Biographer of Jazz Musician Charlie Parker to Speak at Center for Missouri Studies

Author and Historian Chuck Haddix will present Early Bird: Charlie Parker’s Life and Music in Kansas City as part of the African-American Experience in Missouri lecture series. A reception, talk, and book signing will be held Tuesday, Nov. 19, at the Center for Missouri Studies, 605 Elm St., Columbia, Missouri. A reception will begin at 6 p.m., half an hour before Haddix’s presentation at 6:30 p.m. A book signing and meet-and-greet will follow the program at 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Haddix is the curator of Marr Sound Archives, radio host of "Fish Fry," and an instructor in local jazz history at the Kansas City Art Institute. He is also the author of Kansas City Jazz: From Ragtime to Bebop - A History and Bird: The Life and Music of Charlie Parker. Haddix will share new information and previously unknown photos and recordings from Parker's time in Kansas City, giving fresh insight into the legendary yet enigmatic musician.

American jazz saxophonist and composer Charlie “Bird” Parker Jr. was born in Kansas City in 1920 and played professionally in his early teens. He helped usher in a new era of jazz as one of the pioneers of bebop. Parker died in New York at age 34 following a long struggle with drug and alcohol addiction. He is buried at Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Summit, Missouri.

Now in its fourth year, the African-American Experience in Missouri lecture series offers a new understanding of present-day Missouri by examining the history of African-Americans within the state. It is sponsored by the State Historical Society of Missouri’s Center for Missouri Studies and the University of Missouri Division of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity.