Out of all of the musicians who adored Bird so much they spent the majority of their years playing like him, who was the best? Now, when I ask, “Who was the best?”, I mean, who was the best to emulate Bird? It’s impossible to say who was the best to emerge from under Bird’s wing. Jackie McLean played his ass off. Sonny Stitt was a titan. Ornette Coleman was a disciple of Bird but left the nest completely and started doing his own, more explorative thing. The best to pick up an alto is purely a subjective thing. I won’t go there. For now, let’s focus on those who tried to get their sound as close to Charlie Parker’s as possible.

First, let’s go down the list and name as many of Bird’s disciples that we can. Note, I am only including those who have a similar sound. And only those that I am aware of, of course. I’m sure someone out there could probably think of ten or twenty more musicians.

In random order:

Phil Woods
Gene Quill
Sonny Stitt
Ernie Henry
Herb Geller
Lou Donaldson
Charles McPherson
Jackie McLean
Cannonball Adderly
Arthur Blythe
Frank Morgan
Ornette Coleman
Eric Dolphy
Lee Konitz
Charlie Mariano
Sonny Criss
James Moody
Oliver Nelson

There are plenty more, but those are the only names I can think of at the moment. Now, when I say the greatest of these, I mean, out of all the alto players who were deeply influenced by Charlie Parker, who picked up where Bird left off and continued to head in the same direction in which Parker probably would have gone?

First, we can knock out Coleman, Dolphy and Blythe. Bird was the launching pad for them, but they decided to go in an entirely new, even more exploratory direction with their music. Free jazz, avant garde (some call it crap). Personally, I love Coleman, Dolphy and Blythe. Whether what they play can be called jazz or not is left up to the interpretation of the listeners. Now, I am not a musician, but I have some understanding of music, melody, harmony, notes, chord structure. The issue many have with free jazz is the lack of chord structure. Everything that came before free jazz was basically a study of the musician improvising within the structure of the chords. This is what made Bird such a brilliant musician. He could basically take a blueprint and build a house that was completely different than what the creator of the blueprint intended. Completely different but just as magnificent if not more so. Anyway, these three guys are out. Great musicians but blazing their own, more controversial trails.

Next we can knock off Lee Konitz, Moody, Nelson and Cannonball as they were able to find their own distinctive voices despite the heavy influence. When I hear Konitz, I hear whispers of Bird. When I hear Moody, I hear the Bird influence, but overall I hear Moody. Cannonball did his own thing. You can tell by listening to him that he dug Bird’s licks, but Cannonball has such a rich, individual sound. I love Cannonball’s playing. The stuff he did with Miles is epic. McLean is out too, although to a lesser extent, in my opinion. You know McLean when you hear him, which is always the mark of a great jazz musician, but his reverence for Bird was always heard in his playing. Even McLean said that he wanted to sound like Bird when he first started out. People told him he sounded like Bird and he said, “Yeah. That’s how I want to sound.” Mingus was the guy who told McLean to find his own voice. I wonder if Mingus told Charlie Mariano the same thing because he sounds a whole hell of a lot like Bird, except weaker in my opinion. Although, Mariano did play on the “The Black Saint and The Sinner Lady” album by Mingus and I consider that to be one of the greatest jazz albums ever.

Phil Woods. I love his playing. I think he was a great musician. Very much like Bird in his early playing. In fact, Woods married Charlie Parker’s wife Chan in the mid-fifties. I always wondered what Chan thought of Woods’ playing. I mean, I’m sure she loved it as she loved him. Still, she was married to Charlie Parker — the originator. Was she thinking, he’s really good, but he ain’t Bird? Probably not. Then again…Guess I need to read her book, huh?
Lou Donaldson. One of my favorites and one whose sound is very close to Parker’s. However, Donaldson has a very distinctive sound now, as well. Although you can always detect Parker’s influence, you never mistake Donaldson for Parker.

Charles McPherson. Charles McPherson plays so much like Bird, he was brought in to play some of Bird licks in the Clint Eastwood film about Charlie Parker. If it came to the best emulators of Bird, McPherson would probably come in number two on my list. I love his playing and his sound. And he never bores me with his music. When a musician has a lot to say, it doesn’t matter if they sound like another guy. The sound may be the same, but the statements will differ.

Frank Morgan? Love Frank Morgan’s sound and his humble disposition. Problem is Frank Morgan not only played like Bird, he did junk like Bird as well. This took him off the music scene for virtually 30 years. It is hard to track a musician’s progress when there is no recorded evidence of his progress. Most of the musicians I mention here fell under the destructive hoofs of what they called Horse (heroin). As much as I love Bird, I have to wonder what kind of influence he would have been had he lived a clean life like Clifford Brown. Still, if you look at legends in music — Elvis, Kurt Cobain, Bird — most of their lives were cut short in one way or another. If Bird had lived until he was 80, would people still idolize him the way that they do?

Who was the greatest of these? In my opinion, Sonny Stitt is the greatest of Bird’s disciples. Yes, he sounds incredibly similar to Charlie Parker, frighteningly so at times, but I would call Stitt one of the greatest improvisers in the history of jazz. He understood the music. He embraced the music. He devoured the music. Fast tempo or slow, Stitt could knock you right on your ass. And he knew it! I hear he was an arrogant S.O.B, or could be at times. One wonders if his frustration came from playing with inferior musicians. Who knows? I choose Stitt as the one who carried the torch after Bird’s departure in 1955. Who picked it up after Sonny died in the ’80’s? I don’t know. Maybe you could tell me. But I listen to what Stitt says in his music. He paints such vivid pictures with his horn. I would loved to have seen he and Bird go head to head. Does anyone know if that ever happened? Even up until his death Stitt had Bird’s sound down pat. Such control, man. Love it.

Sidenote: The greatest alto player to come out of the Bird era who did not play like Charlie Parker? Paul Desmond. To love Bird as much as Desmond did and not play like him is an admirable feat. Desmond found his own voice. I love that. As much as I like Brubeck, I have to admit that I always listened to the quartet albums to hear Desmond play. Such a light, lyrical tone. Desmond’s sound makes you want to cry because no man should be able play with such sensitivity. The only other person who played like he was holding a woman’s dainty, gloved hand was Lester Young. And go figure, Lester was a major influence on Desmond and his playing. Who else did Young have a major influence over? That’s right, Charlie Parker. The history of jazz is so rich and complex. It’s like the most intricate, beautiful, melodic family tree you will ever see.