Charlie Parker Jazz Festival at Marcus Garvey Park & Tompkins Square Park, Summer 2015

Photographs by Corrado Serra.

“Each year we assemble some of the finest musicians in the world who reflect Charlie Parker’s musical individuality and genius, to promote appreciation for this highly influential and world-renowned artist. In a world of modern music – not just jazz – few figures loom as large or cast as long a shadow as saxophonist Charlie Parker, best known as “Bird” (short for “Yardbird”) to generations of musicians. He was born in1920 and almost sixty years since his death in 1955, he is universally celebrated for single-handedly inventing bebop and bringing jazz into the modern era. Charlie Parker Jazz Festival is New York City’s annual salute to the legendary saxophonist. City Parks Foundation is proud to celebrate this histories festival, featuring contemporaries of Charlie Parker as well as young jazz musicians that continue to shape and drive the art form.” — City Parks Foundation