The Strange, Sad Story of Charlie "Bird" Parker

The history of jazz, sadly, is littered with the bodies of musicians who were geniuses or vastly talented but succumbed to drugs and alcohol. Some masters of the genre, like Miles Davis, were able to shake off their demons and straighten up. Some, like Dizzy Gillespie, never seemed to be that tempted in the first place. Others, however, like Charlie "Bird" Parker seemed like they were destined to die young and die tragically, perhaps burning brightly for only a short time.

Few, however, have burned as bright and had their influence last as long as Parker. He was the darling of the jazz world for a very brief time. Much of what modern jazz is today is owed directly to a kind of playing that the world had never seen when he burst on the scene. Of course, what always makes a legend burn even brighter is an early death. Parker, sadly, fell into that mold as well.

Charlie Parker was born August 29, 1910 in Kansas City. He was an only child, born to Charles and Addie Parker. His father was an alcoholic and was virtually non-existent in the young Charlie's life. This is something that would haunt Charlie for the rest of his life, especially after, he too, became a parent.

Charlie withdrew from high school in 1935, one year after enrolling at Lincoln High School. He joined the local Musicians Union. He, however, had not displayed any of the musical talent that he would show later on in life as a child. His father had some musical talent and played piano as well as danced and sang. However, with him being gone as much as he was, it is unclear how much influence or teaching he really had on Charlie's musical path.

Charlie picked up his first saxophone at the age of 11. He joined the school band at the age of 16. Over the years, legends have sprung up about the young Charlie. Much like the stories of Albert Einstein being horrible at math when he was young, the stories say that Charlie was horrible and without formal training when he joined the band and was quickly thrown out. Whether or not this was true is unclear, but it is known that Charlie experienced a number of setbacks as a teenager and youngster with his music. This lead to Charlie's fanatic practicing which would help him develop his later sound.

In 1936 it has been reported, and was even presented in the film about his life "Bird," that Charlie participated in a contest held by at a local club. The legend says that the drummer, Jo Jones, was so irritated with Charlie's playing that he threw a cymbal at him, letting it crash loudly to the floor to shut up the "noises" coming out of Charlie's sax. Jones, however, in later years never made mention of this story and it has been debated if it ever actually happened.

What is known is that Charlie did not do well in the contest. He was told his playing was terrible. He was frustrated and, once again, retreated to his home and practiced. He learned some blues standards and how to play some other famous tunes like "Cherokee." He also practiced rhythm changes in all twelve keys. During this time Charlie also learned how to improvise and began studying the new form of jazz that was becoming popular at the time: be-bop.

Soon, Charlie's talents began to emerge. He played at local clubs and joined several local jazz bands in and around Kansas City. He continued to hone his sound. Charlie usually played in the unusual key signature of E, which some found rather interesting and different at the time. He also was rumored to play many other songs in all twelve keys.

Charlie's fame began to spread around the Kansas City area. He joined a band run by a local jazz pianist named Jay McShann in 1938. This band brought him beyond the boundaries of Kansas City as they also played in Chicago, New York and the Southwest. It was during this time, however, that Charlie also started into drugs.

The first drug that Charlie got hooked on was morphine. He got into an automobile accident while still a teen and the administration of the drug got him hooked. Once he was back out on the street he found that heroin gave him the same high and he was soon hooked.

Charlie moved to the Big Apple in 1939 and began getting gigs in various clubs there. At first, he also had to hold down other jobs such as a dishwasher and other menial tasks. He washed dishes for Jimmy's Chicken Shack where the jazz pianist Art Tatum played and this would also help Charlie develop and influence his sound.

He left McShann's band when the 40s arrived and toured for a year with jazz legend Earl "Fatha" Hines. It was while he was playing there that he met another be-bop pioneer, Dizzy Gillespie. The two became friends and, later on, a famous duo. However, times were tough for all musicians from 1942 - 1943 when the American Federation of Musicians Union went on strike. During this time no official recordings were made. However, it is known that Charlie and Dizzy continued to play in and around the Harlem area of New York in after-hours clubs like Clark Monroe's Uptown House and Minton's Playhouse. Here Charlie also got to play and learn from jazz legends like Thelonious Monk and Kenny Clarke.

It was during this time that Parker and his musical friends supposedly truly invented the sound of be-bop. Although the genesis of the jazz form had been in development from the time he was a teenager, according to Parker in later interviews, the sound came about officially in 1939 during a performance of "Cherokee." He was jamming with a guitarist named William "Biddy" Fleet. According to an interview Charlie did in the 50s, he hit upon a way to play solos that would finally allow him to play the sounds he was hearing in his head.

Essentially he built upon the chords extended intervals. This would be things like ninths, elevenths, and thirteenths. What this did was allow Charlie to take any of the twelve tones of the chromatic scale into a melody in any key. This essentially broke many of the confines of what was known as jazz at that time. In short, the wild, improvised sounds of the solos that have become a staple of jazz were invented, in part, by Charlie and his work during the late 30s and early 40s.

This new sound was rejected, at first, by most jazz groups. Many people complained of it as "noise." Some of the more famous "traditional jazz" musicians of the time were dismissive of the new sound. The "be-boppers" meanwhile complained that the older musicians were "out of fashion" and just plain "old."

The sad part is that much of the true development of the sound that would become famous as be-bop was lost during the time of the musicians strike. Not until 1945, when the recording ban that had been placed during the strike was lifted, would Parker and Gillespie collaborate on official recordings. However, these recordings are some of the most famous and classic recordings of early be-bop that the jazz world has ever seen to this day.

On November 26, 1945 Charlie Parker lead a jazz recording session for the legendary jazz label, Savoy, that has since become regarded as the "greatest jazz session ever." Some songs that were recorded during that session have become well known among fans of Parker. "Ko-Ko", "Now's the Time," "Billie's Bounce," and "Thriving on a Riff" were all recorded at that time. Shortly thereafter, Dizz and Bird began touring. They traveled across the country to Los Angeles to, supposedly, expose that side of the country to the new sound.

What happened was that they found the entire city was unreceptive to the new sound. Bookings quickly dried up. Jazz fans did not turn out for the shows. Radio shows that had been booked suddenly canceled. Gillespie decided it was time to return back to New York, but Charlie stayed in Los Angeles.

This turned out to be a very rough patch for Charlie. Charlie had grown more and more addicted to heroin during his time in New York. Once he got into California, however, he found that the drug had been all but eliminated from the streets. He began to go immediately into withdrawal. The battle that he began to drink. He soon become an alcoholic and drank so heavily that he began showing up late to recording sessions and gigs and his playing and behavior became wildly erratic.

During one notorious session he drank a quart of whiskey before entering the recording studio. During one of his solos he swayed wildly in front of the mike and even spun all the way around at one point, his playing become very faint on the recording. During a following solo he started strong but soon lost his energy. As he struggled, another musician can be clearly heard shouting "Blow!" at Charlie as he struggled. Charlie was infuriated when the recording company released this album.

During this time he was staying at a nearby hotel. Repeatedly, throughout a night, Charlie walked down into the hotel lobby naked to ask to use the phone. Each time the clerk herded him back to his room and, eventually, locked him in his room. During that time, however, Charlie set fire to his mattress with a cigarette and ran through the lobby wearing just a pair of socks. He was arrested and committed to the Camarillo State Mental Hospital.

Charlie had also entered a relationship with a woman named Chan, who lived back in New York. She was well-known among jazz musicians and she had several relationships with several different musicians. She and Charlie had a relatively open relationship and had children together. His youngest daughter, however, died very young and was never very healthy. Charlie was across the country when that happened and the news devastated him.

Being in the state hospital forced Charlie to become clean. He did move back to New York for a time. He recorded albums that featured him playing along with a string orchestra. He had always wanted to play with strings and his recordings were very successful at the time. However, the old pull of drugs eventually got to him and he was soon addicted again.

During this time he was arrested for his drug usage. The drugs caused him to lose his "cabaret card" which allowed him to play live music throughout the New York area. Forced to look elsewhere for work, he soon found himself back in Los Angeles and he soon began drinking again.

Charlie had become the darling of the jazz world during the early 50s. By the time the decade was reaching a close, however, a new form of music, born out of Rhythm and Blues, known as Rock and Roll, was starting to take over. Charlie found himself less and less able to find recording contracts or gigs. His health was also starting to fail.

The years of drug abuse and alcohol abuse were taking its toll. Charlie had developed severe ulcers which were a cause of constant pain for him. This pain just lead to more drinking to try and shut it out which only worsened the condition. His ulcers bled, making him anemic.

Charlie showed up on the doorstep of a friend, Nica de Koenigswarter, at the Stanhope Hotel in New York City. He was in terrible shape and a doctor was called. The doctor recommended that he be sent to the hospital but Charlie was afraid of hospitals after his time in the state mental hospital. Charlie sat down to watch a television variety show and he died while sitting on the couch. The official cause of death was listed as a combination of lobar pneumonia and bleeding ulcer.

When de Koeniswarter called to have the body removed the coroner showed up to declare and official time of death. When he called in the death he reported that he estimated the age of the deceased to be between 50 and 60 years of age. Charlie Parker was actually only 34.

Charlie had stated he never wanted to return to Kansas City, even after he died. However, he had never officially divorced his first wife, Doris, nor had he ever officially married Chan. He had expressed his wishes to Chan, but she found herself with no official capacity over the say of where his body was to be buried. Charlie had wanted to be buried in New York, but, ultimately, there was an arrangement of his body "lying-in-state" in Harlem. His body was then transported to Lincoln Cemetery in Kansas City where he was buried.

Over the years within the world of jazz, Charlie "Bird" Parker's influence has only grown since his death. Although he lived only a short time, his affect on the music was profound to the point that his albums still sell and have been remixed and remastered countless times over the years. He has influenced and inspired musicians since and continues to do so. In fact, it would be fair to say that jazz would not sound as it does without Charlie Parker. To many he was, rightfully so, a genius. He was, without a doubt, a flawed one, but he was a genius.