Friday, August 29th, 1920
They call him the greatest instrumental soloist in the history of jazz who was born in Kansas City, KS. He got his first sax at the age of 11. As a teenager he saw Count Basie’s band and was blown away by the sax work of Lester Young. He quit school in order to concentrate on mastering the saxophone. In 1936 he joined the Tommy Douglas band. In 1939 he met Dizzie Gillespie who was touring with Cab Calloway’s orchestra. He went to NYC and began jamming with local jazz musicians. He worked with some of the greats like Earl “Fatha” Hines, Kenny Clark, and Milt Jackson. In the early 1940s he formed a quintet that included Miles Davis, Duke Jordan, Tommy Potter and Max Roach. He also toured and guested with the bands of Woody Herman and Stan Kenton. At the age of 34 he suffered from cirrhosis of the liver. He died of heart failure on March 12, 1955 in NYC.
Today would have been the birthday of saxophone great Charlie "Yardbird" Parker.
That's this day in R&B Music History on 107.5 WBLS.
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