Charlie Parker, also known as ‘Yardbird’ or ‘Bird’, was a largely self-taught musical genius with acute self-destructive tendencies. His career exemplified both the creative power and the destructive social ethos of bebop. His music burned as brightly as any in jazz, but his lifestyle sent out the wrong message to too many young musicians, despite his frequent warnings ...
Charlie Christian (1916–42) pushed guitar to the forefront of the big-band era, furthering the instrument’s evolution from a provider of acoustic accompaniment to an electrified foreground instrument that could pound out rhythm like a drum set or solo out front like a horn. His playing, in fact, was likened to jazz horn players who were leading the evolution ...
1863–1919 American composer Parker studied in Boston with the European-trained George Chadwick and in Munich with Josef Rheinberger, and later taught in New York and Yale, where his students included Charles Ives (1874–1954) and Roger Sessions (1896–1985). As a virtuoso organist he held a prestigious post at Trinity Church, Boston, and founded and conducted the New Hampshire ...
(Vocals, banjo, c. 1890–1938) New Orleans-born Charlie Jackson brought a jazzman’s sophistication to an instrument still too often overlooked by blues historians. He alternated single-string solos with percussive chording and dexterous fingerpicking, allowing him to bridge styles and genres with rare facility. He released more than 60 sides of his own, and he also recorded with Freddie ...
Charlie Christian was the last great figure to emerge from the jazz scene of the 1930s. He not only brought a perfectly formed approach to his music, but also an entirely new musical platform – the electric guitar. His career in the big time was brief, but Christian was a lighthouse whose beam still illuminates anyone with serious intentions ...
(Various saxophones, 1913–91) Charlie Barnet led a successful big band from 1933 until the late 1940s and was one of the earliest white bandleaders to employ black musicians, beginning with Benny Carter as a guest soloist and arranger in 1934. He introduced singer Lena Horne as an unknown in 1941 and featured many notable musicians in his line-ups. His ...
(Harmonica, vocals, 1932–71) Herman Parker Jr. was born in Bobo, Mississippi and worked with Howlin’ Wolf as early as 1949 in West Memphis. Parker was associated with B.B. King, Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace in the Memphis scene of the early 1950s. He recorded for Sun with his own group, the Blue Flames, in ...
(Bass, b. 1937) Charlie Haden’s famed work with Ornette Coleman represents just one small facet of the versatile bassist’s career. As a child in Iowa he performed on radio with his family’s country and western band. At 15 he took up the bass while recovering from polio, acquiring a novel technique that makes his notes resonate deeply. Haden moved ...
(Harmonica, vocals, guitar, b. 1944) Often compared to his contemporary Paul Butterfield, Musselwhite has an exceptionally fluid and melodic harmonica style that places him head and shoulders above most competitors. He debuted on record in 1967 and has remained faithful to the Chicago style in his own projects and in supporting work for Elvin Bishop, Big ...
(Guitar, b. 1967) The leading exponent ‘acid jazz’, guitarist Charlie Hunter has learned to emulate the organ-bass runs of his inspiration, Larry Young, on a customized guitar. Raised in Berkeley, California, the son of a guitar repairer, he was a street musician in Europe prior to founding Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy in the early 1990s ...
(Tenor and soprano saxophones, b. 1944) Bristol-born Evan Parker has been an important experimentalist in the UK and continental Europe for 40 years with the Spontaneous Music Ensemble, Music Improvisation Company, London Jazz Composer’s Orchestra, Brotherhood of Breath, Dutch-based ICP and Globe Unity Orchestra. His mastery of circular breathing and alternate fingerings have resulted in inimitable ...
(Bass, b. 1952) William Parker apprenticed with major bassists in New York City’s Jazzmobile programme, studied privately with Jimmy Garrison and Wilber Ware, and performed with Cecil Taylor’s group at the age of 21. He has anchored many ensembles, including the David S. Ware Quartet. His prodigious work ethic, instrumental steadiness, dependability and selflessness have ...
(Vocals, banjo, 1892–1931) A textile-mill worker and banjo player, Poole led one of the finest of old-time bands, The North Carolina Ramblers, with guitarist Roy Harvey (1892–1958) and a succession of fiddlers headed by Posey Rorer. Their first release, ‘Don’t Let Your Deal Go Down Blues’ and ‘Can I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight, ...
(Vocals, guitar, 1932–98) A cult hero, especially in Europe, Charlie enjoyed no commercial success whatsoever but was revered for his authentic rockabilly sound. Born near Holly Springs, Mississippi, he first recorded for Sun in 1954, but cut his finest rockabilly for King and Meteor. His unusual vocal technique – complete with hiccups and stutters ...
(Vocals, guitar, fiddle, b. 1936) Daniels was a North Carolina rock’n’roller who had a song cut by Elvis Presley and who played on Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline. Daniels formed his own band in 1972, modelled on the southern rock of The Allman Brothers Band, and had a hit with the 1973 tall tale, ‘Uneasy Rider’ ...
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An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...
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Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.
David Bowie
Fantastic new, unofficial biography covers
his life, music, art and movies, with a
sweep of incredible photographs.