Charlie Parker Dies at a Very Young Age

Charlie Parker Dies at a Very Young Age 70 years ago, 12 March 1955, was the sad passing day of Jazz Virtuoso Charles Parker Jr., born on 29 August 1920, nicknamed “Bird” or “Yardbird”. Charlie Parker was an African-American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of Bebop, a form of jazz characterised by fast tempos, virtuosic technique, and advanced harmonies. Charlie Parker was an extremely fast virtuoso and introduced revolutionary harmonic ideas into jazz, including rapid passing chords, new variants of altered chords, and chord substitutions. Primarily a player of the alto saxophone, Parker’s tone ranged from clean and penetrating to sweet and sombre. He was known for the very clear, sweet and articulate note he could produce from the saxophone. Parker acquired the nickname “Yardbird” early in his career on the road with Jay McShann. This, and the shortened form “Bird”, continued to be used for the rest of his life, inspiring the titles of a number of Parker compositions, such as “Yardbird Suite”, “Ornithology”, “Bird Gets the Worm”, and “Bird of Paradise”. Parker was an icon for the hipster subculture and later the Beat Generation, personifying the jazz musician as an uncompromising artist and intellectual rather than just an entertainer. Parker contributed greatly to the modern jazz solo, one in which triplets and pick-up notes were used in u