A、The development of jazz music. B、The jazz musician named Charlie Parker. C、The new style of jazz called bebop. D、The death of

Charlie Parker is one of America’s greatest jazz musicians. He influenced the direction of jazz music during his short lifetime. He developed a new style of jazz called bebop(比波普爵士乐). Performers of bebop left the traditional musical melody and played a song freely, with the music and rhythm being felt at the same time. So, the same song could be played in a different way each time it was performed. Charlie Parker was born in 1920 and had his first saxophone (萨克斯管) in 1933. Charlie developed as a musician by playing with different groups in public eating and drinking places called nightclubs. Meanwhile, Charlie developed serious problems that were to affect the rest of his life. He became dependent on alcohol and the illegal drug, heroin. In 1939, Charlie went to New York City, where he began to develop his own style of jazz. Charlie Parker’s name first appeared in the press reports about music in 1940. During the next five years, he joined different bands. He apparently did not feel at ease playing with a bit of bands, so he returned to New York City in 1947. The following four years are considered his most successful years. He formed his own small bands and played with other groups. He visited Europe three times, where he recorded about half of the albums he had ever made. His last public appearance was on March 5, 1955, at Birdland. It was not a success. He died seven days later of a heart attack.
16.  What does the speaker mainly talk about?
17.  What can we learn about Charlie’s music style?
18.  Where did Charlie record about half of his albums?