Jazz Artists

Jazz has always been an important part of the cultural history of the United States. In the 1920s, jazz and popular music became equivalent concepts for many people. American critics contrast jazz with the commercial music industry of the United States. Charlie Parker and John Gillespie were jazz artists who revolutionized this particular kind of music. Their lives, careers, and works were significantly different; however, both of them contributed to the establishment and development of bebop.

It should be stated that Gillespie and Parker are the founders of the famous style of jazz called bebop. Gillespie was born in 1917 and was the ninth child in the family, in comparison to Parker, who was born in 1920 and was the only child of Charles and Eddie Parker . Charlie Parker started playing saxophone at the age of 11, and at the age of 14, he already became the member of the school ensemble. Due to the presence of several musical instruments in the house, Dizzy Gillespie learned how to play various musical instruments in his early childhood . Therefore, it could be stated that from early childhood both artists had an opportunity to fall in love with music.

The careers of Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker developed in different ways. In the late 1930s, Parker decided to concentrate on playing saxophone . During this period, he mastered the basic principles of improvisation and developed some ideas that preceded bebop. He played in local bands that performed in jazz clubs of Kansas City and its environs . He improved his technique under the leadership of Buster Smith . Similarly, the professional activity of Gillespie started in Philadelphia’s clubs. He worked as the third trumpeter in the local band of Frank Fairfax . For a short time, he began to play some parts of the first trumpet and already taught bebop melodies to other musicians. However, in comparison to Parker who was forced to work as a dishwasher for 9 dollars a week because of the lack of money, Gillespie established his own music band . It is obvious that the beginning of the artists careers was significantly different.

Being in New York, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker got an opportunity to meet one another. In 1942, Parker left the ensemble of McShane to play in the orchestra of Earl Hines, where he met trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie . Subsequently, Charlie and Dizzy worked as a duet for a long time. Unfortunately, the beginning of Parker’s career and the formation of a new style of bebop remained undocumented due to the strike organized by the American Federation of Musicians in 1942-1943 . Being a talented artist, Parker realized that using all twelve sounds of the chromatic scale, the musician can direct the melody to any key, which violates some principles of the usual construction of jazz solos. Despite criticism, this innovation gave birth to the development of bebop. On November 26, 1945, Parker recorded his session for the label called Savoy, which was presented as the greatest jazz session of all time . In comparison to the highly successful life of Dizzy Gillespie who revolutionized and popularized bebop and recorded hundreds of epic plays and albums, Parker recorded several famous compositions but later became drug addicted, and his career declined . All in all, both jazz artists made an enormous contribution to the development of bebop, but their lives and careers were completely different.

To conclude, Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker are considered to be the founders of the famous style of jazz called bebop. Despite the fact that they had different lives and came from different cities, the joint work of Gillespie and Parker revolutionized jazz music. Both artists played in the orchestra of Earl Hines where they met and started working as a duet. However, in comparison to the decline of Parker’s career because of drug addiction, Gillespie managed to record many compositions that contributed to the further development of jazz music. This article was written by Red Gun . My works you can find in this site essay professor