The legacy of jazz legend Charlie Parker will be further cemented on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as one of this year’s new honourees.
The saxophonist is part of a 2021 class that also includes Josh Brolin, Benedict Cumberbatch, Don Cheadle, Shia LaBeouf, Courteney Cox, Laura Linney, Kelly Clarkson, Missy Elliott, Jefferson Airplane, Don McLean and more.
Did you hear this news? Legendary Kansas City saxophonist @CharlieParkerKC is officially getting a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2021 and we’re so excited! See below for the official video announcement: https://t.co/X9aZBr8Cjt
— American Jazz Museum (@ajazzmuseumKC) February 28, 2021
With his posthumous addition, Parker joins other jazz icons such as Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Herbie Hancock, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk, Count Basie, Dave Brubeck and Dizzy Gillespie.
Some the biggest stars in jazz history who are still missing from the Hollywood Walk of Fame are John Coltrane, Oscar Peterson, Nina Simone, Bill Evans and Charles Mingus.
Last year marked the 100th anniversary of the birth of Charlie Parker, who was born on Aug. 29, 1920. The centennial celebrations included a plethora of newly released music and media.
Verve and UMe released Bird in LA, a collection of unreleased songs recorded when Parker was in Los Angeles between the mid ’40s and early ’50s. In the same vein, a new graphic novel published by Z2 Comics called Chasin’ the Bird: Charlie Parker in California tells the story of Parker and Dizzy Gillespie bringing the bebop sound to L.A. in 1945.
Also released last year, Blue Note’s special Record Store Day release of Jazz at Midnite features two performances at the Howard Theatre in Washington, D.C., in 1952 and 1953. Verve and Universal produced a box set called Charlie Parker: The 10” Albums Collection, compiling Parker’s five 10-inch albums for Clef Records. Craft Recordings released a CD edition of the previously vinyl-only Charlie Parker Savoy 10” Album Collection.
“Parker was one of the most significant figures in jazz history, its music and its culture,” John Devenish wrote to commemorate the occasion. “His significance is exponential. The influence, importance, and place in history are limitless.”