JAM Magazine: October/November 1999 Issue: Chan Parker

Chan Parker
1925-1999

by Verne Christensen

Chan Parker died September 9, 1999 in Étampes, France after surgery the week before revealed an inoperable cancer. Her daughter Kim Parker and son Gar Woods were at her bedside. She was 74 years of age and in those 74 years, packed about 130 years of life.

As Charlie Parker's music matured, his choice of partners did also. The last two women in his life, his widow Doris, and Chan, were two of the most amazing women I have met. I had the honor and pleasure to get to know Doris from her trips to KC last spring for the Parker memorial. She is a wonderful woman. And though we never met face-to-face, the stack of letters I have from Chan makes me feel I knew her also. Of course it was Chan who introduced me to my buddy Kim Parker, my friends Peter and Linda King, and fellow Bird fan David Stonard in the UK.

Chan's mother was a Ziegfeld girl, and as Chan Richardson, she herself became a dancer and a "presence" on New York's 52nd street scene. As author Ross Russell said, "When Chan Richardson walked into a club, heads turned and juices flowed." It was there that she met Parker, and their years together produced two biological children, Baird and Pree. (Pree died in childhood.) Following Parker's death, Chan met and married alto saxophonist Phil Woods. They later moved to Champmotteaux, France to raise Baird and their two children, Gar and Aimee, in a less racially divisive society. Upon her divorce from Woods, she remained in Champmotteaux and was a gracious hostess to generations of Parker fans.

A word on Chan's kindness to one fan in particular: I wrote a note to her about ten years ago (looking for a book, as usual), and she wrote back immediately, full of candor, wit and humor. Thus began our correspondence. Some years later Donald Cox, now Business Manager of KC's Mutual Musicians Foundation, was struck with cancer himself and went through hell to a complete recovery, thank God. Donald's wife works with mine, and when he and I met, we immediately felt like brothers. I love Donald Cox. He is a guy with a heart to match his size and talent. I wrote to Chan, suggesting to her that a note from Bird's love might have healing powers of its own. She immediately took the time to write a note of support and encouragement to a complete stranger. It was an extremely bright note to a wonderful guy who, at that moment, was under a very dark cloud. Don and I have never forgotten that act of kindness; and he and Pat were fortunate enough to be able to thank Chan personally a few years ago in France.

The English version of Chan's autobiography My Life In E-flat has finally come out. It is published by the University of South Carolina Press, and the ISBN is 1570032459.

Verne Christensen is an architectural illustrator and a member of the KC Jazz Ambassadors.

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© Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.






	Search our site:		Chan Parker 1925-1999 by Verne Christensen Chan Parker died September 9, 1999 in Étampes, France after surgery the week before revealed an inoperable cancer. Her daughter Kim Parker and son Gar Woods were at her bedside. She was 74 years of age and in those 74 years, packed about 130 years of life. As Charlie Parker's music matured, his choice of partners did also. The last two women in his life, his widow Doris, and Chan, were two of the most amazing women I have met. I had the honor and pleasure to get to know Doris from her trips to KC last spring for the Parker memorial. She is a wonderful woman. And though we never met face-to-face, the stack of letters I have from Chan makes me feel I knew her also. Of course it was Chan who introduced me to my buddy Kim Parker, my friends Peter and Linda King, and fellow Bird fan David Stonard in the UK. Chan's mother was a Ziegfeld girl, and as Chan Richardson, she herself became a dancer and a "presence" on New York's 52nd street scene. As author Ross Russell said, "When Chan Richardson walked into a club, heads turned and juices flowed." It was there that she met Parker, and their years together produced two biological children, Baird and Pree. (Pree died in childhood.) Following Parker's death, Chan met and married alto saxophonist Phil Woods. They later moved to Champmotteaux, France to raise Baird and their two children, Gar and Aimee, in a less racially divisive society. Upon her divorce from Woods, she remained in Champmotteaux and was a gracious hostess to generations of Parker fans. A word on Chan's kindness to one fan in particular: I wrote a note to her about ten years ago (looking for a book, as usual), and she wrote back immediately, full of candor, wit and humor. Thus began our correspondence. Some years later Donald Cox, now Business Manager of KC's Mutual Musicians Foundation, was struck with cancer himself and went through hell to a complete recovery, thank God. Donald's wife works with mine, and when he and I met, we immediately felt like brothers. I love Donald Cox. He is a guy with a heart to match his size and talent. I wrote to Chan, suggesting to her that a note from Bird's love might have healing powers of its own. She immediately took the time to write a note of support and encouragement to a complete stranger. It was an extremely bright note to a wonderful guy who, at that moment, was under a very dark cloud. Don and I have never forgotten that act of kindness; and he and Pat were fortunate enough to be able to thank Chan personally a few years ago in France. The English version of Chan's autobiography My Life In E-flat has finally come out. It is published by the University of South Carolina Press, and the ISBN is 1570032459. Verne Christensen is an architectural illustrator and a member of the KC Jazz Ambassadors. RETURN TO OCTOBER 1999 MAIN INDEX ------------------------------------------------------------------------ © Kansas City Jazz Ambassadors 1996-2001. All rights reserved.