Speaking Volumes | Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker shows there is no boundary line to art

The history of American jazz music tells the story of a young and dynamic country, forming part of its identity through art. Early jazz was influenced by spirituals, blues, and ragtime, and fused African and European musical traditions, particularly in New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century.

A modern jazz style that developed later in the 1940s and 50s was called bebop, and saxophonist Charlie ‘Bird’ Parker was one of its founding fathers, along with jazz greats including trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, pianist Thelonious Monk, and trumpeter Miles Davis. They revolutionized the jazz world, which had been dominated by the swing style in the decades previous. Davis is attributed as saying, “You can tell the history of jazz in four words: Louis Armstrong. Charlie Parker.”

Parker was born in Kansas City, Kan., in 1920, and began his musical career as a teenager. ‘Bird’ is a shortened version of the nickname “Yardbird” given to Parker early in his career. To find out how he acquired this nickname, read “Kansas City Lightning: The Life and Times of Charlie Parker” by noted music critic Stanley Crouch. Kids can learn about him too, in “Charlie Parker”, a juvenile biography by Earle Rice. The library carries many of his music recordings, such as “Yardbird Suite” and “Now’s the Time: The Genius of Charlie Parker”, available on CD or in the Hoopla app.

Known as an excellent soloist, Bird’s musical style within the bebop sound was unique and groundbreaking.

According to PBS American Masters, “Beyond having amazing technical capacity, Parker was able to invent a more complex and individual music by disregarding the four- and eight-bar standards of jazz and creating solos that were both fluid and harsh.”

Here’s what Parker himself had to say about the artistic process: “Music is your own experience, your thoughts, your wisdom. If you don’t live it, it won’t come out of your horn. They teach you there’s a boundary line to music, but, man, there’s no boundary line to art. I lit my fire, I greased my skillet, and I cooked.”

Parker died young at the age of 34, in New York City, having struggled with substance abuse and mental health conditions most of his adult life. His gravesite is five miles from the American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, on the Missouri side. Parker’s legacy lives on, having influenced most contemporary jazz musicians and even classical and hip-hop musical artists.

To learn more about bebop and jazz music in general, read “Jazz: A History of America’s Music” by Geoffrey Ward and “The History of Jazz” by Ted Gioia, watch the superb documentary series “Jazz: a Film by Ken Burns”, and explore Smithsonian Jazz online from the National Museum of American History at www.smithsonianjazz.org.

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Speaking Volumes is written by members of the staff at the Manatee County Public Library System. Ericka Dow is the information services supervisor at the Central Library.