During the early to middle 20th century, Jazz music and categories alike flourished as musical genres developed and branched off of blues and jazz. Musicians like Charlie Parker and Carmen McRae helped to develop the sub-divisions of popular genre, creating popular styles such as bebop which was expanded greatly by these two. Parker and McRae both developed jazz music in their own respects as Parker focused on Saxophone solos and McRae took a vocalist approach. Both McRae and Parker were extremely respected artists that received social recognition by receiving several Grammy Award Nominations. Many fans and musicians looked up to Parker and McRae as they assisted greatly in the progression of this genre, however encountered hurdles in their personal lives along the way. In this Literature Review, an in depth look at the social, historical, as well as musical elements will show the impact Parker and McRae had during their musical careers.

A social context of a someones life is seen as a large influential factor as to the development of their social interactions. In one case, in particular Charlie Parker, the social structure and stratification of Parkers life heavily influenced the path his life took. Parker had a chronic addiction to heroin, along with a good number of jazz musicians as heroin was popular during this time. This influenced Parker so heavily that he missed performances and even went as far as to pawning his saxophone for drug money. Parker was extremely popular and well respected as his fans fueled his addiction by assisting him monetarily to buy heroin. This addiction, as any kind of addiction would, took over his musical career, slowing down the progression of bebop and jazz. Parker couldn’t perform in a number of shows, which is what his fans lived for as they loved seeing him perform live. When parkers addiction to heroin became less impactful, he resorted to alcohol, which also caused similar affects to shows as the heroin did. As seen even today, fans stay faithful through hard times. Parker attended rehab in California, where he developed his musical career eventually releasing music in reference to his stay in California. This heavy drug addiction ultimately ended Parkers career at a tender age of 35. Parkers life ended too early, and left behind hours and hours of hard work he used to perform at the top of the genre and be respected by so many. Many people rejected the improvisation of his style of jazz he pioneered, as they viewed it as no longer being a part of the jazz tradition, especially when artists elaborated his innovation ( Patrick , 227). Similarly to Parker, McRae started her playing career at a very young age. McRae showed significant resistance in her early years as she was an African American woman musician in the north. McRae had a nack for performing and loved to be on stage. She had a similar intellectual approach as Parker, however appeared more in public as she did not let drugs affect her life. McRae also tagged along with some of the most influential artists such as Billie Holiday, which is when McRae received significant publicity. Parker, compared to McRae, created a name for himself by more of a self-promotion approach. Both Parker and McRae were highly respected in the jazz scene, but established themselves socially in their own respect.

In a Historical context for both Parker and McRae, both of these artists significantly impacted history, and were also affected by the events that were present during their lives. Charlie Parker was seen as an artist that shaped the course of twentieth-century music (Larkin, 415). Parker grew up in Kansas city where jazz was very popular and saxophone playing was extremely competitive. Parker dropped out of school at a young age and decided to take up playing the saxophone. Impacted by the war, the number of big bands present was numerous in Kansas City, so Parker took his playing to Harlem where he started to pioneer new music along with other artists like Charlie Christian and Thelonious Monk (Larkin, 416).  Parker was playing improvisation pieces accompanied by percussion instruments, eventually creating his own style that the press started to call “bebop”. Parker and other African American artists became extremely confident during this period in time when full employment for the black community was present, as parker established bebop (Larkin, 416). At the time, Parker was seen to be producing music for what was considered to be modern and hip. Notoriously known for extreme heroin use, jazz musicians found the drug easily available from the rise of mafias that came about at the end of WWII. Fortunately, Parker was able to go to rehab and eventually produce music about his stay in rehab. As for Carmen McRae, when she began performing in her late teens with idols such as Billie Holiday, she developed as a musician during the thick of the Harlem Renaissance. During this movement, many african american artists migrated to norther cities in search of a fresh start. These musicians celebrated their renewal through musical collaborations. These artists picked up on the bebop that Parker had pioneered a few years earlier. McRae began playing in New York Clubs part time early in her career when she thought she was too young and inexperienced to really make her living as a musician (Armstrong, 162). In Harlem, it had become a breeding ground for thriving arts particularly music. Minton’s Playhouse was one spot in particular that artists played and experimented with harmonies and rhythms into the new music (Gourse). This is where McRae began learning about bebop as McRae referred to it as “the new thing” that became the focus of her life, which influenced Carmen’s overall style (Gourse).

Charlie Parker and Carmen McRae had a significant impact on the jazz scene, in particular the rise of bebop. As Parker helped drive the birth of what is referred to as bebop, McRae helped influence the progression and ultimately the success of the style. Not only did events during their lives help the establishment of bebop, the evolution continued after their passing as well. Bebop didn’t initially flourish as parker was deviating from the norm, but it continued to progress after his passing when he was just 35 years old. Both Charlie Parker and Carmen McRae were affected by their physical surroundings heavily which influenced their playing with the people around them, and ultimately the genre of Jazz.

Works Cited

Armstrong, Robin, and Julia Rubiner.Contemporary Musicians – Profiles of the People in Music. Gale Research. 162-164. Print.

Gourse, Leslie. “Learning on the Jazz Scene in Harlem.” Miss Jazz. New York: Billboard, 2001. 17-18. Print.

Larkin, Colin, ed. The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. 4th ed. Vol. 6. Oxford UP, 2006. 415-417. Print.

Patrick, James. New Grove Dictionary of Jazz. Kernfeld, Barry. 2nd ed. Vol. 3. 227-232. Print.