MP3 Exclusives New Arrivals   Alt-Country Alternative Blues Electronic Jambands Jazz Metal Pop Punk R&B Rap/Hip Hop Reggae Rock   Top Downloads Features Archive Contests Control Panel MUSICBLITZ Alert!   METALBLITZ REGGAEBLITZ BLUESBLITZ Musician's Friend   Alt-Country Alternative Blues Electronic Jambands Jazz Hip Hop Metal Pop Punk R&B Reggae Rock   Getting Started Free Players	Welcome !      Charlie Parker You might get grief from John Coltrane fans, but for plenty of listeners, the name that means "jazz saxophone" is still Charlie Parker. The legendary Bird and his flights of jaw-dropping speed, melody and improvisational genius stunned the jazz world in the mid-40s, and changed music forever. Born in Kansas City, Kansas in 1920, Parker grew up in the other K.C., in Missouri, and dropped out of school at age 14 to devote himself to music. He joined the Jay McShann Orchestra three years later, but it was a 1939 trip to New York City and the chance to hear jazz stars like Art Tatum that showed Parker where the action was. He made his recording debut with McShann, and also played with Earl "Fatha" Hines and Billy Eckstine before hooking up with a young trumpeter named Dizzy Gillespie in 1945 and helping invent the improv-heavy style known as bebop. It wasn't clear at the time that the new music would survive; jazz purists used to the more sedate big band sound didn't get it, and when Diz and Bird took tunes like "Groovin' High" and "Salt Peanuts" to L.A., the reaction was even more hostile. Things got rougher for Parker, who'd been a heroin addict since his teens -- deciding to stay in California after Gillespie returned to New York, he couldn't find his favorite drug, drank too much to compensate, and wound up in a hospital after a mental breakdown. But back in the Big Apple in 1947, he put together a quintet that included a young Miles Davis and Max Roach, beginning a five-year run of classic recordings that included his first date with strings for the Verve label. Unfortunately, Parker's addiction caused him to start missing gigs frequently in the early '50s, and by 1954, he barely survived two suicide attempts and was sent to Bellvue. Dead the next year at the unbelievably young age of 34, Parker's true value to the music world has continually increased since his passing, thanks to a steady stream of reissues that have clearly show his genius and a 1988 film of his life, , directed by jazz fan Clint Eastwood and starring Forrest Whitaker.     Charlie Parker How High the Moon PlayJ Jazz Bird spreads his wings in Sweden and grooves high. How high? The moon! Charlie Parker Now's The Time WinMedia Jazz During this live performance at the fabled Storyville nightclub, Bird slows down his bop burner to a smoky, late-night glow. Proof, without the pyrotechnics, of what a great tune this really is.
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