the title of "Musician of the Year" (according to the prestigious publication "Metronome").
- Regarding the appearance of the nickname "Ptah", opinions differ. One of the most popular versions sounds like this: friends nicknamed Charlie "Bird" because of the artist's excessive love for fried poultry. Another version is that while traveling with his team, Parker accidentally drove into a chicken coop.
- Friends of Charlie Parker said that he was well versed in music - from classical European to Latin American and country.
- Late in his life, Parker converted to Islam, becoming a member of the Ahmadiyya movement in the United States of America.
Death of Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker passed away on March 12, 1955. He died right while watching the Dorsey Brothers Orchestra show on TV.
The artist died of an acute attack on the background of cirrhosis of the liver. Parker looked bad. When the doctors arrived to examine him, they visually gave Parker 53 years, although Charlie was 34 at the time of his death.
Those fans who want to feel the biography of the artist should definitely watch the movie, which is dedicated to the biography of Charlie Parker. We are talking about the film "Bird" directed by Clint Eastwood. The main role in the film went to Forest Whitaker.
