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Now's the Time: 52 Essays on the Occasion of Charlie Parker's Centennial Year
John Purcell wrote weekly Charlie Parker essays throughout 2020, Bird's centennial year. Each essay drew on an event in Bird's life that occurred on or around that date. Now compiled under one cover, these essays explore a wide array of topics, drawing from a comprehensive array of sources. Each essay is complete unto itself, but an overall theme gradually in light of the opioid epidemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, Now's the Time to rewrite the standard narrative of Charlie Parker's life.
Paperback
Published November 21, 2021
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August 20, 2024
This is an excellent book. As the title indicates, it is a collection of 52 essays written between January and December 2020.
The author believes that previous biographies of Bird have failed to adequately take into consideration the factor of racism and its effect on every facet of his life. He also believes that Bird's substance abuse issues have been emphasized far too much.
In the author's view, fundamentally, Bird lived in the moment without any consideration of the future (and therefore of the implications and possible repercussions of any current action). What previous biographers have generally seen as erratic and/or drug-induced behaviour can, the author believes, better be seen simply as the behaviour of someone who cares only about living in the moment.
In some cases, he quotes Bird at length, which is useful given that Bird's writings are, according to the author, usually given short shrift.
A very thought-provoking book.
The author believes that previous biographies of Bird have failed to adequately take into consideration the factor of racism and its effect on every facet of his life. He also believes that Bird's substance abuse issues have been emphasized far too much.
In the author's view, fundamentally, Bird lived in the moment without any consideration of the future (and therefore of the implications and possible repercussions of any current action). What previous biographers have generally seen as erratic and/or drug-induced behaviour can, the author believes, better be seen simply as the behaviour of someone who cares only about living in the moment.
In some cases, he quotes Bird at length, which is useful given that Bird's writings are, according to the author, usually given short shrift.
A very thought-provoking book.
Displaying 1 of 1 review