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Celebrating Bird: The Triumph of Charlie Parker
(Hardcover, 1998)
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Author: Gary Giddins
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Details
Synopsis
Gary Giddins' lavishly illustrated essay on the life of jazz genius Charlie Parker is a multi-faceted study of the saxophonist's chaotic personal life, his relationships with his fellow musicians, and his long standing heroin addiction: but most of all, it's a celebration of his uncanny, consummate musical ability. Giddins follows Parker through his musical apprenticeships with the Jay McShann and Billy Eckstine orchestras (McShann was an early Parker booster), with illuminating commentary on several little-known Parker recordings of the period, also documenting the thriving industry of secret amateur recordings of the saxophonist's solos made by a small army of Parker worshippers. He sets the scene for the development of bebop (which, he points out, happened almost in secret owing to the United Federation of Musicians' late-1940s recording ban), a jazz offshoot originally considered beyond the pale of decency and good taste, and traces the web-like relationships between its many interpreters like Max Roach, Al Haig, Dexter Gordon, and countless others. Giddins' atmospheric descriptions, aided by a plethora of extraordinary black-and-white photographs and a comprehensive discography, form an excellent introduction to the life and work of one of the most influential musicians in jazz history.
Publisher's Notes
First Line: "The witness to his death heard a clap of thunder at the moment of Charlie Parker's passing."
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