Kansas City Lightning

The Rise and Times of Charlie Parker

By: Stanley Crouch

Narrated by: Kevin Kenerly

Kansas City Lightning: The Rise and Times of Charlie Parker is the first installment in the long-awaited portrait of one of the most talented and influential musicians of the twentieth century, from Stanley Crouch, one of the foremost authorities on jazz and culture in America.

Throughout his life, Charlie Parker personified the tortured American artist: A revolutionary performer who used his alto saxophone to create a new music known as bebop even as he wrestled with a drug addiction that would lead to his death at the age of thirty-four. Drawing on interviews with peers, collaborators, and family members, Kansas City Lightning re-creates Parker's Depression-era childhood; his early days navigating the Kansas City nightlife, inspired by lions like Lester Young and Count Basie; and on to New York, where he began to transcend the music he had mastered. Crouch reveals an ambitious young man torn between music and drugs, between his domineering mother and his impressionable young wife, whose teenage romance with Charlie lies at the bittersweet heart of this story.

With the wisdom of a jazz scholar, the cultural insights of an acclaimed social critic, and the narrative skill of a literary novelist, Stanley Crouch illuminates this American master as never before.

©2013 Stanley Crouch (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

a must read!

tons of great info about kansas city and charlie parker. this book will keep u on ur toes

The rise and a bit more than half of the times

Though I have listened to a lot of Charlie Parker's playing, I did not know much about his life prior to listening to this. I did know that he was thought of as very influential in jazz, in particular Bebop, but this book gave me a feel for how he got to that place. Yes, the author used very "expressive" language but I think that was a good approach to trying to describe music with words. And the narrator I think was very close to perfect for reading that sort of language. I did speed up the author's presentation to 1.1 because I thought that toned down the expression a little bit - I tend to like more monotone types of reading. I do think the reader enhanced the book.

Be sure that you accept that the book stops just before Parker became very well known. For me that was not a problem because I was more interested in how he got to that pinnacle.

I admit that I am not much of a musician and therefore still don't know technically why Parker was so different but at least I have something of a feel for it ( and quite a lot of words to describe it).

By ”times" the author is letting you know that he gives quite a lot of detail about things that are going on during the time that Charlie Parker is growing up. If digressions bother you then you might want to try some other biography (and certainly never read a Bill Bryson book!). Personally I thought it was all quite appropriate and interesting.

Very informative if you are a Charlie Parker fan

Grew up with my dad revering Charlie Parker. I found this book very informative and wish my pops was still around to discuss more about this complicated and mysterious man.

Read this for Crouch’s Lyrical Prose and his Evocation of an Important Period in American Music

Stanley Crouch takes the reader back into the Kansas City, Chicago and New York City of the Thirties and Forties, recreating the atmosphere of the Politics, People and the Black Musicians’ Life of the City and its Times.

What is amazing is that he weaves Bird’s mind and attitude toward to his Music into the everyday life of the competitive World of working players. He captures the intensity of his practice, his daredevil inventions, and his willingness to soak up the influences of the players he admired.

Listening along with reading, I learned to appreciate Cru Berry, Lester Young, Roy Eldridge, Buster Smith and others that Charlie incorporated into his style. Reading how difficult a time he had being accepted by the established Musicians of the Day was eye-opening. After all Parker was always an Idol, wasn’t he?! Not at the beginning. He had to endure rejection and even mockery. One drummer, Philly Joe Jones, even threw his cymbal to the floor in frustration at his rendition of Body and Soul.

Charlie Parker’s fascinating career recounted in Crouch’s musical prose is a terrific combination that makes for a wonderful read. Enjoy it.

Great book that reads like a movie.

I was amazed and impressed at this book. The attention to detail is exquisite. As a jazz fan and I was impressed with the knowledge of the author and also the ability to delve into the art form when necessary. The tone and the cadence of this book feels like a masterful jazz composition and solo. All the elements are there. the style the flare and the substance. Thank you for this first installment. Also this book does such a great job to get inside the mind of the musician. All of the history in the back ground that make the artist who they are. The things that motivated them and the elements that would lead to their artistic approach.

Best Jazz Bio Ever!

Fabulous! Absolutely superb as researched, written, and performed! A must read/listen for all Jazz sax lovers. Especially lovers of Charlie Parker!

Charlie Parker's Story

You get a thorough recap of Charlie Parker growing up, his private life, ups and downs, plus a elementary look about how jazz was played during the 30s. I'm a novice with Jazz music so it wasn't too complicated to follow alone. highly recommend

Fantastic writer

Crouch places the listener there. What an amazing writer. He tells us the story of Parker until the point he is about to launch into success.

It was fine!

The cadence of the narration was a little noticeable to me. (Tonally, many of the sentences would follow the pattern of “high-mid-low-high-mid-low mid, mid-mid, mid-mid”. Probably won’t make sense unless you found it distracting as well.)
They did a pretty good job though overall, I was curious to hear about the end of Parker’s life as well so was sorry that it ended before that. I’m sure jazz fans and Kansas City history fans will learn something!

BeBop Prose; great book!

I actually had to wait a while after finishing Kansas City Lightning before I could sit down to write a review of it. This is not one of those name and date kind of history books.
Stanley Crouch's approach to his biography of Charlie Parker is much the same as Parker's approach to playing a jazz tune. He will begin a chapter with some general info about Parker's early life or career and then make a radical departure to something else. These could be anything from info about certain musicians, history of jazz, or the social mores of the time. These departures were all intelligent, articulate, informative and usually seemed to have nothing to do with Charlie Parker. Crouch then tied them up really nicely and got back to the subject; it is very much like a well crafted BeBop solo.
This book only covers the early years of Parker's life. I hope Mr. Crouch has a part two in the works.