Charles Parker Jr., nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos, virtuosic technique, and advanced harmonies. He was a virtuoso and introduced revolutionary rhythmic and harmonic ideas into jazz, including rapid passing chords, new variants of altered chords, and chord substitutions. Primarily a player of the alto saxophone, Parker's tone ranged from clean and penetrating to sweet and somber.
Parker at the Three Deuces jazz club, New York, 1947
151 Avenue B in 2011
A King 'Super 20' alto saxophone, owned and used by Charlie Parker, now at the Smithsonian Institution
Parker with (from left to right) Tommy Potter, Max Roach, Miles Davis, and Duke Jordan, at the Three Deuces, New York, circa 1945
The saxophone is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to produce a sound wave inside the instrument's body. The pitch is controlled by opening and closing holes in the body to change the effective length of the tube. The holes are closed by leather pads attached to keys operated by the player. Saxophones are made in various sizes and are almost always treated as transposing instruments. A person who plays the saxophone is called a saxophonist or saxist.
A Yamaha alto saxophone
Tenor saxophone mouthpieces, ligatures, reed, and cap
Adolphe Sax, the inventor of the saxophone
In a rare early inclusion in an orchestral score, the saxophone was used in Gioacchino Rossini's Robert Bruce (1846)