Charlie+Parker+(3)

Charlie Parker  Parker was born on August 29, 1920, in Kansas City, Kansas. He left school at the age of 15 to start a music career. In 1939 Parker lived in New York City. He played the saxophone. Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie formed their own quintet and created a style known as bebop. He died on march12, 1955, in New York City. His great style and amazing compositions permanently changed the face of jazz. Charlie Parker’s parents were Charlie Parker Sr. and Addie Parker. His father was a singer and a dancer on the black vaudeville circuit, and his mother was a housewife. When his father was home, Parker liked to listen to his father play the piano. His father’s absence from home led to him having affairs and alcoholism. When Parker turned eight, he and his mother moved to Kansas City, Missouri. Shortly after they moved, Parker Sr. died in a drunken quarrel. But other than those tragedies involving his father, Parker’s childhood went well. Parker received excellent grades while attending Attuck’s Public School, and even though he liked music, his favorite hobby was reading. At the age of thirteen, he entered Lincoln High School. He was enrolled in the overcrowded high school’s famous band program, and quickly picked up his first instrument, which was the baritone horn. Soon, Parker grew bored with the baritone and it’s long, low notes, so he switched to his preferred instrument, the alto saxophone. His mother bought one for him that was in very poor shape using $45 of her salary earned by cleaning houses. He quickly mastered the instrument’s basics and joined the "Deans of Swing." It preformed at the high school dances and other school events. By fourteen, Parker knew his future would be in music. When Parker wasn’t practicing, he was out at jazz clubs, picking up jazz concepts. Around this time, the Ruffins moved in with Parker and his mom. Fanny Ruffin, Addie Parker’s dear friend, had just gone through a divorce and she needed a place to stay along with her six children. Parker got very close to Fanny’s oldest daughter, Rebecca during that time. Even when Fanny Ruffin thought Parker and Rebecca’s relationship was "improper" and moved the family away so that they couldn’t see each other, they continued to meet secretly. The two eventually married when Parker was only fifteen. Parker grew more and more dedicated to his old sax. He would sometimes skip school to practice, and spent every night listening to jam sessions at jazz clubs. He even participated in one of the sessions, but humiliated himself because of his lack of knowledge in music theory. That experience caused him to spend many hours learning the different keys and the difference between major and minor. Parker practiced scales for hours and hours. By 1936, he felt that he was ready to start his professional music career. A European tour followed in 1950, adding to his fame. He was accompanied by a group of Swedish beboppers across northern Europe. When he wasn’t performing, he was partying with them. While in Europe, Parker was given a large amount of drugs and alcohol, and unfortunately, was unable to complete the tour because of it. Drugs seemed to be getting Parker in to more and more trouble, when in 1951, New York City Police found him in possession of heroine. As a result, Parker’s cabaret card was taken, leaving him in financial trouble. He had to go out of state to work for long periods of time. Having his card taken also gave him a reputation of being unreliable and unpredictable, so when he did get his card back in 1953, no clubs desired his performances. With everything going wrong, and Murphy’s Law in effect, Parker attempted suicide twice by drinking iodine in 1954. His health was getting worse very quickly, and it was only a matter of time until Parker died on March 12, 1955. He passed away after having a heart attack, pneumonia, ulcers, and cirrhosis of the liver. Although he lacked a sense of principle, his love, talent and dedication for music lived on, and still does to this day. Bird is still considered one of the all-time jazz greats and has influenced many jazz musicians to this day.