Customer Reviews

Chasin' The Bird: The Life and Legacy of Charlie Parker

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This wasn't a bad read, but it definitely could have been a lot better. The book is only slightly over 100 pages as far as the story of Bird's life is concerned. The other hundred or so pages is made up of a discography and an index. Obviously there are both pros and cons to this. The good side is that the discography is very informative and great for Charlie Parker collectors. The bad side of course is that the biography is quite short and you could definitely get a lot more information if you read "Bird Lives!" by Ross Russell. Also, there were quite a few facts that got messed up by the author. Not to mention that it really doesn't say anything as far as new information about Bird, which was the biggest hope that I had before reading it. Considering that a new biography on Bird hadn't come out in a while, I was hoping some new stories or info on his life had been uncovered, but unfortunately that was not the case here. However, I still enjoyed the book and if you're a fan of Bird then you will most likely enjoy this book too. Just be aware that, like I said, it's definitely on the short side.

Here's a perfect short critical biography of one of the finest and most influential musicians in America's--and the world's--history. The book offers a few new anecdotes even to readers familiar with the literature, corrects several previous biographical errors, then goes on to give a musicological analysis of Charlie Parker's works and their implications. The latter offers both musical examples as well as reference points of current Parker CDs so even nonreaders of music can understand the point. There is some technical detail that requires musical knowledge, but lay reader can still get through this with an excellent understanding of why many of us still believe "Bird lives"!

Perhaps Priestley's discography is valuable, but his short biography is a meager contribution to "Ornithology." And stylistically, the book is no tribute to Bird. By all means, read Russell and Giddins--and wait for something better to come along.