Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker, Born 100 Years Ago, Made Jazz Complexities Sound Deceptively Easy
More blues singer than Broadway, the Bird helped introduce bebop to jazz — and along the way redefined jazz velocity with his scrappy sound and pithy melodic figures.
3 Jazz Greats Reflect On Charlie Parker's Enduring Influence
Fresh Air listens back to archival interviews with Max Roach and trumpeter Red Rodney, two musicians who played with Parker; and alto saxophonist Jackie McLean, who considered Parker a mentor.
Joe Lovano: Drawing On 'Bird'
In the 1940s, Charlie Parker, nicknamed "Bird," was a prime mover behind the new style of bebop, with its refined harmonies, offbeat rhythms and abstract melodies played at breakneck speed. On Bird Songs, Joe Lovano looks for new ways into Parker's material.
In Claxton's Death, A Photo Pioneer Lost
Photographer William Claxton got his start taking photos of jazz musicians in natural settings instead of smoky lounges. His 1967 film Basic Black was considered the first fashion video. He died Oct. 11 from congestive heart failure.
Remembering Saxophonist Jackie McLean
Jackie McLean, the legendary jazz saxophonist who died last week at age 74, began playing at the age of 15 in his native New York City. Schooled in bebop at the start of his career, the alto sax player names Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young and Charlie Parker as influences. We offer a rebroadcast of a conversation with McLean.
Jazz Week: Jazz Trumpeter Red Rodney.
Jazz trumpeter Red Rodney. Rodney's played with the greats...Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Charlie Parker, among many others. (REBROADCAST from 6/15/90)