Charlie Parker: life and musical legacy

Charlie Parker

Music:

The music of United States changed significantly during the twentieth century, and each generation went on to develop its own music. These were all immensely popular, had strong rhythmic touch and were very different from the earlier forms which existed. These were used for dancing or just for the purpose of listening. When the twentieth century started it was the time for a variety called Ragtime. After the end of the First World War, Jazz had its origin and it influenced all other forms till it was affected by the stock market crash in 1929. This period was called the roaring twenties. Then it was time for a new form to emerge and this was in the music of the Big Bands and led at different stages by Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Jimmie Lunceford, Glen Gray and Chick Webb in the beginning. They were then followed by Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Woody Herman and Benny Goodman. Among the whole lot of them, Benny Goodman became the most famous as the "King of Swing." (The Big Band Era, Or How America Came Out Of the Great Depression and Went On To Win World War II)

The music of swing was followed in the end of the 1940s by the forms called Rhythm and Blues. This form was originally developed by the Black musicians and was targeted to the Black audiences, but was later taken over by Elvis Presley as Rock and Roll around 1955. Throughout this entire period the development of music was being done by the Blacks, but the commercial benefits were being exploited by the White Americans. The mode of music called Rock and Roll by Presley was developed further by the Beatles in 1960 and innumerable other bands. The varieties were also introduced in this music and the varieties were given the name of acidic, metallic, hard and soft. This form of music became the biggest hit of the century and is still going on in different forms. The name of the music has changed now from Rock to Rap and now Hip Hop. This in short is the history of music in the twentieth century. (The Big Band Era, Or How America Came Out Of the Great Depression and Went On To Win World War II)

The origin of Jazz:

The beauty of Jazz is that it is a really American form of music and was formed during the ears from 1895 to 1917. The distinction of Jazz from other music of that time is not easy as the music was not recorded till about 1917, and even if some recordings of earlier periods exist, they would have very little acoustic value as the recording equipment of that time was highly limited, and to understand true Jazz, one would have had to hear it in person. Even there have been disputes as to the exact location where Jazz started as also the name of the group of people who started this form of music. Some writers say that Jazz has been formed from a number of different music forms that existed before Jazz like the Blues, Ragtime, Brass Band Music, Hymns and Spirituals, Minstrel music and work songs. (The origins of Jazz)

These types of music were very common in the United States and present in many of the cities there. Yet it is agreed by most experts that New Orleans is the birthplace of Jazz. The reason for ascribing the birth of Jazz to New Orleans is that only New Orleans had a specific element required for the development of Jazz - the black Creole subculture. The Creoles are different from the other blacks in the United States as they had been free, speaking in French and Spanish and come to New Orleans from West Indies.

They had first lived under Spanish rule and then French rule in Louisiana. Then Louisiana became American when the territory was purchased in 1803 and further development took place when it became a state in 1812. (The origins of Jazz)

The Creoles were in the highest levels of the society at the time of purchase and practically throughout the 19th century. They were very important in the economic and culture of the city and lived along with the French speaking population in the French section of the city, east of Canal Street. There were a lot of musicians among them, and some of them were trained at the Conservatory in Paris. They played at the local Opera House and in the chamber meetings. The best bands in New Orleans were led by some of them. They considered themselves to be superior as they knew European music thoroughly, had precise techniques and soft delicate tones. Their social and cultural values were similar to the values of the upper class in New Orleans. (The origins of Jazz)

At the other end of the social scale was the blacks who stayed in the American part of the city, and this was the western side of Canal Street. They had just become free and as a result were poor, uneducated and did not have any advantages of culture or money. Yet, there were musicians there too! This section was called the Back o' town section. These musicians knew well the blues, Gospel music and work songs. These were sung mostly or played mainly by their ear. Thus the two sides of town had two different characteristics - memorization and improvisation for the west and sight reading and correct performance for the east. This separation continued to keep the two groups separate - till 1894, when a racial segregation law was started in New Orleans. This forced the Creoles to move to the other disadvantaged side leaving their advantages. (The origins of Jazz)

In terms of culture, this hurt them, but due to their advantages, they soon gained control of the entire leadership of the musical development of the blacks. The two styles were different and when they met there was a lot of interaction and this started off the development of Jazz. The record of this is clear from the records of the interview of Jelly Roll Morton taken in 1938 and stored in the Library of Congress. The interviewer is Alan Lomax. This is probably the best record that exists of the process of transformation of the different non-jazz musical elements integrated into Jazz. Jelly Roll was originally a Creole and named Ferdinand La Menthe when born. He was one of the first people to start on the development of Jazz. His explanations about the change are quite clear and he talks in detail about the change of European dance forms like the French quadrille, the waltz, the mazurka and the polka into the Jazz form of Tiger Rag. He went to the extent of claiming to have invented Jazz in 1902. (The origins of Jazz)

The important thing to note, whether we accept his claim or not, is that the music that Morton is talking about a form of music not covered by the blues or ragtime. Yet it is a form of music that is a swinging syncopation of ragtime, opera and the different French and Spanish songs. There was also the question of the introduction of the 2-bar break and these gradually led to the extended solos. Other improvisation also had started like scat singing. In terms of innovation, it was easy to convert ragtime to Jazz - the inherent change was shifting the 2/4 beat of ragtime to a 4/4 beat. Yet it required the understanding of this now simple concept. This method permitted any music of that time like opera to blues could be played in Jazz. The underlying rhythms could be both European and African. (The origins of Jazz)

The underlying beat had to be provided by African music as beat is absent in most European music. There was also the concept of the use of poly-rhythms and playing the melody separately from the beat. The dance rhythms came from the European music. The two joined together to give Jazz its unique swing. Again the harmonies and musical concepts of both Europe and Africa are present with the pentatonic scale being provided by the blues. African music has provided the call and response and other unconventional use of instruments, and they exist together with the systemic harmonies and formal structure that exist in European music. (The origins of Jazz)

It seems clear that laws helped Jazz develop rapidly in New Orleans and the second instance was through the establishment in 1897 of Storyville. This was the infamous red light district of the city. This extended from Basin Street to Robertson Street and from Perdido to Gravier, providing a large number of sporting houses where the registered prostitutes of the city carried on their business. This caused the development of number Jazz bands that were providing the music to the dance halls and other places within the area. They had names like Funky Butt Hall, Come Clean Dance Hall and Mahogany Hall. These houses also normally employed a solo piano player who was called "Professor" by the girls. Jelly Roll Morton had also taken up employment as a professor and that had resulted in his being kicked out from his family. The importance of New Orleans as the center for Jazz ended when Storyville was closed down by the Navy. But, by then the spread of Jazz had started and gradually it became America's Classical Music, and finally made the long trip to Carnegie Hall. (The origins of Jazz)

While the title of creator of Jazz was claimed by Jerry Roll Morton, the different forms have their own claimants of creators. Jazz in its orchestrated form has three creator claimants - Art Hickman, Ferde Grofe and Paul Whiteman. Ferde Grofe was the first to orchestrate "Rhapsody in Blue." It is claimed that Hickman's Orchestra was the first to use saxophones and this was supposed to be done by Grofe and Grofe did not succeed. In the meantime, Whiteman was available in the area where this was to be carried out - San Francisco's Barbary Coast. He then discovered Jazz. He says that he liked the spontaneity of the form, the enthusiasm built within the form the great rhythm, and the general nature of being spiritually uplifting. He however felt that it did not enough polish to be presentable at all. (The King of Jazz)

So, he changed the form of the music and allowed it to play popular music through a dance orchestra, and using Jazz soloists in the music. This he felt allowed the music to have the required form and identity. Then, Whiteman hired Grofe and Grofe knew the methods of both orchestration and popular forms. This made the arrangements for writing the Jazz proper. Here it is important to note that this ensured the merger of Jazz with classical music as Whitman had been trained in classical music, and he had played the violin and viola in the Denver symphony Orchestra. The point to be noted is that it was Whiteman who came up with the ideas and gave them to Grofe for execution. This resulted in tremendous success for Whiteman. The first recording then prepared was called "Whispering" in 1920 and these recording sold 2 million copies and there were then only two million phonographs in the country. (The King of Jazz)

Then came "Three O'clock in the Morning," and this was an even greater hit. Whiteman became extremely wealthy with 52 Whiteman bands with in the country, Europe and Mexico. This was probably the first application of the concept of franchising. He was so successful that he could demand and collect large sums of money for a personal appearance with the orchestra, but still there is a controversy about his being called the King of Jazz. Is it because Whiteman was white? (The King of Jazz)

Other similar forms of music:

One of the forms of music that was prevalent among the Africans that would ultimately become Jazz is seen in the history of the introduction of the Africans to the United States through slavery. This form of music is called slave music. This came with the Africans who came mainly from Western Africa into Jamestown, VA in 1619. When these slaves came, they brought with them their own culture from Africa and this included their own music. The main difference between African music and Western music consists in the fact that African music is totally functional, and it is so functional that many of the races in Africa do not even have a word for music. In short music is not any special event but takes place continuously when all work of life is done. It is a part of social events like religious ceremonies, marriages, births, deaths, the coronation of the kings, preparation of food, etc. (African music - work Songs)

At the same time there are special forms of music which is to be conducted for any of those special events and is not to be done outside those events. This means that religious music is done only at the time religious ceremonies are conducted. In their life also dance and music are not to separate activities, and all music and dance take place together. There are no audiences for music who sit separately and quietly listen to the music being conducted by others. This integrates their music totally with dance. While the music and dance is going on, there is participation by everybody through singing, playing instruments, clapping, dancing, etc. Again most of the music that takes place does not have any commercial connection and are performed by amateurs for recreational purposes and others for political, social or religious purposes. (African music - work Songs)

Another difference is in the fact that African music does not have written scores and is just handed down from one generation to the next. The master musician passes the music on to the designated heir and he memorizes it by rote. We have already seen that all aspects of social life have music associated with it; the role of the musician in society is considered to be very important. The history of the society is also passed down through the songs and this gives the musician an extra role as the keeper of history and tradition for the group. The music lends itself to this that African languages are tonal languages and any word will have different meanings depending on the comparative highness or lowness with which the word is spoken. It is also not true that African music does not have instruments, but they have more instruments than Europeans as each group of people have their own instruments and tuning. (African music - work Songs)

Apart from that each group also makes their own instruments as per their own tradition. When the slaves were shifted from Africa to America, they maintained their own dancing and singing as they were compelled to sing and dance. This provided them exercise in the limited space that was available and also reduced the depression which otherwise accounted for a high suicide rate. In the early stages of the arrival of slaves into the United States, the music served many functions, but was mostly African in character. Over a period of time, the form changed and it became Afro-American. Most of the slaves were based in the South and they were expected to work all day in a similar environment. (African music - work Songs)

This stopped their variations in music to different functions as they were not permitted to participate in many of their regular functions. Also they had to perform the activities of work, worship and relaxation in very similar surroundings. This was because of the monotonous environment and conditions that they had to face. This also changed there work songs and these became short and mainly rhythmic to accompany their work, having only two or three phrases, solo parts of the song and chorus were following each other immediately and this is seen as cal and response, improvised words and music depending on the situation. Still the songs remained African in origin and the work songs were not very much affected by the European influence. (African music - work Songs)

Even within the United States it was seen as early as 1867 that the slave songs used words taken from the scripture and also from the hymns that are sung at church. This does not mean that their language was being spoilt, and the expressions used for their songs used to be things like "Cross Jordan," "O Lord remember me," "I am going home," "there's enough room in heaven for you," etc. these seem to be directly taken from Methodist hymn books, but the tunes did not come from the Methodist books. Some were similar like "Praise, member" which was apparently taken from "Choral Hymns." At the same time, it seemed clear that the songs keep passing n from Negroes in one part of the country to another, and the songs from Brooklyn went to Philadelphia and then further on. They had however released that the study was not big enough to cover the entire area. (Slave Songs of the United States)

The total collection that they reviewed, were mainly from some select plantation and forty-three of them were from a single plantation. It was also seen that there was constant exchange between the different plantations regarding these songs. Some of the songs thus get restricted in certain regions and one of them "Roll, Jordan was being sung at Florida, but not in North Carolina. The songs are led by the presiding elder or one of his brothers who has a musical capacity. The person leading the song of course has to be in the good books of the church authorities, and not under their censure. The hymns which are sung are delivered two lines at a time and seem very melancholy. (Slave Songs of the United States)

After their formal meeting is finished, then they push back the benches to the walls and all the people get up to dance. This includes the old and the young, men and women, well dressed young men and badly dressed farm hands. The women normally have bright handkerchiefs tied over their heads and short skirts. The boys have men's trousers and torn shirts, and the young girls are barefoot. They all stand in the middle of the floor and when the gong is struck, they all shuffle around in a ring with a jerking motion. The song and dance is extremely energetic and continues well into the middle of the night. (Slave Songs of the United States)

Charlie Parker:

Now where does this place Charlie Parker. He lived a very short life of only around 35 years, but lived it to the hilt. The history of the family was rather unsteady and he was the only child of the family born in 1920. His mother was a good influence on him as she was religious, industrious and determined. His father was first a theatre entertainer and then a chef for the railways run by Pullman. The father was much undisciplined and rarely found at home and finally died when Parker was still a child. In the meantime, Parker had been growing up and was getting some lessons in music. The original nickname of Parker was "Yardbird" due to his love of eating fried chicken, but this was shortened to a more poetic "bird" when he became famous. (Biography of Charlie Parker)

The city where he lived had music going on at all hours of the night as the prohibition laws had not been strictly applied by Democrat Tom Prendergast, who was in charge of the city from 1928 to 1939. He had started originally on the baritone saxophone, but was not satisfied and as a result switched to the alto saxophone in 1933. He became very famous on this instrument. Being from a rather disorganized family, he started with the local groups as musician in 1935. Charlie was in the Crispus Attucks high school and playing the baritone. He got his first alto from his mother in 1931, and loved the instrument so much that he decided to drop out of school and concentrate on the instrument. He first tried a public appearance at the Red Hat Club and suddenly stopped mid-way in the piece "Body and Soul." This made him stop playing for three months. This was again the situation in 1937 when the veteran drummer Jo Jones threw a cymbal at Charlie indicating that he should leave the stage. These did not discourage him, he only tried harder. (Biography of Charlie Parker)

This work was not regular, but in bits and pieces with different groups. He liked one of the musicians of that time, Lester Young and he used to learn all the pieces played solo by Young by rote. Then his mentor was Buster Smith and he taught him some of the music. The band that he was then playing with at that time was George Lee and transferred in 1938 to the band of Jay McShann. He was not viewed as a child prodigy, but he learnt his music with hard and sincere practice. He was also attentive in listening to all the music that he could get a chance to listen to. He was very impressed by the playing of Art Tatum and he learnt the beautiful kaleidoscope with enriched harmonies from him. This was at a Harlem nightclub where he was washing dishes and Art Tatum was the resident pianist. Then he moved back to the Jay McShann band in 1940. He cut his first records with this band in 1941. (Charlie Parker alto saxophone, 1920 to 1955)

During this period he was creative and had achieved his personal stylistic breakthrough while a jam session was going on in 1939. This has been stated by him in his interview as described in "Hear Me Talkin' to Ya" (1955) as was edited by Nat Hentoff and Nat Shapiro. He stated "I'd been getting bored with the stereotyped changes (harmonies) that were being used all the time.... I found that by using the higher intervals of a chord as a melody line and backing them with appropriately related changes I could play the thing I'd been hearing. I came alive." (Charlie Parker biography)

It would be wrong to say that he had a happy life, and when he was seven, he had moved with his mother to Kansas City, Missouri to study music. His mother used to say that from childhood Parker wanted to make music. As mentioned one of his great colleagues in the playing of music was Jay McShann. This was in 1937 and the same year he had his first son with Rebecca, and he was all of 17 years old. This was the first of his four marriages. His luck had improved somewhat when he had met Dizzy Gillespie, and that initiated his first move to New York from Kansas City. The effect of New York was bad on him and he went from marriage to marriage and also from alcohol to drugs. This was to finally kill him. He was very conversant with alto sax and had played with all the great musicians of that time including Earl "Fatha" Hines, Cootie Williams, Billy Eckstine and of course, Dizzy Gillespie. (Charlie "Bird" Parker)

At the same time he was a versatile musician and could play tenor sax, double on clarinet and practically every known brass and woodwind then known. He was considered to be one of the originators of the bebop style of jazz that came after the big band period. He had also shifted rapidly from New York to Los Angeles, but he did not like California. This reflected through his increase of drug consumption while he was at California. This was with the Dizzy Gillespie threesome and at that time his self-destructive nature also came to the fore. He tried to commit suicide for the first time, in 1945-46. (Charlie "Bird" Parker)

In the meantime, he had kept changing the bands that he played with. He had joined with Earl Hines in December 1942 and then on to Billy Ecksteine in May 1944. The one permanent colleague of his at that time was Dizzy Gillespie. Apart from the house where they played, they would also participate in the late hour's jam sessions at Minton's Playhouse and Minton's Uptown House. These were the places where different musicians from outside the regulars joined the band. The regulars included Thelonius Monk, Kenny Clarke and Charlie Christian on the guitar. This was the birthplace of bebop. This was in spite of the fact that many swing players were also present there like Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Ben Webster and Roy Eldridge. The regular playing of Parker and Gillespie at this time was in the different night clubs centered on the 52nd Street of New York. (Charlie Parker alto saxophone, 1920 to 1955)

In the meantime, bebop has been developed, but it could not be recorded till September 1944 as the American Federation of Musicians was on strike. In spite of the recording, they were still not given the honor of leading any music session till November 1945. After this happens, Parker wanted to try his luck in California and shifted to California in December. As mentioned, this stay lasted till April 1947, and in the meantime, Howard McGhee had joined the group on trumpet. Then the first incident happened and he was at the Camarillo State Hospital from June 1946 to January 1947. (Charlie Parker alto saxophone, 1920 to 1955)

The first bebop as mentioned had been discovered and was recorded by the group in 1944. Then there were another group of recordings made by Parker with Red Norvo, with the quintet organized by Gillespie called "Salt Peanuts" and "Shaw Nuff." He had also had is own first recording session and the pieces were "Billie's Bounce," "Now's the Time" and "Koko." This new form of music was giving rise to a lot of controversy and yet attracted a devoted audience. Finally came his collapse in California and this is said to be due to heroin and alcohol addiction. For remedy he was in the mental hospital. (Charlie Parker biography)

The situation of Parker changed in April 1947 when he returned to New York, and this was the peak of his career. He started off with a quartet of players including then famous Miles Davis and Max Roach. They were welcomed by many settings and groups for recording till 1950. He did not work in any fixed place as his cabaret license was removed by the Narcotics squad in July 1951. As an individual he continued to go down and this is seen in the quality of the music for that period that still survives. (Charlie Parker alto saxophone, 1920 to 1955) Apart from the concerts in New York, he went on different tours to U.S. cities and foreign cities. He played in a concert with Gillespie at Carnegie Hall in 1947, produced a set of recordings with the Afro-Cuban band of Machito in 1949-50 and toured with the Philharmonic troupe of popular Jazz during 1949. (Charlie Parker biography)

An important nightclub was also named after him and called Birdland. He was invited to perform there on the opening day in 1949 and ultimately this became the most famous among all the Jazz clubs that were set up in the 1950s. This was his greatest period and he undertook a lot of recordings for the brands Savoy and Dial during 1945 to 1948. These records include the famous "Koko" session, "Relaxing at Camarillo," "Night in Tunisia," "Embraceable You," "Donna Lee," "Ornithology," and "Parker's Mood." He was now a model for most of the young saxophonists. His style of recording was hard yet very expressive and there was a distinct crying edge that his highest tones had along with little vibratos. (Charlie Parker biography)

He introduced a very influential innovation with an eighth note as one of the basic units. The basic units used by him were broken into irregular lengths and shapes and had totally asymmetrical accenting. The technique used by him was brilliant and innovative with a very high speed in execution, and full strength in all the registers was imitated by a lot of others. He also maintained good precision during the high tempos. These were his most popular records and made during 1949-50. The songs were all very popular and there was always a string orchestra with him. This was also the period in his life when he was least affected in his creativity by his addiction to alcohol and narcotics. (Charlie Parker biography)

Even after this period, the creativity of the individual did not end and examples of this can be seen in the famous concert at Massey Hall in 1953. In this he was re-united with Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Bud Powell and Charles Mingus. The problem with him was his temperament and the then wife, Chan Parker could not control him. As a result his debts kept on increasing and he was finding less and less employment. He had earned a reputation for ill health and unreliability. Further sorrows also came and his daughter, Pree died in 1954 and this led Parker to attempted suicide twice in that year. Again he was deep in the downs and committed himself to the care of a hospital, Bellevue in New York. (Charlie Parker alto saxophone, 1920 to 1955)

These were all the effects of his own excesses and he was just getting paid back by nature for his excesses. He had been hospitalized for the treatment of an ulcer, but the doctors had informed him that he would die if he went back to drinking. For these reasons he had been banned from playing in New York City for a long period of 15 months. His addictions got the better of him and he missed his programs, did not pay the musicians accompanying him and this sort of behavior led to a stage where the booking agencies did not want to schedule performances by him. Even the club that was named after him, Birdland sacked him at the end. This was a regular place for him to play. Along with the death of his daughter, his fourth marriage also broke up. Yet his creativity was still intact throughout the 1950s. He was no longer performing with his quintet but was performing with small groups fixed up for the occasion. Some of these were Latin American bands and others were big Jazz bands like Stan Kenton's and Woody Herman's. (Charlie Parker biography)

These ad hoc sessions still produced classics like "Confirmation," "Chi-Chi," and "Bloomdido." These are pieces of quality as good as those prepared by him in the 1940s. He also gave outstanding performances in many nightclubs and concerts, and these give further proof of his creativity during this period. He still wanted to progress and study with the classical composer Edgard Varese, but before this could happen, Parker lost his battle with Ulcers and cirrhosis of the liver. He went to visit his friend Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter, and was persuaded to continue to stay at her home due to his illness. There also was an engagement, but he died within a week of a heart attack. (Charlie Parker biography)

The time was March, 1955 and in Manhattan. At the time of death he had a bleeding ulcer and pneumonia, but the physical condition was very bad. The doctor estimated his age to be between 50 and 60 when he was only 35 years old. People often view him as a breaker of tradition, but he followed most of the tradition. He had been developing his knowledge of music by listening to all forms of music. The problems came to him as he progressed and this was after he had fully answered all the difficulties that he faced in Jazz. At the end he felt that the scope of Jazz was not innovative enough. This led him to develop a lot of new forms in Jazz which are seen in all forms of Jazz since 1945. The collections of solos by him were printed even in 1948 and many of the Jazz exponents of that time learnt that music note by note. He has collected the reputation of being iconoclastic and difficult but was never very popular - even to the level of Armstrong or Coltrane. (Charlie Parker alto saxophone, 1920 to 1955)

He had rejected the earlier prevalent diatonic scales of Jazz and improvised melodies in a new way through the use of Chromatic scales. He also added new harmonies or added passages that did not have a direct relationship to the song he was playing or its harmonic foundation. These created a tumultuous feeling about his solos, yet there were new flowing melodic lines that could be seen. These changes were made at both slow tempos and fast and the resultant improvisation conveyed many subtle and yet complex emotion. These changes were all played by him with a lot of passion and imagination, and continued throughout the changed piece. The changes made by him required a high coordination of nerve, muscle and intellect. All these led to the high impact that he has left on modern Jazz. Later on it led to the development of free jazz and the major exponents are Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane and Albert Ayler. (Charlie Parker biography)

Yet he remained a citizen of Kansas City and his body was buried in Lincoln Cemetery there, though his funeral was held in Harlem. There is still a sculpture in his honor located in the city in the Vine District. (Charlie "Bird" Parker) He is viewed as one of the most significant and greatly imitated changers in the history of Jazz. The most important of his creations were the long, loping lines of melody and these being brought about through the joining of many of short motifs or themes. He also used many notes of the higher intervals for this purpose belonging to the ninth, eleventh and thirteenth. This union of these chords is unique. Today he lives through the influence he has exerted on the other saxophone players during the last fifty years. (Charlie Parker (1920-1955))

Influence of Charlie Parker on American Music

The greatest impact of Charlie Parker on American music has been the development of the bebop style of Jazz. He was one of the main people who developed that style. The style of music essentially started its popularity from the beginning of the fame of Charlie Parker on the scene of Jazz musicians in 1942. The high popularity continued till about 1955 or the time when Charlie Parker died. It is true that there were other musicians who were also involved with the rise of bebop, apart from Charlie Parker. Yet Parker was a very intense musician and thus a great source of influence on all the others who were playing during the period of bebop. Apart from this particular style, Parker also had a great influence on the world of Jazz during his time. A lot of young musicians of the time of Parker learnt the famous early solos of Parker from note to note. (Charlie Parker's influence on Jazz Music)

Naturally this had the greatest impact on the alto saxophonists who were playing at that time. Among these musicians one can name Sonny Stitt, Cannonball Adderley and Phil Woods. Only some of the other alto saxophonists were able to hold on to their own styles and they are Lee Konitz and Paul Desmond. The influence continued till the early 1960s when the influence of Parker gave way to a smoother form and not the bebop style which used erratic rhythms. This change also made sure that Parker's style did not affect the development and starting of the Jazz rock form in the 1970s, but the bebop style staged a comeback in the middle of the decade. This has made his music very important in the study of the development and teaching of Jazz. Most of the recordings of Parker are stored at the Fine Arts Library in the University of Texas at Austin. Many research papers have been submitted on this subject. (Charlie Parker's influence on Jazz Music)

The sum total

We thus have seen that the musical forms of the Africans from the time that they had been forcibly brought into the country, and it has lasted over the centuries due to various reasons. The reasons have also been in the interest of their masters at certain parts of their history, but it is a part of their existence. All the forms of music that have been discussed have left their own marks on the African-Americans, and at one stage it was reflected in the music of the big bands. These bands hold a special part in the hearts of Americans and this had provided hope and inspiration to millions of people at one stage. They have been a guide through the great depression, World War II and the recession at the end of the War. The music was a part of the soul of every American living at that time. Similarly swing music was also liked by many Americans and it was probably a method of escape for many Americans from the daily drudgery. It provided a romantic escape and liked for its excitement and fine art. (The Big Band Era, Or How America Came Out Of the Great Depression and Went On To Win World War II)

The form of this great music of the big bands had existed even before the term of Swing was even used in the 1930s. The great names of black music like Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Glen Gray, and Jimmie Lunceford were all involved. The ground work was done during the tough years of the depression in many parts of America and not only New York. Over the period, the forms changed over time and what was finally left was a large number of records. These great musicians were also blessed with good people to assist them and they were people like Fletcher and Horace Henderson, Don Redman, Sy Oliver, Edgar Sampson, Benny Carter and Jimmy Mundy. They helped them arrange this music into a great form. These people wrote excellent music charts and in these charts the different groups within the orchestra interacted excellently with each other. This was the way of Jazz and in spite of the beautiful combinations there were still enough opportunities for excellent solos. (The Big Band Era, Or How America Came Out Of the Great Depression and Went On To Win World War II)