What do you think?
Rate this book
Bird: The Legend of Charlie Parker
More than to any other musician, the credit for the birth of modern jazz belongs to Charles "Yardbird" Parker--known to his friends and fans simply as "Bird."
Parker's virtuoso technique, melodic genius, and inspired improvisations helped launch a whole new era in jazz, an era that began with bop and culminated in the "cool" or modern jazz of the fifties. His brilliant handling of the alto saxophone inspired a generation of jazz musicians; without him, there would have been no John Coltrane, no Ornette Coleman, no jazz as we know it today.
Parker died in 1955 at the age of thirty-five. He left behind a rich legacy of musical innovation and a legend of self-destructive dissipation that made him a votive hero of the hipsters and the beat generation.
For this first full-length reminiscence, Reisner interviewed eighty-one of Parker's friends, relatives, and fellow performers. From Charlie Mingus, one of the few real innovators since Bird, and Dizzy Gillespie, whom Parker once called "the other half of my heart," to jazz historian Rudi Blesh and Parker's mother, each remembers Bird in his or her own special way.
Thus from the shards and splinters of firsthand reminiscence emerges a telling mosaic of Parker's brief but intense career: the indulgences in drugs and alcohol; the legendary bouts of lovemaking; the temperamental behavior on and off the bandstand; the jam sessions at the Harlem jazz club Minton's Playhouse with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonious Monk; and the historic firing from Birdland, the club which took its name from this larger-than-life musician and man.
Parker's virtuoso technique, melodic genius, and inspired improvisations helped launch a whole new era in jazz, an era that began with bop and culminated in the "cool" or modern jazz of the fifties. His brilliant handling of the alto saxophone inspired a generation of jazz musicians; without him, there would have been no John Coltrane, no Ornette Coleman, no jazz as we know it today.
Parker died in 1955 at the age of thirty-five. He left behind a rich legacy of musical innovation and a legend of self-destructive dissipation that made him a votive hero of the hipsters and the beat generation.
For this first full-length reminiscence, Reisner interviewed eighty-one of Parker's friends, relatives, and fellow performers. From Charlie Mingus, one of the few real innovators since Bird, and Dizzy Gillespie, whom Parker once called "the other half of my heart," to jazz historian Rudi Blesh and Parker's mother, each remembers Bird in his or her own special way.
Thus from the shards and splinters of firsthand reminiscence emerges a telling mosaic of Parker's brief but intense career: the indulgences in drugs and alcohol; the legendary bouts of lovemaking; the temperamental behavior on and off the bandstand; the jam sessions at the Harlem jazz club Minton's Playhouse with Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonious Monk; and the historic firing from Birdland, the club which took its name from this larger-than-life musician and man.
264 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1962
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 14, 2025
I love this book because it’s literal first hand recounts of charlie parker’s life, however it’s more of a novelty to own than a read. Every story is essentially the same:
I met charlie parker
He does hard drugs and he’s an asshole
Hes still an asshole but I just heard him play and he’s one of the greatest musicians in the world
The end
Cool concept of a book however!
I met charlie parker
He does hard drugs and he’s an asshole
Hes still an asshole but I just heard him play and he’s one of the greatest musicians in the world
The end
Cool concept of a book however!
August 14, 2018
an excellent look into not just Bird and what others thought of him, but of the time when great jazz revolutions were born. there are strange tales and funny moments and just lovely painted portraits in a variety of voices from those who knew him. the discography in the back will be my guide to check off all of the recorded works we can listen to.
fun anecdote: i bought this book in a used bookstore, walked down the street to a music shop with the book in hand - man at counter who works there says “that’s a good book!” i say “i just bought it today!”
a few moments later he asks if i bought it at the used bookstore down the road, i say yes. he reveals to me he just donated a bunch of his books to the shop. i met the owner of my book. neato.
fun anecdote: i bought this book in a used bookstore, walked down the street to a music shop with the book in hand - man at counter who works there says “that’s a good book!” i say “i just bought it today!”
a few moments later he asks if i bought it at the used bookstore down the road, i say yes. he reveals to me he just donated a bunch of his books to the shop. i met the owner of my book. neato.
November 4, 2020
lots of good fun here, with dozens of friends, musicians and fans weighing in and offering anecdotes on the one and only charlie parker. the entries are short, mostly, and there are some hilarious stories - no way of knowing what's true and what isn't, but that's part of the fun. a book you can just charge through and be (again, mostly) entertained throughout.
November 26, 2008
Recently, at a used bookstore, I picked up an earlier edition of this book, published by a jazz book club in the early 60s, without realizing I had already read it ages ago. It's an oral biography of Charlie Parker--basically it is a bunch of different people telling stories and anecdotes about Parker. It's organized alphabetically by each storyteller's name, so parker's life does not unfold chronologically. Rather, this approach leads to a sort of biographical Rashomonism or cubism--you get a lot of different perspectives of the same events and personalities that unfold outside of a linear sequence. Lots of really interesting stuff here about parker, bebop, new york city in the 30s-50s, kansas city in the 20s-30s, etc.
Despite all the interesting accounts of Parker, he remains elusive throughout, a cipher to the end. The stories are fascinating, though. The glow from Parker's fierce and prodigious genius has always led many to perceive a romantic tint to the self-destructive aspects of his personality. Consequently, Parker lived a life that seemed to serve as a template for a certain kind of junkie dissolution that still plays out in pop culture today.
This is an excellent book, but I wouldn't recommend it to people as an introduction to parker. I think it's better to come to this with some prior knowledge of both parker and bebop.
Despite all the interesting accounts of Parker, he remains elusive throughout, a cipher to the end. The stories are fascinating, though. The glow from Parker's fierce and prodigious genius has always led many to perceive a romantic tint to the self-destructive aspects of his personality. Consequently, Parker lived a life that seemed to serve as a template for a certain kind of junkie dissolution that still plays out in pop culture today.
This is an excellent book, but I wouldn't recommend it to people as an introduction to parker. I think it's better to come to this with some prior knowledge of both parker and bebop.
September 11, 2008
One of the first "he said-she said" biographies (Edie, Please Kill Me, etc.) that are all the rage these days. Everybody from Dizzy Gillespie to Jackie McLean has a great story to tell about Charlie Parker. Bird once called someone a "no-color motherfucker"; his idea of a put-down was to tell you that you had NO color! Filled with tons of great photos.
August 27, 2018
Harvey Cropper (pintor y artista visual) recordando a Charlie Parker en la maravillosa elegía coral de Robert George Resiner, The legend of Charlie Parker (1962)
"Una vez le pregunté por esa manía suya de decepcionar a la gente al no presentarse para tocar cuando estaba programado o aparecer una vez terminado el concierto, para mayor ira del promotor y su manager. Y ésta fue su respuesta: 'Tú eres un artista, Harvey; Qué te parece si me haces ahora mismo, en este instante, un cuadro. Cuando termines, hazte la misma pregunta que acabas de lanzarme'. Siempre le incomodó tocar, salvo cuando daba lo mejor de sí. Su papel no era el de un actor, sino más bien el de un dramaturgo. El jazzista es más que un músico que interpreta la obra de otro; es un creador superlativo. En relación a esto, alguien le mostró a Bird la fotografía de Dave Brubeck en Time y dijo:
- Tú, y no él, deberías salir en la portada, Bird
- Mi reloj no anda tan bien. No voy a todos mis conciertos"
"Una vez le pregunté por esa manía suya de decepcionar a la gente al no presentarse para tocar cuando estaba programado o aparecer una vez terminado el concierto, para mayor ira del promotor y su manager. Y ésta fue su respuesta: 'Tú eres un artista, Harvey; Qué te parece si me haces ahora mismo, en este instante, un cuadro. Cuando termines, hazte la misma pregunta que acabas de lanzarme'. Siempre le incomodó tocar, salvo cuando daba lo mejor de sí. Su papel no era el de un actor, sino más bien el de un dramaturgo. El jazzista es más que un músico que interpreta la obra de otro; es un creador superlativo. En relación a esto, alguien le mostró a Bird la fotografía de Dave Brubeck en Time y dijo:
- Tú, y no él, deberías salir en la portada, Bird
- Mi reloj no anda tan bien. No voy a todos mis conciertos"
March 16, 2024
I love reading about my favorite jazz musician Charlie Parker. It was good to hear all the ups and downs of his career from his band mates. I of course try to be just like him when I play but it is so difficult to approach his level. His playing is amazing and his leadership is supreme. I also enjoyed reading about how people interacted with him. He seemed to be weak but so strong. Bravery is one of the main themes in the book and charlie Parker is very strong and brave.
October 24, 2012
I fascinated to read the anecdotal details of a modern jazz musical virtuoso from the perspective of many people who knew him very well. It was my first in depth reading about Charlie "Bird" Parker. I have read other musical biographies about Giuseppe Verdi, Malibran, Billie Holiday and others, including jazz greats. In the edition I read there was a chronology at the end to which it might have been helpful to refer had I known it was there at the beginning, as this collection of random interviews was listed in alphabetical order by person's name. There is a lot of Americana in this book, and it gives a lot of data upon which you can form an informed impression of the life, times, development, influences, and character of the man, the music, and the country at that time. The various interviews eventually give a picture of a complex person who was a virtuoso saxophonist, a very knowledgeable musician, gifted with excellent memorization skills, at times an exasperating con man who was known to take a borrowed musical instrument or wardrobe to the pawn shop, a prodigious boozer and drug addict with ravenous appetites of all kinds, often a profligate spender, and then a beggar, and also a friendly, likeable, generous colleague and friend. He apparently did work very hard at first to obtain his virtuosity and he did a lot of repetitive woodshed practicing to obtain his mastery of music theory and technical skills. A very interesting picture. Some alignment with other virtuosi such as Paganini, Liszt, Mozart, Schubert (etc) seems apt.
January 2, 2014
This is a collection of interviews with people who knew and played with Charlie Parker, so the five stars aren't for the writing. They're for the fact that the many and diverse interviews make you feel you once hung with Bird. What an honor that would have been, as difficult and unpredictable as he was. If you love his music, you'll love this.
January 26, 2016
Interesting approach to biography. Talk to everyone who knew him. Of course it's multifaceted. Giddens' bio is the best book on the subject.
May 11, 2012
Just a collection of random memory's from all kinds of people who have known Charlie Parker. Too anecdotical for my taste.
May 21, 2012
Anecdotes about Parker's life from different people who knew him. Another brilliant musician/musical pioneer whose huge personal problems led to an early death.
October 18, 2012
my all-time freaking hero. tried all the things he did and my playing got worse. much better than the movie (surprise!!!!)
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews