Jazz Fundamentals

Greg Polanik CoordinatorCorina Iukovici Co-Coordinator

Academy for Lifelong LearningCape Cod Community College

Spring 2015

Chapter 4Bebop

Oo Bop Sh' Bam!Dizzy Gillespie

Bebop

• 1945-1950s(development began 1940-1945)

• Bop; Sub-Style: Cu-Bop

• The First Period of Modern Jazz

• Named for it’s energetic nature

• And for a common 2 note phrase

1940 - 1950

• WWII

• Atomic Bomb

• Jackie Robinson

• Soviet Union

• McCarthyism

• Beat Generation

The Roots Bebop

• Jam Sessions at Minton’s Playhouse

• Serious musicians, bored with the Swing they played for work

• Informal, Experimental, Competitive

• Explored new harmonic ideas

• Exclusionary (speed, complexity)

Those who want to knowwhat sound goes into my music

should come to NYand open their ears

Thelonious Monk

Bebop Music

• Music for Listening, not for Dancing

• Based on Improvisation

• Creativity, not commercial success

• Spontaneity, not polished & arranged

• Complex harmonic ideas

• Small Clubs, not Dance Halls

Jam Session Core Players

• Charlie Parker (alto sax)

• Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet)

• Thelonious Monk (piano)

• Kenny Clarke (drums)

• Milt Hinton (bass)

• Charlie Christian (guitar)

Jazz musicians are only workerswho will put in a full shift for pay

and then go somewhere else& continue to work for free

George Carlin

Swing v Bop Saxophone

• Coleman Hawkins & Charlie Parker

Improvisation

• Swinging v Flying High

• Melodic, scalar improvisation v angular, upper chord tones

• They are Lip-Syncing

Playing ‘bop’ is likeplaying Scrabble

with all the vowels missing

Duke Ellington

Cultural Phenomenon

• For the public: a rejection of things conformist and mainstream

• For musicians: a political statement, declaration of independence, a cult

• A break with the racial stereotype of Blacks entertaining Whites (Louis)

• Followers emulated Dizzy’s beret, goatee & glasses; Bird’s addiction

any old way will doas long as it's different from

the way you played it before ...

you got no melody to rememberand no beat to dance to

Louis Armstrong

Bebop differs from Swing

• Small groups not big bands

• Soloists are main personalities

• Energetic, erratic rhythms

• Fast chord changes

• Too fast (or too slow) to dance

• Angular, disjointed melodies

Bebop differs from Swing

• More complex harmony (9ths, 13ths)

• Altered chords (b5, b9, #9, #11)

• ‘Head Arrangements’ not written

• Trumpet & Sax (alto) most important

• Training ground is small clubs

• Songs re-written Standards

Bop Band

• Organized into 2 Sections

• Horns: TrumpetSaxophone (alto)

• Rhythm Section: Piano, String Bass,Drums, (Guitar)

Rhythm Section• Standardized for Modern Jazz

• Piano: Harmony, Rhythmic AccentsSpare Comping

• Bass: Timekeeping, Harmonic BottomAll 4 Beats + Embellishment

• Drums: Timekeeping, Ride CymbalAccents Interact with Soloist

• Guitar: Harmony, Rhythmic AccentsHorn-like Solos

Bebop has set musicback twenty years

Tommy Dorsey

Sheet Music v Chart

Sheet Music v Chart

Ride / Crash Cymbal

String Bass

Bop Harmonic Structure

• Keep the original Melody, butChange the Chords of a Standard

• Write a new Melody, butKeep the Chords of a Standard

• Write a new melody, andChange the chords of a Standard

Soloing on Chord Changes

Important Bop Players

• Charlie ‘Yardbird’ ‘Bird’ ParkerAlto Saxophone – virtuoso player

• Most important player in Modern Jazz

• Brilliant innovator, influenced all

• New rhythmic & harmonic soloing

• Bluesy Kansas City inflections

• Heroin & Alcohol destroyed him

When Bird came on the scene,it was shocking as in the Bible:

everything was dark& then there was light

Shorty Rogers

Important Bop Songs

• Charlie Parker

Shaw ‘NuffKo-KoBillie’s BounceXxxxXxxx

Most of the soloists at Birdlandhad to wait for Parker’s

next record in order to find outwhat to play next

What will they do now?

Charles Minguson Bird's death

Important Bop Players

• John Birks ‘Dizzy’ GillespieTrumpet – first modern trumpet player

• Consummate musician, composer

• Harmonic ideas, upper chord tones

• Teacher, mentor, ambassador

• Entertainer, added fun & humor

• Afro-Cuban musical influence

It’s taken me all my lifeto learn what not to play

Dizzy Gillespie

Important Bop Songs

• Dizzy Gillespie

XxxXxxxXxxxXxxxXxxx

Important Bop Players

• Thelonious Sphere MonkPiano – eccentric, quirky style

• Stride, Boogie-Woogie, Blues

• New harmonic ideas, altered chords

• Emphasized space, dissonance

• Composed many Jazz Standards

• Unusual improv influenced Free Jazz

Wrong is right

Thelonious Monk

Important Bop Songs

• Thelonious Monk

XxxXxxxXxxxXxxxXxxx

Working with Monk is likefalling down a dark elevator shaft

John Coltrane

Important Bop Players

• Kenny ClarkeDrums – redefined modern drumming

• Moved timekeeping to Ride Cymbal

• Bass & snare used for accents

• Improvised syncopated accents

• Ride cymbal & accents add energy

• Drums interact with soloist

Those people who say there’s no music but bop are just stupid

it shows how much they don’t know

Miles Davis

Important Bop Songs

• Kenny Clarke

XxxXxxxXxxxXxxxXxxx

Important Bop Players

• Bud PowellPiano – created the modern style

• Most imitated bop pianist

• Codified modern comping

• Streamlined, spare left hand

• Occasional block chords or stride

• Right hand like Bird & Diz

Important Bop Songs

• Bud Powell

XxxXxxxXxxxXxxxXxxx

Other Important Players

• Miles Davis (trumpet)

• Fats Navarro (trumpet)

• Sonny Stitt (tenor sax)

• Dexter Gordon (tenor sax)

• Max Roach (drums)

• Roy Haynes (drums)

• Milt Jackson (vibes)

If it wasn't for hustlers, gangsters& gamblers there'd be no Jazz

Wasn't middle-class who said'Let's go hear Bird tonight'

Betty Carter

I made the wrong mistakes

Thelonious Monkafter playing a disappointing solo

Music is your experience, your thoughts, your wisdom

If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn

Charlie Parker

Music Theory

Melody

Scales used for solos change as thechords change

Faster chord changes make soloingmore difficult

Harmony

Chords add upper harmonic extensions

9ths, 11ths, 13ths (keyboard)

Chords use altered notes

b5, #5, b9, #9, #11

Chord substitutions

Reharmonize

Rhythm

Bop rhythms more varied than Swing

Rhythmic feel less clearly stated

Form

Common Bop Song Form

IntroHeadSolos (repeated choruses)HeadEnding

Jazz Vocabulary

• Chart – chords and melody only

• Head Arrangement - memorized

• Reharmonize – use new chords

• Standard – well known Jazz song

• Trading 4s – alternating soloists

• Turnaround – turns back to the top

Now’s The Time

Bird