Charlie Parker is considered, among many scholars, to be one of the most influential jazz

musicians. Although his background and his lifestyle seem unfit for such a role in the history of

jazz, Parker possessed the unique talent and genius that it took to change jazz music. His role in

the development of Bebop played a major role in the path that jazz took. Today, jazz music pays

much tribute to the contributions that Charlie Parker has made to the genre.

Charlie “Bird” Parker was born in Kansas City, Kansas. His initial musical education was

heavily influenced by the blues which was one of the predominant styles in Kansas. Blues

musicians such as Jay McShann and Count Basie had a great influence over his sound. His blues

can be heard in his recordings such as “Billie’s Bounce” and “Cool Blues.” Parker took his blues

with him when he went to New York City.

New York City was were Parker blossomed. He took a job at Jimmie’s Chicken Shack for

$9 a week just so he could hear the pianist Art Tatum, his favorite musician. Parker would also

play at various jam sessions in many of New York City clubs. The two most famous clubs where

Parker jammed were Clark Monroe’s Uptown House and Minton’s Playhouse. It was in Minton’s

where he met his lifelong friend, Dizzy Gillespie. Gillespie would say that Parker was “the other

half of his heartbeat”. Minton’s was a center for jazz experimentation. The famous jam sessions

that took place here launched the careers of many jazz greats such as Miles Davis, Dizzy

Gillespie, and Charlie Parker.

Dizzy Gillespie had been playing at Minton’s before Parker got there. Gillespie had

begun experimenting with jazz rhythms and harmonies with Thelonious Monk and Charles
Christian. Their music was not unified until Charlie Parker arrived with his blues phrasings from

Kansas City.

He played at Minton’s up to 1940 and returned to Kansas City to play in the Jay

McShann Orchestra. In 1942, Parker came back to NYC to play in the Earl Hines big band.

Gillespie had recommended Hine’s to invite Parker to play in the band. It was here were

Gillespie and Parker were reunited. After playing the “simple music” they played at the gigs,

Dizzy and Charlie Parker would jam with other band members.1 It was during these jam sessions

that Bebop began to form. A lot of the new music that would be invented during these jam

sessions would also be incorporated in the solos that the musicians played at the gigs.

Unfortunately, the Earl Hines big-band and other musicians did not record from 1942 to 1944

because of the 1942-1944 Musicians Strike.

The Musician’s Strike was declared by the American Federation of Musicians (AMF)

against the major record labels and went into effect on August 1, 1942. The AMF argued that

their recordings were being misused. According to them, businesses were not paying enough in

loyalties to play their recordings. Even though a lot of good music, such as Parker’s and

Gillespie’s solos in Earl Hines big-band, went unrecorded, the strike did have great influence on

the impact that Bebop had on American culture.

1
Dedicated to Chaos: Ken Burns’ Jazz, Part 7. Directed by Ken Burns. United States: PBS, 2000. Films on
Demand, 1:58:53; The “simple music” that they played was swing. For them, Swing music was just dance music.
They wanted to create a more intellectual music: musicians’ music.
 One year after the strike ended, Charlie Parker released some of the most influential

Bebop recordings of all time. These recordings were “Billie's Bounce," "Warming Up a Riff,"

"Now's the Time," "Thriving from a Riff," "Meandering," and “Ko-Ko.”2 Out of the six, “Ko-Ko”

was the most distinct recording.

After two years without any jazz recordings, the jazz scene exploded with Parker’s “Ko-

Ko.” “Ko-Ko” is based on the same chord progression as the Ray Noble song, “Cherokee.”3 One

day after playing “Cherokee” a lot, Parker realized that he could play higher intervals of the

chords of a song and could make a solo out of it. In other words, instead of basing his solos on

the melody of the song, he would be base his solos off of the chordal structure of the song.

Instead of his solos being a variation of the melody they became an interpretation of the

melody.4

Parker brought this style along with him throughout the rest of his career. This new style

of soloing can be heard in his recording of his own composition “Bigfoot” and in many other

recordings. “Bigfoot” starts out introducing the melody. Parker begins his solo after the

introduction of the melody. Although the chords remain the same the solo bears no melodic

resemblance to the initial theme. If one where to compare this song to Louis Armstrong’s 1928,

2
Charlie Parker, The Charlie Parker Story. Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Bud
Powell, and Curley Russell. Savoy Record Co., Inc. MG 12079, 1957. Vinyl recording Rec. 26 Nov. 1945. Ozzie
Cadena, 1957. Vinyl recording; The musicians featured in the recordings were Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dizzy
Gillespie, Sadik Hakim, Curley Russell, and Max Roach.
3
Ibid; In the first take of the recording session at Savoy studios, Parker begins the piece with his own
instrumental intro and then jumps into the “Cherokee” theme. The producer, Teddy Reig, shouts at Parker
interrupting the session telling him to stop playing. Apparently Parker couldn’t play that song because he didn’t
have the right to play the song. Parker had to create a new melody instead.
4
Stefan C. Love, “ ‘Possible Paths’: Schemata of Phrasing and Melody in Charlie Parker’s Blues,” Society for
Music Theory 18, No. 3 (September, 2012): 2
17 years before “Ko-Ko,” recording of “West End Blues” one would be able to hear that the

solos being played in the song feature many resemblances to the original melody. They seem to

be more like variants of the song rather than just play off of the songs harmonic structure.

Charlie Parker had an unfortunate death caused by a heroin overdose. Although his life

came to an unfortunate end, his music did not. Parker gave life to Bebop and enriched the life

of Jazz today. Because of Parker’s genius, jazz today exhibits a genius of its own.
 WORKS CITED

Dedicated to Chaos: Ken Burns’ Jazz, Part 7. Directed by Ken Burns. United States: PBS, 2000.
Films on Demand, 1:58:53

Love, Stefan C. “ ‘Possible Paths’: Schemata of Phrasing and Melody in Charlie Parker’s Blues”.
Society for Music Theory, Vol 18, No. 3 (September, 2012).

Parker, Charlie, The Charlie Parker Story. Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach,
Bud Powell, and Curley Russell. Savoy Record Co., Inc. MG 12079, 1957. Vinyl recording
Rec. 26 Nov. 1945. Ozzie Cadena, 1957. Vinyl recording.

Risk: Ken Burns’ Jazz, Part 8. Directed by Ken Burns. United States: PBS, 2000. Films on Demand,
2:02:22