Parker is commonly considered the greatest bebop jazz musician. In terms of influence and impact, his contribution to jazz was so great that Charles Mingus commented that if Bird were alive today, he would think he was living in a hall of mirrors. Bird's talent is compared almost without argument to such legendary musicians as Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington, and his reputation and legend as one of the best saxophonists is such that some critics say he was unsurpassed.
A founding figure of bebop, Parker's innovative approach to melody, rhythm and harmony have exerted an incalculable influence on jazz.. Several of Parker's songs have become standards of the repertoire, and innumerable musicians have studied Parker's music and absorbed elements of his style.
Parker became an icon for the Beat generation, and was a pivotal figure in the evolving conception of the jazz musician as an uncompromising artist and intellectual, rather than just a popular entertainer. At various times, Parker fused jazz with other musical styles, from classical (seeking to study with Edgard Varese and Stefan Wolpe) to Latin music (recordings with Machito), blazing paths followed later by others.
Parker was known for often showing up to performances without an instrument and borrowing someone else's at the last moment. At more than one venue he played on a plastic Grafton saxophone; later, saxophonist Ornette Coleman used this brand of plastic sax in his early career. On one particular occasion before a concert in Toronto, Canada, he had sold his saxophone to buy drugs, and at the last minute, he, Dizzy Gillespie and other members of Charlie's entourage went running around Toronto trying to find a saxophone. After scouring all the downtown pawnshops open at the time, they were only able to find a Grafton, which Parker proceeded to use at the concert that night. This concert is documented on the album Jazz at Massey Hall. The album is considered one of the greatest live recordings in Jazz history.
Parker's battles with alcoholism and heroin addiction ranged from his teenage years until his death from pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer at thirty-four. The toll that the drug had taken on his relatively young body was quite profound - a doctor examining Parker's body estimated him to be around sixty years old.
During his lifetime, tribute was paid to Parker when a new nightclub in New York was named Birdland in his honour in 1949.Three years later, George Shearing wrote "Lullaby of Birdland", which was named for both Parker and the nightclub.
Other phenomena also occurred in the United States after the death of Parker, particularly the use of the term "Bird lives" in graffiti throughout New York hours after his death, and later as the title of a contemporary art piece of the same name, created by sculptor Robert Graham in 1999. Despite its widespread use, Ted Joans is usually credited with its inception.
Laura
Charlie Parker Lyrics
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Of something that never happened, yet you recall it well
You know the feeling of recognizing someone
That you've never met as far as you could tell, well
Laura is the face in the misty light
Footsteps that you hear down the hall
The laugh that floats on a summer night
And you see Laura on the train that is passing through
Those eyes, how familiar they seem
She gave your very first kiss to you
That was Laura but she's only a dream
The lyrics of "Laura" by Charlie Spivak & his Orchestra evoke a feeling of nostalgia for something that feels familiar yet distant, a memory that is both real and imagined. The opening lines describe the sensation of something half remembered, of a dream that is so vivid it feels like reality. This feeling is amplified by the subtle instrumentation of the song, which creates a sense of longing and melancholy.
The verses of the song paint a picture of Laura, a woman who is seemingly unreachable and mysterious. She is described as a face in the misty light, a laugh that floats on a summer night, and a pair of familiar eyes that pass by on a train. Laura is a symbol of a lost love, a dreamlike figure who represents a memory that is both beautiful and painful. The singer is haunted by her, unable to forget her even though she is only a dream.
Line by Line Meaning
You know the feeling of something half remembered
You recognize a faint memory that you can't quite recall entirely.
Of something that never happened, yet you recall it well
It's a sensation of vividly recollecting an event that never actually happened.
You know the feeling of recognizing someone
You can identify a person even though you've never actually interacted with them before.
That you've never met as far as you could tell, well
It's strange because you feel as if you've met them before, yet you know you haven't.
Laura is the face in the misty light
Laura is the image that appears hazy and faint, illuminated by an ethereal light.
Footsteps that you hear down the hall
You sense the sound of footsteps echoing in a corridor, though you're not sure of their origin.
The laugh that floats on a summer night
It's a sound of a giggling which travels lightly and effortlessly on a tranquil, warm evening.
That you can never quite recall
You can't completely bring yourself to remember or establish the source of the sound.
And you see Laura on the train that is passing through
You visualize Laura in your mind's eye, captured in a train that is swiftly fleeting away.
Those eyes, how familiar they seem
Her eyes look familiar, they appear to contain memory yet it's puzzling how you recognize them.
She gave your very first kiss to you
Laura is the one who gave you your initial kiss, but it's still a mystery to you.
That was Laura but she's only a dream
Laura is a figment of your imagination, an illusory creation of your mind.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JOHNNY MERCER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind