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.
Parker's Mood
Charlie Parker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Se te olvidaron las canciones y los días
Sin mencionar las noches que te hice el amor
Se te borraron todas los fotos, los mensajes en tu cellular
Se te borraron las caricias, eso si nunca podrás
Pero ay algo chiquitita que no podrás olvidar
El primer beso, ese que nunca volverá
Y si lo niegas corazón te lo devuelvo
Pa' que te acuerdes de todito lo demás
Se que me extrañas, yo estoy muy seguro de eso
Y aunque no quieras nunca podrás encontrar
A quien sea como el primero
In "Parker's Mood," Charlie Parker's lyrics describe the memory of a lost love. The singer notes that their former partner has forgotten all the love they once shared, including the songs they enjoyed and the days they spent together. They have even forgotten the nights that they made love. The singer also notes that all of the tangible reminders of their relationship, such as photos and messages, have been erased.
Despite all of this forgetting, the singer claims that there is one thing that their former partner will never be able to forget -- that the singer was the first person to ever give them a kiss. The singer declares that the memory of that first kiss will always be with them, even if they deny it. The singer seems to take pleasure in this fact, offering to return the memory of the kiss to their former partner in order to help them remember all the other things they have forgotten.
Taken as a whole, "Parker's Mood" is a melancholy reflection on the ephemeral nature of love and memory. Despite the joy and intensity of the initial connection between two people, it seems that these emotions can fade over time, leaving nothing but a faint and incomplete memory of what was once so powerful.
Line by Line Meaning
Se te olvido, todo el cariño que conmigo compartías
You forgot all the love we shared.
Se te olvidaron las canciones y los días
You forgot the songs and the days we spent together.
Sin mencionar las noches que te hice el amor
And not to mention the nights I made love to you.
Se te borraron todas los fotos, los mensajes en tu cellular
You erased all our photos and messages from your phone.
Se te borraron las caricias, eso si nunca podrás
You forgot the caresses, but you will never forget that one thing.
Pero ay algo chiquitita que no podrás olvidar
But there's something small that you won't be able to forget.
Que fui el primero corazón, en darte un beso
That I was the first one to ever kiss you, my love.
El primer beso, ese que nunca volverá
That first kiss, the one that will never come back.
Y si lo niegas corazón te lo devuelvo
And if you deny it, my heart, I'll give it back to you.
Pa' que te acuerdes de todito lo demás
So you can remember all the rest.
Se que me extrañas, yo estoy muy seguro de eso
I know you miss me, I'm very sure of it.
Y aunque no quieras nunca podrás encontrar
And even if you don't want to, you won't find
A quien sea como el primero
Anyone like the first.
Writer(s): CHARLIE PARKER JR.
Contributed by Julia N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
johnny4blues
A full encyclopedia of blues in just one song... This is pure art!
Anita David
Nothing like the Bird - something about him, he stands head and shoulders above them all - so much soul, feeling combined with masterful technical proficiency and easy control of his instrument - God bless his soul.
Pablo Gayol García
The best blues ever
The best jazz improvisation/spontaneous composition ever
The best instrumental composition ever
Not the best lyrics though, the ones King Pleasure added later in the vocalese way, it's said that Bird didn't like it
Charles Barry
The greatest alto player of all time.
Destroyed by the same demons that haunted many players
filthyphillyboy
John Lewis' piano solo on this cut is also outstanding.
Giles Underwood
I thought this was Art Tatum
Aro tej
The greatest musician of the 20th century and of this one so far. Bird will live forever. Long Live Charlie Parker!
Bob Taylor
I'd pick Artie Shaw or Bix Beiderbecke, and how can you omit Louis Armstrong, with whom it all began?
Childe Harold
Replying 8 years later. Agreed re Bird as greatest musician of century, though there are a handful about as great. Off top of head, Hendrix, maybe Coltrane in his way, a few others? Schnabel playing Beethoven?
TomParmenter
Hank Williams also wrote lyrics.