'He'll make your head explode': sax stars on the genius and tragedy of Charlie Parker

'He'll make your head explode': sax stars on the genius and tragedy of Charlie Parker

By Kate Hutchinson

Parker died at the age of 34, crippled by heroin addiction. Photograph: Hulton Getty

Outside jazz circles, Charlie Parker might not be a household name like Miles Davis or Louis Armstrong, but the saxophonist, who died of cirrhosis aged 34 after struggling with addictions to heroin and alcohol, was one of music’s true innovators.

By inventing the dizzyingly fast style known as bebop, Parker turned jazz from dance music into something intensely intellectual and spiritual.

As the London jazz festival celebrates his centenary with a tribute, today’s jazz stars talk about the shattering impact of the man nicknamed Bird.

Full Story: https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/nov/18/head-explode-sax-stars-genius-tragedy-charlie-parker