As a founding father of bebop and brilliant jazz improviser, Charlie
Parker has secured a reputation and legacy second to none since his
birth nearly 100 years ago. Because of his excellence as an improviser,
however, his compositions - while admired and still played - have taken a
back seat.
In this exciting and timely new volume, author Henry
Martin rebalances our understanding of Parker by spotlighting his
significance as a jazz composer.
Beginning with a review of Parker's life and musical training, Charlie Parker, Composer
critically analyzes Parker's compositions, situating them within both
his individual musicianship and early bebop style. Proposing that Parker
composed up to 84 pieces, Martin examines their development and
aesthetic
qualities, their similarities and dissimilarities within a range of
seven types of jazz composition. Also discussed are eight tunes credited
to Parker but never performed by him, along with an evaluation of where
- if at all - they fit in his oeuvre. Providing the first assessment of
a
major jazz composer's output in its entirety, Charlie Parker, Composer
offers a thorough reexamination, through music-theoretical, historical,
and philosophical lenses, of one of the most influential jazz musicians
of all time.
epub
No comments:
Post a Comment