Bebop jazz

BEBOP

Bebop was the first style to be classified as "modern" jazz. Like other styles it did not suddenly burst on the scene but developed gradually from the swing era. It was not as popular as swing and at the time caused great disagreement among fans and players alike. In the study of jazz, styles that follow one another are often the excact opposite of the preceeding style. Such is the case with bebop.

Bebop differed from swing in many ways that fall under the broad categories of performance practices and aspects of style.

The following fall under performance practices.

1. The preferred size and instrumentation of the bebop group was the small combo and not the big band.
2. The clarinet and rhythm guitar did not make the transition to bebop and were rarely seen or heard.
3. Bebop tempos were much faster which led to a greater display of technical virtuosity on the part of the players.
4. Where the big bands had elaborate arrangements, the bop quintet usually played the heads (melody) in unison.
5. Where the big bands were for dancing and catered to the dancers, bebop was almost strictly for listening and had none of the trappings of the big band.


In the area of stylistic changes there were many.

1. Bebop melodies were extremely complicated, full of notes that seemed to leap wildly and were unsingable.
2. Harmonies were also much more intense and varied than in the swing era.
3. Improvising took on a new importance and led to very long solos.
4. The general feeling of bebop was frantic to say the least.
5. The rhythm section became more responsive to the soloists and was not concerned with keeping time for a bunch of dancers. They supported the soloist and freely used accents called "bombs."

The main innovators of the new music were "Dizzy" Gillespie, trumpet; Charlie "Bird" Parker, Alto Sax; Thelonius Monk, piano: Bud Powell, piano; Charlie Christian, Guitar: Kenny Clarke on drums. Bebop began to crystallize in the 40’s at a place in New York Citry called Minton’s Playhouse. It was at after hours jam sessions at Minton’s that these players experimented with the new music. There was also a dark side that involved the heavy use of drugs by many of the players. This resulted in a lot of bad press, especially when its greatest practitioner, Charlie Parker, died at the age of 34 from a lifetime of drug use.

Bebop is still a viable style and can be heard on many Cds and in live performance. It is a special kind of jazz that not eveyone can play because of the high demands on creativity and execution. We say it generally separates the men from the boys and the sheep from the goats. There are several excellent videos and books on each of the "inventors" and I would highly reccommend that you check them out.

LISTEN THE SONG IN THIS WEB SIDE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukL3TDV6XRg

ANSWERE THE QUESTIONS
1.Did you know about Bebop?
2.What do you think about this kind of jazz?