Jazz day 5 6 - notes PDF

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Jazz Day 5/6 Bebop- fast, furious, explosive and technically demanding to play, emphasizes the virtuosity of the soloist in a small group setting ●

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Was consolidation of innovations of some of more progressive musicians of the previous decade ○ Art Tatum- Pianist, virtuoso, utilized reharmonization of existing chord structures ○ Coleman Hawkins- tenor sax, vertical style of improv required a moment-by-moment analysis of passing harmonies ○ Lester Young- tenor sax, rhythmic approach and emphasis on melody Vertical Styles- improv based on chord tones

Defining Bebop ● ● ● ●

Arrangements- tune or head is typically stated once or twice in unison by the horns, followed by a succession of soloists with aa return to the head Melody- bebop melodies are nearly unsingable, twisting and turning in unexpected ways with odd intervals and syncopations Harmony- most bebop repertoire is based on 12 bar blues or pre-existing song forms, bebop musicians habitually reharmonizes these songs by substituting new chords for old ones and adding passing chords Rhythm- bebop is much more syncopated and rhythmically unpredictable than any jazz that preceded it, melodies are likewise rhythmically more interesting and complex

Bebop Repertoire ●

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Recording ban of 1942- on august 1, 1942, American federation of musicians went on strike in standoff with recording industry. Issue was demand for small royalty to be paid by radio and jukebox industry to composers and publishers for use of recorded songs Smaller record labels began recording bebop and other non-mainstream music styles that major labelsDecca, RCA, Victor, and Columbia would not Smaller labels could avoid paying the publishing royalty if the beboppers recorded their own compositions rather than already published music “Anthropology” was written using same chord progression as “I got rhythm”, “ornithology” cam from “how high the moon”

Bebop pioneers are from all over the country and met in NYC ● ●

Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie both followed a typical bebop musician track They played in swing bands and then gravitated toward jam sessions and other opportunities to show off their talents

Charlie Parker- Aug 29 1920- Mar 12 1955 ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Alto saxophonist Dev a new way to construct solos using chord structures as basis for note selection Parker’s style is a vertical approach of using chord structures to base note selection, began to use extended intervals of each chord in his solo Concept is imbedded in genetic code of nearly all jazz music Drug addict Worked with Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis “Koko”- reworking or contract of “Cherokee”, recording is one of most celebrated in jazz history, in part for all star cast of Parker, Gillespie, Miles Davis, and drummer Max Roach, also for capturing for the first time, the explosive virtuosity that Parker was capable of when focus ○ Is a documentation of musical genius at work ○ Dizzy performed on both piano and trumpet

Dizzy Gillespie- The Schoolmaster- Oct 21 1917- Jan 6 1993 ● ●

One of early leaders of bebop revolution Played as a sideman for big bands from 1937-1944

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Organized, levelheaded Worked with younger musicians to help them learn the new bebop style

Mario Bauza and Chano Pozo ● ●

Dizzy met Bauza (cuban trumpeter) while playing in the Cab Calloway band, impacted dizzy by introducing him to Latin music Pozo brought powerful West African-influenced conga playing and primal chants to Dizzy’s first big band

Manteca- Afro-cuban style ● ● ●

Chano Pozo influenced One of central features of this arrangement is layering of as many as four diff elements on top o each other Manteca means grease or lard in Spanish, but was also Cuban slang for weed

Thelonious Monk- The High Priest- Oct 10 1917- Feb 17 1982 ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Was large and unusually quiet man Hired to play in Minton’s house band in 1940 Explored unorthodox harmonies and dissonances Aggressive approach, great rhythmic feel and offbeat, percussive accents Was not immediately appreciated Hired by Coleman Hawkins in 1944 Monk’s blue note albums are among the most important from the bebop era Melodies are simple but unpredictable, familiar sounding yet idiosyncratic Distinctive, trademark harmonies and quirky rhythms Took the rap for a drug charge, lost cabaret card upon being released from jail Brilliant Corners recording sparked his rise to fame and performed extensively thru 50s and 60s Reveals Monk’s risk taking nature ○ Horn section is utilized unconventionally, they only voice chords Monk combines bebop and stride piano techniques w/in his solo Considered to be the first of Monk’s many masterpieces

Other Bebop Pioneers- Kenny Clarke, Max Roach, Charlie Christian, Bud Powell, Oscar Pettiford Kenny Clarke- drummer- modernized Jaxx drumming ● ●

House drummer for Minton’s Founding member of modern jazz quartet

Max Roach- drummer- made drum set a fully-timbral and polyrhythmic instrument ● ● ●

Worked alongside Gillespie at the Onyx Club Bud Powell and Miles Davis One of first jazz musicians to teach at college level

Charlie Christian- guitarist- performed with the Benny Goodman band ● ● ●

Regular attendee to Harlem late night jam sessions Electric guitar was novelty in jazz, most solos were chordal in nature Pioneered in playing single-note runs and using an amplifier to correctly balance his sound with other instruments in the band

Bud Powell- pianist- protege of Monk ● ● ● ●

Penchant for playing lightning-fast, single-note improv runs in the right hand with minimal left-hand accompaniment Modernized jazz piano style Alcohol and drug probs Emotionally unbalanced

Oscar Pettiford- bassist- one of first competent bass soloists ● ● ●

Performed in Charlie Barnet big band House bassist at Minton’s Performed with Dizzy Gillespie and Max Roach at Onyx Club

Dexter Gordon- tenor saxophonist- attended jam sessions regularly ● ● ● ●

Took part in one of the important recording sessions in early years of bebop Album incl Max Roach, Bud Powell, and Curley Russel (bass) “Long Tall Dexter” 12 bar blues

Bebop initial reaction and lasting impact ● ● ● ● ●

“HOT JAZZ OVER HEATED, WITH OVERDONE LYRICS FULL OF BAWDINESS, REFERENCES TO NARCOTICS AND DOUBLE-TALK”- Time Magazine 1944 “ALL OF THEM WEIRD CHORDS WHICH DON’T MEAN NOTHING..”- Louis Armstrong “NOT REAL MUSICIANS... JUST FAKING”- Benny Goodman “Bebop has set music back twenty years” - Tommy Dorsey “The boppers were a bunch of fumblers who...effectively delivered the death blow to the big bands as we had known them” - Charlie Barnett

Moldy Figs vs Moderns ● ● ● ●

Critics- supporters of bebop, Barry Ulanov, and traditionalist, Rudi Blesh Ulanov penned an article called “Moldy Figs vs Moderns” Title became term that has been used to this day to describe jazz musicians who were not keeping up with the current trends Bebop with stood initial poor reception and continues to influence jazz musicians to this day

5 reasons bebop was influential ● ● ● ● ● ●

Art music- bebop signaled the moment when jazz was no longer thought of as entertainment Innovation- as art music, bebop brought a new zeitgeist to jazz, that musicians should now look to innovate Individualism- w/ bebop, focus of jazz would now turn to individual rather than the ensemble Vocab- bebop brought new vocabulary of melodic lines and phrases to jazz Political Activism- bebop laid ground work for future political activism by black musicians thru 50s and 60s...