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Charles Christopher "Bird" Parker,
Jr., b. Kansas City, Kans., Aug. 29, 1920, d. Mar. 12, 1955,
was an alto saxophonist who became one of the seminal influences
in the jazz movement known as BEBOP. Although he played in
big bands, most notably in the band led by Jay McShann, Parker
was happiest in small jazz groups. In 1945, while he was playing
in New York's 52d Street jazz clubs, he and Dizzy GILLESPIE
made the first definitive bop recordings. Bop's ragged, rhythmically
erratic and harmonically extended style exerted enormous influence
on jazz musicians, and Parker is now recognized as one of
the jazz greats.
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