Charlie Parker, Composer

Henry Martin

First book to examine the totality of a major jazz composer's works
Reproduces Charlie Parker's submissions to the Library of Congress
Provides music-analytical, historical, and philosophical perspectives on Parker's work

Charlie Parker, Composer

Henry Martin

Description

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.

Charlie Parker, Composer

Henry Martin

Table 1
Table 2
List of Examples and Tables

Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction: Jazz Composition and Parker as Jazz Composer

Chapter 1: Music Background and Compositional Overview
Chapter 2: 32-Bar Rhythm Changes Compositions
Chapter 3: Other 32-Bar AABA Compositions
Chapter 4: 32-Bar ABAC Compositions
Chapter 5: Through-Composed Blues in C
Chapter 6: Through-Composed Blues in Other Keys
Chapter 7: 32-Bar Compositions with A Section or Partial A Section
Chapter 8: Riff Blues
Chapter 9: Improvisational Frames with Composed Sections and Non-Standard Works
Chapter 10: Summary and Assessment

Bibliography
Index

Charlie Parker, Composer

Henry Martin

Author Information

Henry Martin is Professor of Music at Rutgers University in Newark. He is a composer, music theorist, and pianist with a long list of compositions, articles, books, and performances. He is the author of Charlie Parker and Thematic Improvisation (1996), Counterpoint: A Species Approach Based on Schenker's Counterpoint (2005), and Jazz: The First 100 Years (co-authored with Keith Waters, 2014). His articles and reviews have appeared in Music Theory Spectrum, Journal of Music Theory, Perspectives of New Music, among many others.

Charlie Parker, Composer

Henry Martin

Reviews and Awards

"Charlie Parker, Composer is filled with many insights and much recent published research that I was not aware of until now. Its dazzling achievement makes me forget how few other Parker publications appeared during his centennial year. I will be re-reading it in the coming years, too." -- Edward Komara, Association for Recorded Sound Collections Journal

"In the centenary year of Bird's birth, Martin adds a welcome, solid piece of musical scholarship. Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals." -- J. Farrington, Eastman School of Music, CHOICE

"Too little has been written on Charlie Parker the composer; Henry Martin's book brilliantly fills that need." -- Carl Woideck, Senior Instructor, University of Oregon School of Music and Dance

"This clearly organized and well-researched book ... represents a valuable contribution to analytical studies of Parker, which to date have focused mostly on his improvised solos rather than written-out compositions. This will undoubtedly prove to be a very useful reference for jazz scholars, and it would also work well in a course on jazz analysis or jazz composition." -- Nicole Biamonte, Associate Professor of Music Research, McGill University

"Encyclopedic in scope, scrupulously researched and brilliantly discussed, Professor Martin's magnum opus is a perfect gift on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Charlie Parker's birth and an invaluable resource for many admirers of his compositional art." -- Dariusz Terefenko, Eastman School of Music