Charles Parker Jr., nicknamed "Bird", was born on August 29, 1920 in Kansas City. A gifted alto saxophonist, he became one of the most influential figures in the history of jazz and the founding father of bebop.
As a teenager, he immersed himself in Kansas City's vibrant jazz scene. After a rocky start, he developed an extraordinary technique and speed, pushing the harmonic and rhythmic boundaries of the music of his era.
In the early 1940s, in New York, he met Dizzy Gillespie. Together, during jam sessions at Minton's Playhouse and the clubs on 52nd Street, they invented bebop — a fast, virtuosic jazz with complex harmonies that broke radically from swing.
His recordings for Savoy and Dial between 1945 and 1948 — including Ko-Ko, Now's the Time and Ornithology — became cornerstones of modern jazz. His playing, of unmatched fluidity and inventiveness, influenced entire generations of musicians.
His life was however marked by addiction and instability. Worn down by drugs and alcohol, Charlie Parker died on March 12, 1955 at just 34 years old. The doctor who examined his body estimated his age at nearly 50.
Shortly after his death, the slogan "Bird Lives" appeared on the walls of New York. His legacy remains immense: he redefined what improvisation could be and remains, to this day, an absolute reference point.