Chasin' the Bird: Charlie Parker in California

by Dave Chisholm

The graphic novel tells the story of Bird’s time in L.A. starting in December 1945, where Bird and Dizzy Gillespie brought frenetic sounds of bebop from the East Coast jazz underground to the West Coast for a two-month residency at Billy Berg’s Hollywood jazz club.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Music, Comics, Biography, Nonfiction, Jazz, Graphic Novels Comics

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 17, 2020

About the author

Dave Chisholm is a graphic novelist and musician currently living in Rochester, NY where he received his doctorate in jazz trumpet from the Eastman School of Music in 2013. His expertise in music as well as his formal inventiveness within the comics medium has resulted in a string of critically-acclaimed music-centric graphic novels including Miles Davis & the Search for the Sound (2023, Z2 Comics), Enter the Blue (2022, Z2 Comics), and Chasin' the Bird: Charlie Parker in California (2020, Z2 Comics). His most recent releases SPECTRUM (Mad Cave Studios)--a trippy exploration of a funhouse-mirror version of 20th-century music history framed by an eternal battle in the realm of music and sound made in collaboration with writer Rick Quinn--and PLAGUE HOUSE (Oni Press)--an inventive rethinking of the haunted house genre made in collaboration with writer Michael W Conrad--demonstrate his breadth.

Hailed by ComicsBeat as "one of the most exciting comic auteurs working in comics today," Chisholm also has a passion for education and teaches comics and music at the Hochstein School and the Rochester Institute of Technology. 

In his free time, Dave enjoys spending time with his wife, son, and cats.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dave Chisholm utilizes the graphic novel format perfectly as he takes the parable of the blind men and the elephant as the jumping off point to define the structure of his fictionalized account of Charlie Parker's sojourn to California in the late 1940s, less than a decade before his death. Each chapter changes point of view as a new narrator -- a fellow musician, an artist, a fan, a lover, a mentee, and a record executive -- describes the little bit of Parker they came to know during their brief time with him. Chisholm also changes the style of his art for each chapter to reflect the new perspective and uses a Batman analogy to help comic fans like me understand the impact Parker had on jazz music.

I have not previously read anything about Parker or listened much to his music as jazz is not one of my favorite styles. His life seems like it could be simplified to another talented musician with a substance abuse problem, but Chisholm helps bring out some of the complexity of his mindset and the impact it had on the people around him.

[Rif A. Saurous · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful and gorgeous exploration of Charlie Parker's time in Southern California. One of the best books I've seen at conveying the beauty of jazz, the innovations of Charlie Parker and his connections to the past and the future, and Parker's own experiences with racism and addiction and how they shaped him. I learned some history (I can't believe I'd never heard of Jirayr Zorthian and his ranch and parties before), and I've been enjoying relistening to some Parker. The art is lovely.

[Kevin Hodgson · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s a sequence in the final section — wordless, as Bird plays, that is just beautiful ... and then author notes explain how the pages are laid out as measures of music, which makes it even more beautiful.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dave Chisholm's graphic novel about Charlie Parker's time in Southern California is the first book I've read released during the COVID-19 pandemic. It acknowledges that timing in the foreword by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Jabbar—the long-time Angeleno—wonders whether much has changed between Jim Crow in Parker's 1940s America and last year's Black Lives Matter summer of anguish. My gut reaction is to say, very much yes, even through the book's lens where Bird must stay at an all-black hotel and permission to book an integrated band is seen as a great gift or concession. But a character in the story—a white one, no less—extols us never to trust LA cops, and 2020's refrain of "defund the police" rings in my ears, and I question my gut's optimism.

Despite growing up in a lifelong jazz musician's home, I am not knowledgeable in the greats. My appreciation for jazz records comes via hip-hop connections: Guru's Jazzmatazz, Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Mohammed's frequent bebop sampling, and Madlib's Shades of Blue. My dad is a founding member of the Blackbyrds and, yet, I didn't give much of a listen to Donald Byrd until J Dilla and Erykah Badu gave me an entryway I was willing to take. Even then, my explorations have been solely into the music with very little understanding of the people or those moments in time that made these tunes possible.

Chasin' the Bird provided a new kind of door for me. The first chorus is told in Dizzy Gillespie's voice, and he gives form to what it was like being a jazz cat in 1947. The book makes that Los Angeles and that club real for me. He name-checks a few songs, Salt Peanuts and Koko, and visualizes what it might have felt like to hear Bird blow his horn in person for the first time. I immediately went to my preferred music streamer and pulled up a Charlie Parker playlist. My toe began tapping. My eyes closed for a while, and then I opened them again, hoping to have been transported. I wanted to be looking around the darkened smoky room, searching for someone else's eyes with which to lock. I'd shake my head as if to say, can you believe this? We'd chuckle together. I'd wipe my brow and return my attention to the stage, enraptured.

The story continues from there, taking on the perspectives of several others who encountered Bird during his time in my beloved city. Ultimately, the goal is to unravel the mystery of what happened to the man in Los Angeles, especially during his six-month-long disappearance from the scene. What we don't get is the man himself in his own words. While Parker casts such a long shadow over the music of his time and what followed, he didn't make it past his 35th year. He never gave himself the chance to tell his own story.

And while that's a loss that this story can't fill, it hits all my other sweet spots. It's an LA story. It's noir. It's moody and sexy and a puzzle. The art sings. There are pages—the outro most intentionally so—that I'd swear I could hear. And the words are just as mesmerizing as the visuals and the jazz.

In Coltrane's section, the illustrated Bird says to him:

The Universe we live in don't waste nothin'. Everything has existed eternally. Every piece of energy is recycled. Every piece of motherfucking matter. You know what else is eternal?

Fuckin' soul.

My soul stirred.

I highly recommend.

[Brandi Fox]

They say you should never meet your heroes, so the skill demonstrated in this book to introduce Parker (one of my musical idols for ages) is both impressive and heart breaking. The man behind the brilliant sound was broken in heartbreaking ways.

Worth reading, not for young readers.

[Przemysław Skoczyński · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lubię komiksy o jazzie. Jedną z moich lektur wszech czasów jest „Monk” –Youssefa Dadudi, regularnie wracam do shortów ze zbioru „Total jazz” – Blutcha, a ostatnio zachwycałem się „Błękitem w zieleni”, w którym tłem wydarzeń jest właśnie ten gatunek. O „Chasin’ the Bird” czytałem sporo, ale nie spodziewałem się aż takiej petardy. Dave Chisholm jest odpowiednią osobą do pisania o największych, bo oprócz tego, że jest wszechstronnym rysownikiem, również profesjonalnie gra na trąbce. Ten komiks to relacja z pobytu Birda w Kalifornii pod koniec lat 40-tych, miejsca, które przy pierwszym skojarzeniu nie wydaje się dla artysty tak naturalnym środowiskiem jak Nowy Jork, a jednak okazało się świetnym pretekstem do pokazania sylwetki jednego z najwybitniejszych jazzmanów w historii.

Chisholm przedstawia postać z kilku mocno subiektywnych perspektyw. Oddaje głos tym, którzy podczas pobytu w Kalifornii mieli z Parkerem bliski kontakt, pokazuje go w różnych kontekstach i uświadamia czytelnikowi, że nie ma jednej opowieści o Birdzie. To co o nim wiemy to zbiór faktów, legend i subiektywnych odczuć osób przebywających w bliskim otoczeniu muzyka. Autor posługuje się metaforą ślepców, którzy dotykają słonia i nazywają jego kolejne części ciała na podstawie tego jednego zmysłu. Konkluzja jest taka, że nie możesz opisać kogoś kompleksowo, jeśli nie poznałeś jego poszczególnych części - łatwo to przełożyć na fabułę tego błyskotliwego komiksu. Opowiadający są postaciami z krwi i kości – każdy z nich przedstawia historię z perspektywy własnych potrzeb, bez względu na to czy to biznes, muzyka, miłość czy sztuka.

Strona graficzna zasługuje na oddzielny akapit. Rysownik przeważnie ucieka przed klasycznym kadrowaniem, często stosuje (w sumie charakterystyczny dla komiksów o muzyce) zabieg, w którym pokazuje rozrzucone w bezładzie kadry na tle zajmującej całą stronę ilustracji. Przede wszystkim jednak każda relacja zobrazowana jest inną grafiką. Mamy na przykład kapitalny hołd złożony Moebiusowi. Podczas wizyty u ekscentrycznego artysty - Jirayra Zorthiana – wielka impreza zorganizowana przez gospodarza przeradza się w narkotyczną orgię pod wpływem gry Parkera. Rzecz ma swoje źródło w rzeczywistych wydarzeniach, a tu przyozdobiona jest właśnie charakterystyczną dla Jeana Girauda kreską. Uważny czytelnik dostrzeże nawet zaplątaną w jednym z kadrów postać Feralnego Majora. Najgrzeczniej prezentuje się relacja znanego fotografa William Claxtona – autor ubrał ją w regularne kadry zawierające dosyć statyczne ilustracje w klimacie starych komiksów superbohaterskich, z kolei opowieść twórcy wytwórni płytowej, który wydawał muzykę Birda, wygląda jak hołd dla twórczości Darwyna Cooke’a i do złudzenia przypomina kadry z jego „Parkera”.

Chisholm opiera fabułę na koncepcie wychodzącym od plotki. W Los Angeles po długiej nieobecności pojawia się mistrz – wtedy uznawany za guru hipsterów. Nie wiadomo co się z nim działo. Rodzą się teorie o przyczynach absencji, a relacje kilku osób powoli odkrywają karty, aż do ostatniej z nich, która rozwiewa wątpliwości. To barwna, bardzo zróżnicowana, ale i momentami brutalna historia o geniuszu i towarzyszących mu demonach. Nieodłącznym towarzyszem Birda jest „Potwór”, który za nim stoi (świetnie zobrazowany w relacji Dizziego Gillespie) - personifikacja nałogów i ciężaru, który niesie za sobą każdy geniusz wyprzedzający własne czasy. To sytuacja, w której masz w głowie więcej melodii niż jesteś w stanie zagrać; dążysz do wyrażenia siebie, choć wiesz, że nigdy w końca tego nie zrealizujesz; masz w sobie taki twórczy potencjał, że tylko narkotyki są w stanie rozładować tkwiące w twojej głowie emocje. Fabuła momentami jest surrealistyczna, ale ten surrealizm zawsze ma źródło w jakichś prawdziwych wydarzeniach. Rzecz nie tylko dla fanów jazzu, choć ci pewnie będą mieli najwięcej satysfakcji, w końcu jednym z opowiadających jest sam John Coltrane

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Music is a lot like science. Any song is made of atoms --- its wild to think that every piece of music is made from a different combination of the same twelve notes. It's no stretch to say that improvising in music is like having a conversation with notes instead of words." I love this idea. Reminds me a little of Chomsky's idea about language (something along the lines of an infinite amount of possibilities from a finite amount of components). Anyhow, it is obvious the author has a lot of affection for Charlie Parker and despite the fact that Bird was clearly an addict and a total flake, Chisholm seems to find a way to forgive this by showing the reader how much if a genius Parker was. I don't know music well enough to know if that's true but I can tell you that you might believe it after reading this book. I love the shifting narrators and art styles. Gorgeous book. And, now I have more to people to learn about and I need to explore Birds's music beyond what I already kinda know.

[Peacegal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! I was absolutely blown away by this gorgeous and affecting look at the tormented genius of musician Charlie Parker. This graphic biography hit the sweet spot by looking at different individuals' experience of interacting with Parker and hearing him play during a specific period in his life; rather than the overdone "Behind the Music"-style "rise and fall"-type story.

This book has inspired me to look up Parker's music, and I am sure I am not the only reader who vows to do so after closing the book.

[Matt Graupman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following hot on the heels of his four-issue philosophical sci-fi epic, “Canopus,” “Chasin’ The Bird: Charlie Parker In California,” a graphic novel about the legendary jazzman’s comeback performance, establishes Dave Chisholm as a cartoonist of many talents. Mining some of the same myth-building he played with in his outstanding supernatural jazz fable, “Instrumental,” Chisholm turns his talents towards non-fiction this time around and the results are superb. Fair but unflinching in its depiction of Parker, a sublime talent who struggled with substance abuse issues, “Chasin’ The Bird” is celebratory without - pardon the phrase - whitewashing the man’s flaws; by grounding Parker in reality, it makes his legends all the more spectacular. Politically, Chisholm is able to successfully walk a very thin line, being that he’s a white man profiling a black artist, which is not as easy as one may think. Artistically, this may be Chisholm’s greatest achievement yet. The book is structured into chapters, or “choruses,” where different characters remember their time with Parker and Chisholm brilliantly switches up his style and approach with each one. Sometimes it’s Nate Powell-esque, other times it’s Paul Hornschemeier-y, and so on; the variety in his work is exceptional. And don’t let the whole jazz thing scare you off. A musician as well as a cartoonist, Chisholm breaks down the daunting complexity of jazz into something visually poetic and easily digestible. This is a must read for jazz fans and comics fanboys alike.

[Dakota Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Chasin' the Bird, Charlie Parker is a mythic figure, drifting through the lives of others and leaving behind wit, wisdom, and sweet saxophone tunes. Although the book acknowledges and remarks upon Parker's flaws (his addictions, namely), it mostly comes across as worshipful. This guy is the best musician since the Big Bang brought sound to our universe! Whip-smart, endlessly curious, and he can play the sax like it was the second coming of Christ!

Maybe I'm old-fashioned and simply prefer a cradle-to-grave biography. Chasin' the Bird definitely uses an unconventional biographical format, offering a glimpse of Parker's life through the lens of those he interacted with. It certainly paints an interesting picture of Parker as a unique individual, but it doesn't hit the traditional biography marks. Like, where'd this genius come from? And where'd he go? You'll have to read elsewhere to find out.

[Zachary Blaszak · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fully shocked when I saw Dave on TikTok talking about a Graphic Novel about Charlie Parker. I am a huge comic book fan, and also a huge Jazz fan so granted I am the prime demographic for this kind of story. With that being said, I absolutely adored this book so much and I am so happy that it is now going to be on my bookshelf for rereading.

The story so perfectly keeps you reading, from the first chapter about Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and all the stories meeting at a single bar in California. It truly is a wonderful story and I will be recommending it to all of my musician friends as well as my comic book friends.

Do yourself a favor and read this, I promise you won't regret it!

[Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read an occasional graphic book because I enjoy the medium. This semi-biography of Charlie "Bird" Parker covers the period during which he was in California, where he went in the late 1940s with Dizzy Gillespie and then stayed for a while when Dizzy returned to New York. Gillespie had his personal life in good order and was always a practical man, whereas Bird, an intensely creative and enormously intelligent man, tended to fly by the seat of his pants, which frequently led to his being in trouble and is at the root of why he lived only until age 34. Despite this, his legacy had such a huge influence that it basically defined modern jazz from his time and for decades to come, and his approach to music still lives.

The story of his California years is told from the viewpoint of several people who knew him well at the time, including Dizzy Gillespie, John Coltrane, and others who are not as well known.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The end pages of the book feature multiple sketches of Parker that differ not in pose, but in shading and emphasis.

That could seem like an apt analogy for jazz variations in general, but then we start with the allegory of the blind men and the elephant (though missing a man and getting the tail/trunk mixed up, which bugged me), and then we get glimpses of Parker through the eyes of others.

That is the point; Parker is difficult to nail down, so there are pieces of impressions and you make of them what you can. It can be frustrating, but then that fits in with the experiences others had with Parker, and probably how it was for Parker himself.

So it is certainly not exhaustive, and not necessarily accurate (the end notes should be read), but it does still give an idea.

[Mateen Mahboubi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A biographical account of Charlie Parker's turbulent years in California. Each chapter not only changes narrators but also uses a different visual style. Imagined conversations are illustrated and references are provided with some explanatory notes of where Chisholm may have taken some liberties with the source material. The final chapter conclusion is a wordless sequence of Parker performing that is stunning.

[Micah Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting depiction of Charlie Parker’s infamous time in Los Angeles. Like so many musicians, LA is a beloved and cursed stay - too much celebrity, too much excess (I think of David Bowie who also spiraled in LA).

Made me think of Bird, his music and his demons in a slightly different light than other pieces I’ve read or the Bird movie.

Wasn’t always a fan of some of the art style and dialogue but would recommend to anyone interested in Charlie Parker’s life.

[Mike Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely triumphant. Chisholm’s shifting art style and well researched interview-style writing combine to create a rich portrait of a complex legend that culminates in a simple, perfect, wordless climax that I could almost hear. This could not be done so effectively or affectingly in any medium but comics. Heartbreaking and gorgeous.

[Binni Erlingsson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book. It tries to untangle the complex mythology of Charlie Parker through stories from people that got close to him in California and it very much succeeds. Vibrant art that is alive and an author/artist that respects the source material and treats it with care. I can't recommend this book enough.

[John Bernardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve never had such a hard time putting a book down. The approach that Dave took to writing this book was so impressive. The amount of research he put into Charlie Parker. The amount of depth that went into the design of every single pierce of art is astonishing. Even if you are not a fan of jazz this book is a must read. I didn’t even know who Charlie Parker was prior to this.

[Sara Joy Tiberio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done and beautifully illustrated. Would expect no less from talented artist and musician Dave Chisholm. For extra fun, put on some Charlie Parker tunes in the background as you read it. Although, not necessary as the illustrations do bring to life the music on the page.

[Tracy]

An unflinching, loving look at someone's hero, clearly written by someone who deeply admires Charlie Parker as a musician. This gives Bird's demons the weight they deserve and doesn't excuse them, while also not dismissing his contributions to jazz and music and defining him solely by his failings. Told in short stories from the perspectives of several people who knew or met Bird during his time in California, each chapter illustrated in a different style with unique type, each story exposing another piece of what the truth may be. As an alto sax player whose first CD purchase was a crappy Bird and Diz set, who had a book transposing Bird's recordings so I could practice playing his solos, Charlie Parker was a musician I looked up to even while knowing he struggled with addiction and died young. I thought this comic was sensitive to the complexity of his life and the racist environment he lived in.

[Jon Westhoff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning art, Dave knows how to make you FEEL THE MUSIC in a silent medium. Fascinating story told in many visual styles about an interesting person in Charlie Parker

One of my favorite books ever made

[Eric Devey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A meticulous and tasteful depiction of Parker and those around him

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply researched graphic novel on the jazz genius -- so handsome with bright colors and fanciful characterizations and like the blind men trying to identify the elephant, so multifaceted

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very awesome look into Charlie Parker's life. I learned a lot, plus just enjoying hearing about it from different perspectives. Recommended for music fans, for sure.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flawless.

[Daniil Vilenskiy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fictionalized biography of Charlie Parker that masterfully combines myths with facts to create a portrait of a troubled genius. Besides the great visual style, I have particularly enjoyed the story construct that is amazingly consistent and rich for such a constrained format.

[David Griffith · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautifully done illustrated bio of Charlie Parker

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had a vague familiarity with the legend but this was great. Each chapter is called a chorus, from a different pov.
Damn right I played some Bird records while reading this!

[Mahnoor · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5. Stunning.

[Sonic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is amazing!
The blending and intertwining of truth and myth,
is as brilliant as the blending and intertwining of word and image.