Chan Woods (born Beverly Delores Berg, also known as Chan Richardson; 29 June 1925 – 9 September 1999), was a common-law wife of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

musician

Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz Saxophone, saxophonist, bandleader, and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of beb ...

. She later married musician

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began t ...

. She was born in New York City to an inter-religious couple; her father, a producer of

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

shows, was Jewish, while her mother, a dancer in

Florenz Ziegfeld Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the '' Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He al ...

's Midnight Frolic, was not. Adopting the name "Chan Richardson," Parker became a nightclub dancer. An early jazz enthusiast, she was romantically connected in the 1940s and early 1950s with jazz musicians Johnny Bothwell and later

Don Lanphere Donald Gale Lanphere (June 26, 1928 – October 9, 2003) was an American jazz tenor and soprano saxophonist, known for his 1940s and 1950s work, and recordings with Fats Navarro (in 1948), Woody Herman (1949), Claude Thornhill, Sonny Dunham, B ...

.Siders, Harvey
"Don Lanphere"
, ''

JazzTimes ''JazzTimes'' was an American print magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store. Coverage After a decade ...

'', March 2002; accessed 4 June 2015. Chan met Charlie Parker in the 1940s, but their friendship was not romantic until around 1950. Chan and Charlie lived together in a common law relationship on New York's Lower East Side for the last five years of Charlie's life, from 1950 to 1955. However, Charlie had not formally terminated a prior marriage. Chan already had one child, her daughter Kim, at the time they established their household; together, Chan and Charlie had two more children, Baird and Pree. Although they never legally wed, Chan took Charlie's surname, as did all the children. Their relationship was dealt a severe blow with the 1953 death of their 2-1/2 year old daughter, Pree, from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

related to a congenital heart defect.

Later years and death

Charlie Parker died just a year and a week after their daughter, in 1955, not long before he would have turned 35. Two years after Parker's death, Chan married saxophonist Phil Woods and moved to France, where she spent much of the rest of her life. She had another daughter from his marriage, Aimée Francesca Woods (1961-1993). In 1981, Chan helped write and edit a book of photographs of Charlie Parker titled ''To Bird with Love'' and later wrote the autobiographical memoir ''My Life in E-Flat''. The second book was published in 1999, the year of her death from cancer, aged 74, in

Étampes Étampes () is a Communes of France, commune in the functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southwest from the Kilometre zero#France, center of Paris (as the crow flies). Étampes is a Subprefectures in ...

, France. Just before her death, Chan was interviewed by

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle American history and culture. His work is often produced in association with WETA-TV or the Nati ...

, and she is seen posthumously in Episode 8 of Burns' 2001 documentary ''

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

''. Chan Parker was the mother of jazz vocalist Kim Parker (b 1947). Chan and Charlie's son Baird lived until 2014.Charles Baird Parker 61 Son of Jazz Great
'' Philly.com''. Retrieved June 29, 2016.

References

External links

"Bird Lives" website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Chan 1925 births 1999 deaths American expatriates in France Charlie Parker