Da Bird Feather Teaser

September 12, 2000: Writing a biography is a daunting task, especially on someone as hard to get to know as Bird appeared to be, but Russell does this brilliantly. You feel you're there with him, throughout his rise to the top of the jazz world, and his fall to the bottom of the world in his personal life. A sometimes heart-rending, but always riveting story, Parker's life shows what can be done with ambition and commitment, yet also what can happen with a lack of control. This book...

A sympathetic account of modern paganism. Covers the neo-pagan worldview and the central figure of the Goddess, the practices of magic and ritual, phases of the movement's history, morality and ethics, intersections with Christianity, and the movement's literature. The authors of the 17 essays are not identified except by name. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

For this first full-length reminiscence, Reisner interviewed eighty-one of Parker's friends, relatives, and fellow performers. From Charlie Mingus, one of the few real innovators since Bird, and Dizzy Gillespie, whom Parker once called 'the other half of my heart, ' to jazz historian Rudi Blesh and Parker's mother, each remembers Bird in his or her own special way.