Charles Christopher "Bird" Parker, Jr (29th August 1920 – 12th March 1955) was an American
bebop saxophonist and composer. Early in his career Parker was dubbed Yardbird; this was later shortened to 'Bird' (or sometimes 'Yard') and remained Parker's nickname for the rest of his life and inspiration for the titles of his works such as "
Ornithology and
Yardbird Suite". Parker is commonly considered the greatest bebop jazz musician.