The Annual Charlie Parker Celebration is an annual festival held in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

, since 2014, celebrating legendary jazz saxophonist

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...

. It is held for 10 days in August and celebrates all aspects of Parker from live jazz music shows and boot camps, to tours of his haunts in the city, to exhibits at the American Jazz Museum. During the 2nd celebration in 2015 the museum featured rare programs, album sleeves, a pocket watch and cuff links that belonged to “The Bird” himself. In 2016, saxophonist

Tivon Pennicott Tivon Pennicott is an American composer, orchestrator and tenor saxophonist. Of Jamaican parentage, he grew up in Marietta, Georgia, but moved to Miami, Florida, where he studied music at the University of Miami. On a visit in Los Angeles, he met a ...

was artist-in-residence at the festival. A 21-sax salute was made to Parker at his gravesite. The 2016 event was attended by about 300 people and unites numerous interests, with supporters including the Office of Culture and Creative Services and the Neighborhood Tourist Development Fund.

References

Jazz festivals in the United States Culture of Kansas City, Missouri Charlie Parker Music festivals established in 2014 2014 establishments in Missouri {{US-festival-stub