"There is only one heaven, one earth and one queen (me) Queen Elizabeth is an impostor."
she earned a Grammy for her version of the song "What a Diff'rence a Day Makes." In his 2001 biography , music legend Quincy Jones vividly describes Washington's style, saying she "could take the melody in her hand, hold it like an egg, crack it open, fry it, let it sizzle, reconstruct it, put the egg back in the box and back in the refrigerator and you would've still understood every single syllable."
But the singer's musical gifts were offset by a wild and extravagant personal life. Married seven times, Washington battled weight problems and raced through her profits buying shoes, furs and cars in an effort to lift her spirits. Washington also tried numerous prescription medications, primarily for dieting and insomnia. A mix of the pills she was taking in 1963 caused her death, which was ruled an accident. Her gift lives on through her rich musical legacy.
Charlie Parker also known as "Yardbird" and "Bird was one of the most influential improvising soloists in jazz, and a central figure in the development of bop in the 1940s. A legendary figure in his own lifetime, he was idolized by those who worked with him, and he inspired a generation of jazz performers and composers.
Many Parker recordings demonstrate his virtuoso playing style and complex melodic lines, sometimes combining jazz with other musical genres, including blues, Latin, and classical.
Parker acquired the nickname "Yardbird" early in his career;[4] this and its shortened form, "Bird", which continued to be used for the rest of his life, inspired the titles of a number of Parker compositions, such as "Yardbird Suite", "Ornithology", "Bird Gets the Worm", and "Bird of Paradise."
Parker was an icon, personifying the jazz musician as an uncompromising artist and intellectual rather than just an entertainer
Charlie Parker Great Quotes http://www.jazzonline.gr/en/jazznews/great-quotes/item/1172-great-quotes-%E2%80%94-charlie-parker.html