Charlie Parker soloing with Thelonious Monk, Charles Mingus and Roy Haynes.

 Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Raised in Kansas City, Missouri, he took up the saxophone at 11, playing in school and local bands in his teen years. In 1939, he moved to New York City, beginning a five-year period of scuffling for work, getting to know the musicians and developing a uniquely adventurous playing technique. A chance meeting with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie began a partnership that led to the "bebop" style, soon adopted by the younger generation of jazz players. Despite serious mental health issues and a spiraling heroin habit, Parker made a series of recordings that form part of the standard repertoire for bebop players. His compositions include "Ornithology", "Yardbird Suite", "Confirmation", "Donna Lee" and "Scrapple from the Apple" - all of which are firm jazz standards: studied, practiced and dissected in college courses around the world.