Chasin' the Bird: The Life and Legacy of Charlie Parker

by Brian Priestley

Book Overview

Charlie Parker has been idolized by generations of jazz musicians and fans. Indeed, his spectacular musical abilities--his blinding speed and brilliant improvisational style--made Parker a legend even before his tragic death at age thirty-four.
Now, in Chasin' The Bird, Brian Priestley offers a marvelous biography of this jazz icon, ranging from his childhood in Kansas City to his final harrowing days in New York. Priestley offers new insight...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195304640
• ISBN13: 9780195304640
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 9.3" x 6.3"

Customer Reviews

The best of Bird in brief

Here's a perfect short critical biography of one of the finest and most influential musicians in America's--and the world's--history. The book offers a few new anecdotes even to readers familiar with the literature, corrects several previous biographical errors, then goes on to give a musicological analysis of Charlie Parker's works and their implications. The latter offers both musical examples as well as reference points of current Parker CDs so even nonreaders of music can understand the point. There is some technical detail that requires musical knowledge, but lay reader can still get through this with an excellent understanding of why many of us still believe "Bird lives"!