Clint Eastwood approached Chan Parker, Charlie Parker's common-law wife on whose memoirs the script was based, for input. She gave Eastwood a collection of lost recordings she'd kept in a bank vault.
Clint Eastwood, a lifelong jazz fan, had been fascinated by Charlie Parker and his music since seeing him play in Oakland in 1945.
A sound engineer digitally and electronically isolated the solo tracks from the old recordings that Clint Eastwood got from Charlie Parker's widow, Chan Parker. Then modern day musicians, such as Ray Brown, Ron Carter, Red Rodney, Barry Harris, and Walter Davis, Jr., recorded backing tracks over the music. Dizzy Gillespie was on tour, so trumpet player Jon Faddis stepped in to do Gillespie's part.
The saxophone playing is original Charlie Parker performances. The body and fingering are by Charles McPherson, who had to learn to breathe exactly like Parker did in the recordings.
Damon Whitaker, who played young Charlie Parker, is the younger brother of Forest Whitaker, who played Parker as an adult.