Leo Parker (April 18, 1925 – February 11, 1962) was an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

musician, who primarily played baritone saxophone.

Early life

Born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, Parker studied alto saxophone in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

and played this instrument on a recording with

Coleman Hawkins Coleman Randolph Hawkins (November 21, 1904 – May 19, 1969), nicknamed "Hawk" and sometimes "Bean", was an American jazz tenor saxophonist.Yanow, Scot"Coleman Hawkins: Artist Biography" AllMusic. Retrieved December 27, 2013. One of the first p ...

in 1944.

Career

Parker switched to baritone saxophone in 1944 when he joined Billy Eckstine's

bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

band, playing there until 1946. In 1945, he was a member of the "Unholy Four" of saxophonists, with

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

, Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons. He played on

52nd Street 52nd Street is a -long one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan, New York City. A short section of it was known as the city's center of jazz performance from the 1930s to the 1950s. Jazz center Following the repeal of ...

in New York with Dizzy Gillespie in 1946 and

Illinois Jacquet Jean-Baptiste "Illinois" Jacquet (October 30, 1922 – July 22, 2004) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, best remembered for his solo on " Flying Home", critically recognized as the first R&B saxophone solo. Although he was a pioneer of ...

in 1947-48, and later recorded with

Fats Navarro Theodore "Fats" Navarro (September 24, 1923 – July 6, 1950) was an American jazz trumpet player. He was a pioneer of the bebop style of jazz improvisation in the 1940s. He had a strong stylistic influence on many other players, including Cl ...

J.J. Johnson J.J. Johnson (January 22, 1924 – February 4, 2001), born James Louis Johnson and also known as Jay Jay Johnson, was an American jazz trombonist, composer and arranger. Johnson was one of the earliest trombonists to embrace bebop. Biography ...

, Teddy Edwards,

Wardell Gray Wardell Gray (February 13, 1921 – May 25, 1955) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist who straddled the swing and bebop periods. Biography Early years Gray was born in Oklahoma City, the youngest of four children. He spent his early chil ...

and Charles Thompson. He and Thompson had a hit with their Apollo Records release, "Mad Lad".

Personal life

In the 1950s, Parker had problems with drug abuse, which interfered with his recording career. He made two comeback records for

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

in 1961, but the following year he died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. He was 36.

Discography

*'' Billy in the Lion's Den'' (King, 1957) with Bill Jennings *'' Let Me Tell You 'Bout It'' (Blue Note, 1961) *'' Rollin' with Leo'' (Blue Note, 1961) With

*''

Rainbow Mist ''Rainbow Mist'' is an album by the American jazz saxophonist Coleman Hawkins compiling recordings from 1944 originally released by Apollo Records that was released by the Delmark label in 1992.

'' (Delmark, 1944

992 Year 992 ( CMXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Worldwide * Winter – A superflare from the sun causes an Aurora Borealis, with visibility as fa ...

compilation of Apollo recordings With

*'' The Kid and the Brute'' (Clef, 1955) *''Illinois Jacquet / Leo Parker -- Toronto 1947'' (Uptown Records 2013) *''Jumpin' at Apollo'' (Delmark, 2002) With

* ''

Dexter Rides Again ''Dexter Rides Again'' is a 1958 jazz album by saxophonist Dexter Gordon, assembled from his 1940s recording for the Savoy label. Track listing ''Except where otherwise noted, all songs composed by Dexter Gordon.'' #"Dexter's Riff" – 2:43 #"Se ...

'' (Savoy, 1945–1947

958 Year 958 ( CMLVIII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * October / November – Battle of Raban: The Byzantines under John Tzimiskes ...

References

;Footnotes ;General references *

Leo Parker Leo Parker (April 18, 1925 – February 11, 1962) was an American jazz musician, who primarily played baritone saxophone. Early life Born in Washington, D.C., Parker studied alto saxophone in high school and played this instrument on a record ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

LeoParkerMusic.com
- Fully detailed chronology, discography and biographical information. {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Leo 1925 births 1962 deaths 20th-century American saxophonists American jazz saxophonists American male saxophonists Savoy Records artists United Records artists Blue Note Records artists Chess Records artists Jazz baritone saxophonists Musicians from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians