Charlie Parker, Composer

Description

As a founding father of bebop and brilliant jazz improviser, Charlie Parker has secured a reputation and legacy second to none since his birth nearly 100 years ago. Because of his excellence as an improviser, however, his compositions - while admired and still played - have taken a back seat. In this exciting and timely new volume, author Henry Martin rebalances our understanding of Parker by spotlighting his significance as a jazz composer. Beginning with a review of Parker's life and musical training, Charlie Parker, Composer critically analyzes Parker's compositions, situating them within both his individual musicianship and early bebop style. Proposing that Parker composed up to 84 pieces, Martin examines their development and aesthetic qualities, their similarities and dissimilarities within a range of seven types of jazz composition. Also discussed are eight tunes credited to Parker but never performed by him, along with an evaluation of where - if at all - they fit in his oeuvre. Providing the first assessment of a major jazz composer's output in its entirety, Charlie Parker, Composer offers a thorough reexamination, through music-theoretical, historical, and philosophical lenses, of one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time. Introduction: Jazz Composition and Parker as Jazz Composer The Jazz Composition Improvisations Becoming Jazz Compositions Authoritative Recordings Creating a Chronological List of Parker Compositions Categorizing Parker Compositions Prior Studies and Analytical Approaches 1.Music Background and Compositional Overview Early Experiences and Training in Music Early Compositions Roots of Bebop, Hines, Eckstine, and the Partnership with Gillespie Mature Compositional Career Unrecorded Compositions 2.32-Bar Rhythm Changes Compositions 5. Red Cross (1944) 7. Shaw ’Nuff (1945, co-composed with Dizzy Gillespie) 18. Moose the Mooche (1946) 10. Thriving from a Riff (1945) 26. Dexterity (1947) 55. Passport (1949) 3.Other 32-Bar AABA Compositions 1. Yardbird Suite (1940–1941) 16. Alesia (1945) 9. Confirmation (1945) 67. My Little Suede Shoes (1951) 80. Throckmorton the Plumber (1954) 84. Tail Feathers (1955?) 4. 32-Bar ABAC Compositions 17. Ornithology (1945, co-composed with Benny Harris) 22. Donna Lee (1947) 36. Quasimodo (1947) 51. Cardboard (1949) 5.Through-Composed Blues in C 21. Relaxin’ at Camarillo (1947) 24. Cheryl (1947) 27. Bongo Bop (1947) 38. Bongo Beep (1947) 47. Perhaps (1948) 52. Visa (1949) 54. Passport (1949) 72. Back Home Blues (1951) 75. Cosmic Rays (1952) 77. Dum Dum (1954) 82. Bongo Bird (1955?) 6.Through-Composed Blues in Other Keys 2. Wichita Blues (1940, co-composed with Jay McShann?) 29. The Hymn (1947) 31. Bird Feathers (1947) 35. Big Foot (1947) 57. Bloomdido (1950) 59. Mohawk (1950) 73. Laird Baird (1952) 12. Billie’s Bounce (1945) 43. Barbados (1948) 64. Au Privave (1951) 69. Blues for Alice (1951) 70. Si Si (1951) 78. Half-Pass-Fass (1954) 76. Chi Chi (1953) 79. Yashitaki-Mikimoko (1954) 83. Gerry Bird (1955?) 7.32-Bar Compositions with A Section or Partial A Section 19. Bird’s Nest (1947) 23. Chasin’ the Bird (1947) 44. Ah-Leu-Cha (1948) 28. Dewey Square (1947) 32. Klactoveesedstene (1947) 33. Scrapple from the Apple (1947) 48. Marmaduke (1948) 34. The Bird (1947) 37. Charlie’s Wig (1947) 45. Constellation (1948) 49. Steeplechase (1948) 53. Segment (1949) 58. An Oscar for Treadwell (1950) 63. Ballade (1950, co-composed with Coleman Hawkins) 71. Swedish Schnapps (1951) 74. Kim (1952) 81. Tukki-Wukki (1954) 8.Riff Blues 3. Hootie Blues (1940–1941, co-composed with Jay McShann) 4. The Jumpin’ Blues (1941–1942, co-composed with Jay McShann) 13. Now’s the Time (1945) 20. Cool Blues (1947) 25. Buzzy (1947) 39. Another Hair Do (1947) 40. Bluebird (1947) 56. Blues (Fast) (1950) 66. K. C. Blues (1951) 68. Happy Bird Blues (1951) 9.Improvisational Frames with Composed Sections and Non-Standard Works 6. M. 19C (1944–1945) 8. The Famous Alto Break (1945) 14. Meandering (1945) 11. Warmin’ Up a Riff (1945) 15. Ko Ko (1945) 30. Bird of Paradise (1947) 41. Klaunstance (1947) 42. Bird Gets the Worm (1947) 46. Parker’s Mood (1948) 50. Merry-Go-Round (1948) 60. Leap Frog (1950) 61. Relaxin’ with Lee (1950) 62. Celerity (1950) 65. She Rote (1951) 10.Summary and Assessment “Honeysuckle Rose” and Rhythm Changes The Tunes by Category, Contrafact, Key, and Primary Line Revisions and Adaptations On the Bandstand Calling the Tunes Quotation and Self-Quotation Interest in Twentieth-Century Concert Music Compositional Legacy Bibliography Discography