He was a virtuoso and introduced revolutionary rhythmic and harmonic ideas into jazz, including rapid passing chords, new variants of altered chords, and chord substitutions. Parker primarily …

Nov 14, 2025 · Charlie Parker, American alto saxophonist, composer, and bandleader, a lyric artist generally considered the greatest jazz saxophonist. Parker was the principal stimulus of …

Born in Kansas City, Kansas on August 29, 1920, Parker cut his musical teeth hanging out in the alleyways behind the nightclubs lining 12th Street in Kansas City, Missouri where Count Basie, …

Aug 29, 2025 · Charlie Parker was only on Earth for 34 years, but he created some of the most wonderful music the world has ever heard. Charlie Parker was one of the most important …

This four-part exhibit, co-curated by the American Jazz Museum and Chuck Haddix of UMKC Libraries and the LaBudde Special Collections, provides an in-depth look at Parker's brilliance …

Charlie Parker developed bebop music one fateful night in 1939, when he was jamming alongside guitarist William “Biddy” Fleet. He began disregarding the four- and eight-bar jazz standards to …

Aug 12, 2025 · In 1937, a 16-year-old Charlie Parker stepped onto the bandstand at the Reno Club in Kansas City. Within minutes, he’d be humiliated by one of the most famous drummers …

Charles "Charlie" Parker, Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer and, with Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, and Miles Davis, …

For a period of four years beginning in 1935, he played with a variety of groups, and in 1938 joined the Jay McShann orchestra. During his tenure with McShann, Parker visited New York …

On March 12, 1955, famed jazz musician Charlie "Bird" Parker died, following a 15-year addiction to heroin and alcohol. The Kansas City native had become one of the greatest alto …