Work · 1945 · New York City [40.71, -74.01]
Ko-Ko
Recorded by Charlie Parker in New York in 1945, "Ko-Ko" is widely regarded as one of bebop's defining performances, a furious display of Parker's improvising at the upper limit of speed and invention. Built over the harmony of an older standard, it compresses the new style's vocabulary into a few electrifying minutes. The record helped announce that a fully formed bebop had arrived.
Evidence2
- MusicBrainz: Charlie ParkerMusicBrainz
musicbrainz.org/artist/c7356af9-9ea6-4a78-a55b-c73775716312
accessed 2026-06-04
- Wikidata: Charlie ParkerWikidata
www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q103767
accessed 2026-06-04
Connections1
collaborates with → Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker's 1945 recording of "Ko-Ko" is often singled out as the performance where a fully formed bebop reached the record, a furious demonstration of his improvising. The track distilled the new style into a few minutes of unprecedented speed and invention. It binds Parker to the single piece most frequently named as bebop's arrival.