Kim Parker

The daughter of Chan Parker and the stepdaughter of both Charlie Parker and Phil Woods, Kim Parker in the 1980s emerged as a fine (although just part-time) jazz singer. Not too surprisingly she grew up around music, being eight years old when Charlie Parker died. She sang in high school, spent a year at Hofstra University on a drama scholarship and was named best jazz vocalist in the Villanova Inter-Collegiate Jazz Festival. However Kim Parker did not immediately become a singer. She was married in 1967, spent time as a farmer and housepainter in Maine and did not really start singing seriously until 1976. During that year she began working in clubs and her associates soon included Bob Dorough, Vic Juris, Eric Kloss, Waldron. However, despite her talents, Kim Parker never really made it big and she has since been only semi-active in music. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide