269: Doris Parker, interview, 1985.
270: Junior Williams, taped interview.
271: For detail on Chicago crime in the 1930s, I consulted Tolland, The Dillinger
Days; Matera, John Dillinger; and Bergreen, Capone.
272: Lincoln, C. Eric. The Black Muslims in America. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B.
Erdmans, 1994.
277-79: Bob Redcross, interview, New York, NY, 1985.
278-79: Billy Eckstine, taped interview, New York, NY, 1985
280-81: Dexter, Dave. Jazz Cavalcade: The Inside Story of Jazz. Whitefish, MN: Literary Licensing, 2011; Billy Eckstine, interview, 1985
283: Jacques Butler, interview.
283-84: Roosevelt, Eleanor. My Day, 34.
285-86: For this account I drew on Gelernter, 1939.
286: Walter Davis, Jr., interview, New York, NY.
287: Buster Smith, interview, 1981.
291-92: Jay McShann and Doris Parker, interviews, 1981 and thereafter.
292: For a colorful portrait of Harlem at the time, see Smith, Music on My Mind.
292-98: Biddy Fleet on Charlie Parker, interview; Frank Wess on Biddy Fleet, interview; both 1985.
303: Charlie’s intense study sessions with Biddy Fleet have become the stuff of
legend, but some particulars of that legend seem to have been altered in translation. In a 1949 article, Michael Levin and John S. Wilson quoted Charlie as saying that, during that period, “I kept thinking there’s bound to be something else,” another approach to the music that he wanted to play. “I could hear it sometimes, but I couldn’t play it.” Levin and Wilson themselves described the breakthrough in these words: “Charlie suddenly found that by using higher intervals of a chord as a melody line and backing them with appropriately related chord changes, he could play this thing he’d been ‘hearing.’” As Carl Woideck has noted, however, the influential 1955 book Hear Me Talkin’ to Ya presented that line as a direct quote from Charlie: “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.” (See Woideck, Charlie Parker: His Music and Life, 16. Woideck notes the possibility that the authors of Hear Me Talkin’ to Ya were working from Levin’s and Wilson’s interview notes, but that seems remote.) The quote has been passed on for generations as a kind of key to Bird’s music, but at least one highly knowledgeable musician says that the line about intervals “does not make sense” as a way to describe Parker’s breakthrough. In an email to the author, Wynton Marsalis observes that “Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Art Tatum and others [also] played on the upper intervals of chords. What Charlie Parker did has happened perhaps only once in Western music. After figuring out how to double the velocity of the shuffle rhythm, which no one before him had done, he heard his improvised melodies at high speed and was able to hear Tatumesque harmonies at that velocity on a single note instrument! This can be heard in Chopin and Lizst, but they are considered light composers. Bird aspired to make melody on a heavyweight level, not just 2-5-1 arpeggios, or he would be in that line with Tatum and Hawkins. He is not. He is on the melodic level with Armstrong, which to me, makes Charlie Parker one of the two greatest players in the history of jazz and western music.”
308: Jerry Lloyd to Reisner, in Bird, 137-8.
308-10: Rozelle Claxton, interview, 1985.
310: Phil Schaap, conversation.
313: Joe Wilder, interview.
316: Idrees Sulieman, taped interview, 1985.
318-22: Rebecca Parker, interview, 1981.
323: Lawrence Keyes, interview, 1981.
325-26: Bobby Bradford, conversations.
329-30: Bob Redcross, taped interview, New York, NY, 1985. See also Woideck, Charlie Parker, 68, 250.
Index
The pagination of this electronic edition does not match the edition from which it was created. To locate a specific entry, please use your e-book reader’s search tools.
A
Abercrombie, Gertrude, 330
Africa, 124–25
Allen, Red, 182
Anderson, Buddy, 11
Anderson, Marian, 283
Annapolis, 313–17
Antlers Club, 205–6, 210, 216,
218–19, 257, 267, 287
Armstrong, Louis, 30, 38, 98, 99, 117–19, 140, 145, 157, 160, 181–85, 198, 222,
268, 272–73, 278, 331, 334
Aspects of Negro Life (Douglas), 173
Attucks, Crispus, 48
B
Bailey, Pearl, 313
Balaban and Katz Circuit, 5
Balanchine, George, 239
Bales, Walter, 237–40
Barefield, Eddie, 62, 145, 156, 160,
211
Barnet, Charlie, 32
Basie, Bill “Count,” 12, 20, 24, 26–27, 35, 62, 141, 142–46, 149–52, 158–61, 179, 186, 193, 198–200, 202, 204–5, 229, 237, 239, 241, 248–51, 274, 281, 289, 290, 310
Orchestra of, 16, 85, 60
bebop, 100, 140, 227, 315
Bechet, Sidney, 140, 184
Beckett, Fred, 242
Beiderbecke, Bix, 160
Bennett, Gwendolyn, 79–80
Bergreen, Laurence, 271
Berry, Leon “Chu,” 27, 62, 155, 183, 185, 198, 224, 232, 242, 244–46, 253, 255, 291, 297, 312, 313, 332–33
Birds with Human Souls (Rowland), ix
Birth of a Nation, 73–75, 284
Blake, Fanny, 43
Blesh, Rudi, 130, 131
Blue Devils, 24, 85, 140–43, 145, 149, 158, 186, 187, 191–204, 209, 250, 287 blues, 16, 60–62, 103, 113, 117, 118, 138, 139, 150–51, 263–64, 276, 277
“Body and Soul,” 87, 246, 306, 317, 330–34
Bolden, Buddy, 133–36, 331
Bonnie and Clyde, 63, 68
Bowes, Major, 152
Boxley, Hattie Lee, 106–7, 164, 236
Boyd, William, 72
Bradford, Bobby, 325–26
Braud, Wellman, 140
Broch, Hermann, 116
Broken Blossoms, 74
Bronson, Art, 158
Brown, John, 316
Brown, Piney, 64
Brown, Walter, 27, 29, 35
Bryant, Sterling, 48, 49, 51–52, 87–89,
105, 179, 232, 257
Buchanan, Charlie, 13, 14, 22, 25, 26, 32
Buffalo Soldiers, 41–42
Burney (Robinson), Banjo, 314, 315, 317
Burns, Tommy, 97
Bushell, Garvin, 60–61, 119, 137–38
Butler, Jacques, 283
Butts, Jimmy, 298
Byas, Don, 62, 297
C
Cabeza de Vaca, Álvar Núñez, 38
Calloway, Cab, 100, 245, 279
Capone, Al, 117, 271–72, 317
Carter, Benny, 62, 183, 224, 253, 296
Caruso, Enrico, 222
“Cherokee,” 30, 32–34, 300
Cherry Blossom, 69, 123, 149, 312
Chicago, 267–68, 272
Capone in, 117, 271–72
conflict between Irish and
blacks in, 272
Great Migration and, 275–77
jazz style of, 117, 118, 122
Local 208 in, 273–74
Parker in, 270–81
Parker’s move to, 253–57, 265, 267–70
Christian, Charlie, 306
Churchill, Winston, 78
Civil War, 41, 73, 76, 125, 127, 128, 133, 140
Claxton, Rozelle, 307–10
Clayton, Buck, 205, 241
Coleman, Earl, 113
Coleman, Ermir, 193
Colman, Ronald, 244
Considering Genius (Crouch), 123, 124
Cooper, Al, 23
Coronado, Francisco Vásquez de, 38–40
Cotton Club, 98–99
Crouch, Emma Bea, 63
Cullen, Countee, 78
Culliver, Freddie, 83–84
D
Daley, Joe, 327–28
Dameron, Tadd, 323–24
Daniels, Ernest, 164, 165
Dan Wall’s Chili House, 294, 297, 301, 304
Daughters of the American
Revolution (DAR), 283–84
Davis, Alonzo, 83, 84, 86
Davis, Clarence, 106, 148, 163–65, 180–81, 184, 209, 226–27, 268, 310
Davis, Miles, 322
Davis, Walter, Jr., 286
Deans of Swing, 89–90, 93–94, 147, 221, 323
Dee, Jesse, 189, 191
DeFranco, Buddy, 313
Depression, Great, 6, 48–49, 55, 63, 64, 66–68, 70, 130, 142, 200–202, 239, 270
Desmond, Paul, 87
Dewey, Thomas E., 293
Dexter, Dave, 280
Diamond, John, 126, 131
Dillinger, John, 42, 63, 68, 271
Dirty Legs, 34
Dodds, Baby, 117, 119
Dodds, Johnny, 119, 138
Dooley, Fred, 89–90
Dorsey, Bob, 6–7
Dorsey, Jimmy, 156, 211, 224
Douglas, Aaron, 173
Douglas, Tommy, 62, 226–29, 243, 252, 255
Down Beat, 145, 280
Doyle, Arthur Conan, 214–16
Durant, Will, 278
Durham, Eddie, 15, 62, 141–43, 193, 197–98, 200
E
Eckstine, Billy, 100–101, 222, 278–79, 322
Edison, Harry “Sweets,” 131–32 802 Girls, 34
Eldridge, Roy, 30, 181–85, 198, 209, 224, 245, 255, 268, 291, 313
Ellington, Duke, 20, 35, 72–73, 76, 98–102, 104–5, 118, 119, 139, 279, 305–6, 323
Parker passes up audition with, 305–7
Ellison, Ralph, 24, 80–81, 151, 194–95, 199, 210
Enois, Leonard “Lucky,” 7, 25
Estevan (slave scout), 38–39
Evans, Herschel, 27, 62, 205, 245–46, 310
F
Fields, Ernie, 307, 308
Fleet, Biddy, 297–307, 311, 314, 323, 324
Fletcher, Tom, 120–21
Floyd, Pretty Boy, 63, 66–68
Floyd, Troy, 190
Foster, Stephen, 222
Foxx, Redd, 34
Francis, Panama, 20–21, 26, 28
G
Gale, Charles, 13
Gale, Moses “Moe,” 13, 35
Gardner, Goon, 280, 291, 329
Gazzaway, Don, 187
Geraldine (paramour of Parker), 170–72, 229–30, 233, 257
Geronimo, 262
Gershwin, George, 323
Gibson, Andy, 26
Gibson, Hoot, 72
Gibson, Oswald, 315–17
Gillespie, Dizzy, 29, 34, 101, 227
Golden, Jimmy, 315
Goldin, Marie, 106, 164
Gone with the Wind, 73, 284
Goodman, Benny, 205, 225–26
Gould, Chester, 67
Gray, Harry, 274
Great Migration, 275–77
Great Plains, The (Webb), 40
Green, Freddie, 144
Greer, Sonny, 99, 101
Griffith, D. W., 72–75, 100, 284
H
Hamilton, Julian, 83–84
Hammond, John, 145–46, 159, 186, 204, 205, 250
Hampton, Lionel, 35, 99
Handy, W. C., 310
Hardwick, Otto, 305–6
Harlem, 12–13, 20, 28, 252, 287, 290–92, 295–96
Cotton Club, 98–99
Dan Wall’s Chili House, 294, 297, 301, 304
Monroe’s Uptown House, 18, 293–95, 301–2, 304
Savoy Ballroom, 8–9, 13–14, 16–17, 20–35, 292
Turf Club, 292–93
Woodside Hotel, 12, 14–16, 18–20, 250–51, 290, 291, 307–8, 310
Harris, Benny, 308
Hawkins, Coleman, 19, 23, 24, 30, 62, 155, 159, 182–85, 198, 245, 291, 311–13, 317
Hawkins, Erskine, 35
Henderson, Fletcher, 20, 24, 159, 182, 184, 185, 198, 245, 273
Hibbler, Al, 27, 29
Hines, Earl, 273, 311
Hite, Les, 21
Hitler, Adolf, 283
Hodges, Johnny, 19, 62, 89, 224, 253, 296, 305–6
Holiday, Billie, 16, 291
Holstein, Casper, 292–93
“Hometown Blues,” 35–36
“Honeysuckle Rose,” 330–34
Hoover, J. Edgar, 66, 67
Hopkins, Elmer, 223
Horowitz, Vladimir, 184 horses, 39–40
Hughes, Langston, 78–79, 104
I
Ickes, Harold, 284
Indians, 38–41, 263
In Search of Buddy Bolden (Marquis), 133, 134, 136
Intolerance, 74
“I, Too” (Hughes), 78–79
J
Jackson, Andrew, 43
Jackson, Chubby, 31–32
Jackson, John, 89, 90, 155
James Boys, 63, 262
Janis, Harriet, 130, 131
jazz, 61–62, 116–17, 123, 127, 139, 156, 177, 195, 303, 325–26
bebop, 100, 140, 227, 315
Chicago, 117, 118, 122
Kansas City, 69–62, 116–17, 122–23, 125, 137–46
natural vs. trained musicians in, 241–42
New Orleans, 117, 118, 122, 132–35, 144–45, 196
rhythm section in, 144
Jazz from the Beginning (Bushell), 119, 138
Jazz Style in Kansas City and the Southwest (Russell), 85, 139, 193–94
Johnson, Bud, 62
Johnson, Frank, 123, 125, 128
Johnson, Gus, 7, 25, 242
Johnson, Jack, 76, 96–98, 102–4, 121
Johnson, James P., 185, 309, 311
Johnson, Margaret “Countess,” 152–54
Johnson, Pete, 15, 16, 60
Jones, Buddy, 214
Jones, Jo, 141, 144, 149–50, 153, 154, 205, 306
Joplin, Scott, 130–32, 135–36
Jordan, Louis, 158
Juba, Master, 126–27, 131
Julius (neighbor), 55–56, 232
K
Kansas, 39
Kansas City, 6, 42, 52, 59–60, 67, 161, 317
jazz style of, 69–62, 116–17, 122–23, 125, 137–46
lawlessness in, 63–68
as music town, 137
Kansas City Massacre, 65–67
Keith, Jimmy, 86, 94, 333
Keyes, Joe, 149
Keyes, Lawrence, 82, 84, 88, 89, 93–94, 147, 323
Kirk, Andy, 12–13, 15–16, 60, 146, 152, 159
Kolax, King, 279
Kynard, Ben, 89
L
LaGuardia, Fiorello, 287, 293
Lansky, Meyer, 293
“Laughin’ Louie,” 331
Laughton, Charles, 244
Lazia, 64, 66–68
Lee, George E., 220–23
Lee, Julia, 223
Leonard, Harlan, 16, 60, 85–86, 241–43, 252, 310, 324, 328
Lewis, Ed, 241
Lindy Hoppers, 34
Lloyd, Jerry, 308
Logan, Eli, 242
Louis, Joe, 76, 95–96, 100–104, 283
Luciano, Lucky, 293
Lunceford, Jimmie, 20, 310
M
Madden, Owney, 99
Maher, Jim, 87
Marquis, Donald, 133, 134, 136
Mayfield, Edward, Jr., 83
McDaniel, Hattie, 284
McGhee, Howard, 32
McKay, Claude, 78
McNeil, Crackshot, 192
McShann, Jay “Hootie,” 7, 17, 19, 23–31, 35, 43, 203–4, 219–21, 223–26, 228, 237–43, 248, 252, 280, 292, 329
Bales and, 237–40
Orchestra of, 1, 8–17, 20–36, 60, 118, 248
Parker hired by, 246–47
Parker’s meeting of, 241–43
Miley, Bubber, 145, 182
Millinder, Lucky, 9, 20–21, 26, 28, 118, 229
Orchestra of, 9, 20, 26, 28, 32, 33, 35
Minor, Orville “Piggy,” 11, 12, 18, 27, 29,
118, 203–6, 209–11 minstrelsy, 67, 73–75, 84, 98–101, 120–21, 126–27, 130, 244
Mitchell, Razz, 23–24
Monk, Thelonious, 34
Monroe, Clark, 18, 293–94
Monroe’s Uptown House, 18, 293–95, 301–2, 304
Morton, Jelly Roll, 140, 141, 283
Mosley, Snub, 242
Moten, Bennie, 62, 85, 138–40, 142–43, 149, 186, 199, 200, 202–3, 221, 241, 250
death of, 145, 202–4
Moten, Bus, 203
Murray, Albert, 142
Music of Black Americans, The (Southern), 123
Murray, Albert, 311
Musser, Clarence, 163–64, 167, 180, 185, 206
N
Nash, Frank “Jelly,” 65–66
Nelson, Baby Face, 63, 68
New Orleans, 271
Black Codes in, 134–35
jazz style of, 117, 118, 122, 132–35, 144–45, 196
New York City, 10–12, 14, 16, 139–40, 161, 287–89
Parker’s arrival in, 285–87, 289
Smith in, 286–87, 289–91, 295–96, 301, 307
Smith’s move to, 250–52, 270
see also Harlem
New York World’s Fair, 285–86
Niza, Marcos de, 38–39
No Way Out, 75
O
Oliver, Joe “King,” 98, 117–19, 138, 139–40, 145, 158, 272–73, 278
Oliver, Paul, 62 100 Years of the Negro in Show Business (Fletcher), 120–21
“One O’Clock Jump,” 26, 249
Original Amateur Hour, The, 152
Owens, Jesse, 283
P
Page, Oran “Hot Lips,” 15, 60, 62, 141–43, 145, 149, 150, 193, 200
Page, Walter, 15, 62, 85, 138, 140–41, 144, 149, 152, 192, 193, 196, 200, 202, 226
Blue Devils of, see Blue Devils
Parker, Addie (mother), 43–45, 47–49, 51, 53–55, 68, 70, 76–78, 82, 83, 86–88, 92, 105–7, 148, 155, 164, 165, 167–72, 212, 214, 230–36, 247, 249, 264, 317, 318–20, 322–23
and Charlie’s leaving Kansas, 254, 318, 320
Leon and, 318
Parker, Charlie:
arrival in New York, 285–87, 289
in automobile accident, 164, 212
birth of, 42, 44
in Chicago, 270–81
childhood of, 43–49
drug use of, 17–18, 30, 164, 169–71, 212–17, 227, 229–33, 235, 242, 246–48, 256, 257, 285, 304, 321–23, 328
family background of, 42–43
first club gigs of, 27
moves to Chicago, 253–57, 265, 267–70
practice schedules of, 87–88, 315
saxophone chosen as instrument of, 82
saxophone mouthpieces and, 228–29
saxophone screw lost by, 146–47
Sherlock Holmes mysteries enjoyed by, 214–16
technological innovation as interest of, 286, 300, 304, 324–25
Kansas City Lightning Page 32
