Ted, about Charlie Parker: My dad told us about "Bird," that he was a genius and that he and many other musicians looked up to Parker's awesome technique, improvising creativity, and important innovations in Jazz.
Dad also told us stories about how Parker was always pawning his horn and that he saw Parker perform once in L.A. Dad said Bird was very late coming out on stage. Everyone was calling his name, and when Bird finally came out, he blew a flurry of very fast notes for a few seconds, then passed out on stage to everyone's disappointment. Tragic that Parker struggled with addiction and died at age 34. Miles Davis said something like, You can summarize Jazz in four words, "Louis Armstrong Charlie Parker." I think Miles meant that these are the two guys who were the innovators in Jazz and who taught other musicians how to play Jazz music.
Also, in correction to my other post, it was Bob Benoit, David Benoit father, that played guitar in my Dad's combo. I don't know if David ever studied music with my father.
Roger
Last edited by Steady339; 05-12-2016 at 05:04 PM.
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