Charlie Parker "Bebop style"

Improvised lines had been now faster and far more complex; syncopations have been a smaller amount prominent than in early jazz; and extended phrases may perhaps now remain on the beat for measures at a time even though building over a steady stream of eighth and sixteenth notes, occasionally broken by a triplet or some other interpolation. The 2/4 rhythms of Chicago and New Orleans was now replaced by the streamlined 4/4 favored by Kansas City bands:

But even much more important, phrases usually started and ended on a weak beats (two and four), or, increasingly, between beats. This gave the music a querulous, incisive tone, imparting a slightly off-balance quality to each phrase and providing momentum for the solo as being a whole. Above all, these crystalline improvisations have been produced vibrant by the breathless speed with which they were executed (Gioia 202).

The boppers had been marked by their individualism, and this was increased by their marginal reputation as black People in the usa in that era. This was the period ahead of the end of segregation and the passage from the Civil Rights Act, and black People in the usa at that time were intent in testing limits. Black jazz players wanted over the acceptance given them as entertainers. Charlie Parker was the central figure where these several forces had been evident. Bebop can not be ascribed to any a single performer, but parker did embody the innovation over any other single player (Gioia 204-205).

Parker's mother bought him an alto saxophone when he was eleven years old, and though he seems for getting been a slow starter, he was really serious about his music and practiced extended and tough to improve. In 1937, he joined Buster Smith, the musician he admired most, and who was now forming his personal twelve-piece group following playing with Walter Page's Blue Devils. Parker was with this new group for many months just before joining a small group formed by pianist Jay McShann. By now, Parker had designed into a strong and distinct soloist, and he was such a musical inspiration on the rest of the band that McShann produced him the deputy leader with the group. Unfortunately, Parker was getting more and more controlled by the heroin addiction which had began after he was about 15. It was now causing him to miss jobs or fall asleep on the bandstand. Parker took a leave in the band and went to New York in 1939, and there he had his harmonic breakthrough playing "Cherokee." He also was then first heard by Dizzy Gillespie, Kenny Clarke, and other founders of bop. Once he returned to McShann in 1942, they played New York. In time, Parker left McShann and returned to New York for great (Rich 46).

Parker managed to remain cost-free of heroin for periods right after his release, though he did start drinking heavily and soon had stomach ulcers and liver problems. Both his playing and his behavior suffered. His daughter died of pneumonia in 1954, and Parker by no means recovered. He attempted suicide as soon as and had some public problems with other players at Birdland in 1955. He died later that year (Rich 47).

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