I've read Karouac's "on the road" while I was in NYC for 3 weeks, it really added a lot to my experience. Parker was a fucking genius, his bebop might be a bit nervous when you hear it first, but after a little adjustment it gives so much depth to the music. Jazz definatly is an artform and "bird" was one of it's absolute masters.
I think some people have trouble getting into it initially. Because I was introduced to it by Karouac's prose, I first listened to it trying to hear it as he had.
That probably influenced me, but I'm confident I would have liked him anyway.
I've read Karouac's "on the road" while I was in NYC for 3 weeks
So you read On The Road, while on the road? So did I. I read it while hitch-hiking and borrowing cars to cross the country. Life imitating art, or art imitating life, I'm not sure.
I wonder how many people read that book while traveling. I doubt we're alone.
Charlie was the one that got me into this era of music. I read a description of his music by Kerouac that made me want to hear it. Before that I'd had only a little exposure to jazz, and almost none to free-form.
I've been a fan ever since.