History Music / CharlieParker

Born in 1920 in Kansas City, Missouri, Parker began playing the alto saxophone in his teens. When he was 17, he attended a notoriously tough and competitive jam session at the Reno Club in Kansas City, during which he lost track of the chord changes in the tune he was playing. Drummer Jo Jones, a seasoned performer who was playing in Count Basie's band, became so disgusted that he threw a cymbal at Parker's feet to run him off the stage. This incident has become enshrined as part of Parker's legend, because the humiliated Parker went away and committed himself to a [[TrainingFromHell ruthless practising schedule]] in which he [[CrazyPrepared taught himself to play every tune he knew in every key possible]]. A year later (or so the legend goes), Parker returned to the same session and, this time, [[LookWhatICanDoNow nobody threw a cymbal at his feet]].[[note]]This incident has been [[MemeticMutation mutated in jazz mythology]] to the point that in many versions of the story, Jones threw the cymbal directly at Parker, but anyone who was there on the night agrees that Jones didn't throw the cymbal at Parker, but at the floor, in a gesture intended to be deliberately humiliating but not violent. Nevertheless, in the 2014 movie ''Film/{{Whiplash}}'', the teacher throws a cymbal directly at his pupil in a gesture intended to evoke the Parker incident.[[/note]]

-->--Music/MilesDavis

Born in 1920 in Kansas City, Missouri, Parker began playing the alto saxophone in his teens. When he was 17, he attended a notoriously tough and competitive jam session at the Reno Club in Kansas City, during which he lost track of the chord changes in the tune he was playing. Drummer Jo Jones, a seasoned drummer who was playing in Count Basie's band, became so disgusted that he threw a cymbal at Parker's feet to run him off the stage. This incident has become enshrined as part of Parker's legend, because the humiliated Parker went away and committed himself to a [[TrainingFromHell ruthless practising schedule]] in which he [[CrazyPrepared taught himself to play every tune he knew in every key possible]]. A year later (or so the legend goes), Parker returned to the same session and, this time, [[LookWhatICanDoNow nobody threw a cymbal at his feet]].[[note]]This incident has been [[MemeticMutation mutated in jazz mythology]] to the point that in many versions of the story, Jones threw the cymbal directly at Parker, but anyone who was there on the night agrees that Jones didn't throw the cymbal at Parker, but at the floor, in a gesture intended to be deliberately humiliating but not violent. Nevertheless, in the 2014 movie ''Film/{{Whiplash}}'', the teacher throws a cymbal directly at his pupil in a gesture intended to evoke the Parker incident.[[/note]]

* In a 2017 tournament episode of ''Series/{{Chopped}}''. Guest judge Alton Brown was so disgusted with the losing chef's dish in the final round that he threw the serving dish cover on the floor in front of them. He went on to mention the cymbal-throwing incident specifically.

* The cymbal-throwing incident was referenced in a 2017 tournament episode of ''Series/{{Chopped}}''. Guest judge Alton Brown was so disgusted with one chef's dish in the final round that he threw the serving dish cover on the floor in front of them.

* The cymbal-throwing incident was referenced in a 2017 tournament episode of ''Series/Chopped''. Guest judge Alton Brown was so disgusted with one chef's dish in the final round that he threw the serving dish cover on the floor in front of them.

-->--Miles Davis

* IconicItem: Averted. Like Ornette Coleman, Parker is sometimes associated with the Grafton plastic sax, but he only ever used one a few times on what turned out to be very high-profile occasions, resulting in a disproportionate number of photos of him playing one. He used many different saxes over his career because he was constantly either losing them, or pawning them to get cash to feed his heroin habit.
* InsufferableGenius: Nobody doubted his abilities, but a few bandleaders were irritated by his tendency to show up late for gigs without an instrument - see IconicItem.

* TrainingFromHell: Bird wasn't a natural savant for music like, say, Music/WolfgangAmadeusMozart. When he was young, he was a mediocre saxophonist who got laughed off the bandstand. He achieved his greatness partly by practising for fourteen hours a day for years, and partly because all sources agree that he was a highly ''intelligent'' musician who, as soon he was ready to process new information, processed it unusually quickly.

[[quoteright:240:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Charlie_Parker_5366.bmp]]
[[caption-width-right:240:The Bird]]

Born in 1920 in Kansas City, Missouri, Parker began playing the alto saxophone in his teens. When he was 17, he attended one of Kansas City's notoriously tough and competitive jam sessions, during which he lost track of the chord changes in the tune he was playing. Drummer Jo Jones, a seasoned drummer who was playing in Count Basie's band, became so disgusted that he threw a cymbal at Parker's feet to run him off the stage. This incident has become enshrined as part of Parker's legend, because the humiliated Parker went away and committed himself to a [[TrainingFromHell ruthless practising schedule]] in which he [[CrazyPrepared taught himself to play every tune he knew in every key possible]]. A year later (or so the legend goes), Parker returned to the same session and, this time, [[LookWhatICanDoNow nobody threw a cymbal at his feet]].[[note]]This incident has been [[MemeticMutation mutated in jazz mythology]] to the point that in many versions of the story, Jones threw the cymbal directly at Parker, but anyone who was there on the night agrees that Jones didn't throw the cymbal at Parker, but at the floor, in a gesture intended to be deliberately humiliating but not violent. Nevertheless, in the 2014 movie ''Film/{{Whiplash}}'', the teacher throws a cymbal directly at his pupil in a gesture intended to evoke the Parker incident.[[/note]]

Born in 1920 in Kansas City, Missouri, Parker began playing the alto saxophone in his teens. When he was 17, he attended one of Kansas City's notoriously tough and competitive jam sessions, during which he lost track of the chord changes in the tune he was playing. Drummer Jo Jones, who was with Music/CountBasie's band and a seasoned pro, signified to Parker that he should get off the stand by throwing a cymbal at Parker's feet; this incident has become enshrined as part of Parker's legend, because the humiliated Parker went away and committed himself to a [[TrainingFromHell ruthless practising schedule]] in which he [[CrazyPrepared made sure to learn how to play every tune he knew in every key possible]]. A year later (or so the legend goes), Parker returned to the same session and, this time, [[LookWhatICanDoNow nobody threw a cymbal at his feet]].[[note]]This incident has been [[MemeticMutation mutated in jazz mythology]] to the point that in many versions of the story, Jones threw the cymbal directly at Parker, but anyone who was there on the night agrees that Jones didn't throw the cymbal at Parker, but at the floor, in a gesture intended to be deliberately humiliating but not violent. Nevertheless, in the 2014 movie ''Film/{{Whiplash}}'', the teacher throws a cymbal directly at his pupil in a gesture intended to evoke the Parker incident.[[/note]]

* In a 2017 episode of ''Series/{{Chopped}}'', guest judge Alton Brown re-created the cymbal-throwing incident by tossing the serving dish cover at the feet of the chef who had been cut in the final round.

* In a 2017 episode of the ''[[Series/{{Chopped}}]]'', guest judge Alton Brown re-created the cymbal-throwing incident by tossing the serving dish cover at the feet of the chef who had been cut in the final round.

* SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll: As mentioned, the Bird used a lot of drugs. He actually didn't [[ArtisticStimulation use them for inspiration]]; he got addicted, as so many did, after being given opiates as painkillers following a car accident. Unfortunately, the level of hero worship from other musicians was such that they would imitate every aspect of his life, including the drug use; this pained him very much and he urged younger musicians not to use drugs. [[DoNotDoThisCoolThing It didn't work]]; even Creator/EricClapton took up heroin partly in imitation of Parker.

* WhamEpisode: 1945's "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko-Ko Ko-Ko]]". Recorded just after a long musician's union recording strike with fellow jazz giants Music/DizzyGillespie and Music/MaxRoach, this piece was the first time Bird's experiments with extended harmony were shared with the general public. Jazz would never be the same.

* WhamLine: 1945's "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko-Ko Ko-Ko]]". Recorded just after a long musician's union recording strike with fellow jazz giants Music/DizzyGillespie and Music/MaxRoach, this piece was the first time Bird's experiments with extended harmony were shared with the general public. Jazz would never be the same.

* WhamLine: 1945's "[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko-Ko Ko-Ko]]". Recorded just after a long musician's union recording strike with fellow jazz giants Creator/DizzyGillespie and Creator/MaxRoach, this piece was the first time Bird's experiments with extended harmony were shared with the general public. Jazz would never be the same.

Parker was a friend and mentor to many younger musicians, the most notable of which was Music/MilesDavis, whose tune "Donna Lee" was first recorded by Parker. Parker himself composed several bebop tunes, nearly all of which have become standards in the jazz repertoire: "Ah-Leu-Cha", "Anthropology", "Confirmation", "Now's the Time", "Scrapple from the Apple", "Relaxin' at Camarillo", and many others.