The modern jazz great Charles Parker Jr. was born in Kansas City, Kansas in 1920. After a short and tormented but stunningly productive life he died in 1955 in New York City, at the hotel suite of the Baroness Nica de Koenigswarter, a daughter of the English Rothschilds.

His unique contribution to American popular culture remains a taste of the few and not the many, in one sense at least. But you can still buy virtually all his major recordings and various written-down versions of his music. No less a Hollywood icon than Clint Eastwood made a 1988 feature film about him (called Bird, after Parker's nickname, and with Forest Whitaker in the title role). A 14-year-old Charlie Parker is portrayed briefly in Robert Altman's 1996 movie, Kansas City.

In the early 21^st century there are a few hundred thousand references to Charlie Parker on the Internet, in several languages. There is now a Charlie Parker Memorial Plaza only a short walk from where he grew up in Kansas City, Missouri. The Manhattan flat he lived in at the peak of his slight worldly success has been placed on the US National Register of Historic Places, and declared a New York City Landmark by the local Landmarks Preservation Commission. The street on which the flat is located has been renamed Charlie Parker Place. The City Parks Foundation in New York sponsors an annual Charlie Parker Jazz Festival, to celebrate his birthday in late August.

Considerably larger numbers of people must know and appreciate his music now than at the height of his all-too-brief live career, in the late 1940s and early 1950s. There is a very strong argument that the numbers will continue to grow quietly. On the boldest private conclusion, Charlie Parker is probably the greatest and certainly the most interesting musician that America has yet produced. To start with, he is the world's most brilliant saxophone player. Much beyond this, he is the great innovator of bebop jazz, which remains the finest achievement of American popular music — the point at which it comes closest to an authentic high art.

For those who still want to read on, there are seven more parts to this introduction to The "Yardbird" Charlie Parker. For part two click on "Next" below. (And for part three click on "Next" at the bottom of part two, and so forth, on to the end.)  

Other sites and sources

There is a great deal about Charlie Parker on the net. Some examples: Biographical sketch on Ken Burns Jazz website; Biographical sketch by Lauren Peterson; Biographical sketch by Raymond Wu; Charlie Parker as presented by Artist Direct; Charlie Parker as presented by Down Beat.com; Charlie Parker as presented by PBS for Kids; Charlie Parker residence in New York City; Charlie Parker statue in Kansas City; Discography of Charlie Parker recordings; Estate of Charlie Parker Official Website.