Parker, Charlie "Bird" definition of Parker, Charlie "Bird" in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Parker, Charlie "Bird" (Charles Christopher Parker, Jr.), 1920–55, American musician and composer, b. Kansas City, Kans. He began playing alto saxophone in 1933, and after shifting from one band to another he met Dizzy Gillespie Gillespie, Dizzy (John Birks Gillespie) (gəlĕs`pē), 1917–93, American jazz musician and composer, b. Cheraw, S.C.
..... Click the link for more information. in New York City. They formed a quintet, which in 1945 made the first bop (or bebop) records and thus became the leaders of the bop movement in jazz jazz, the most significant form of musical expression of African-American culture and arguably the most outstanding contribution the United States has made to the art of music.

Origins of Jazz

Jazz developed in the latter part of the 19th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. . Parker's brilliant improvisations, noted for their power and beauty, soon earned the admiration of innumerable musicians. He composed several instrumental quartets and made many recordings. For many years Parker was addicted to drugs, which hastened his death.

Bibliography

See biography by B. Priestley (2006); studies by L. O. Koch (1988) and G. Giddens (1998).