Transcript the shift to be bop

THE SHIFT TO BE
BOP
• More significant changes to Jazz occur during the
Bop era than in an other time in Jazz history.
• The demise of Swing Big Bands brings about the
rise of the small combo.
• Many players were in WWII and new young
players & their ideas gain exposure.
• BeBop is the first Jazz Style that was not
intended for dancing.
THE SHIFT TO BE
BOP
• There was a shift away from the popularity of
Swing to a more elite audience and players
• The new style demanded more of the listening
audience and much more of the player.
• Many Swing players were not able to “keep up”
with the complexities and technical demands of
BeBop.
• The music was generally fast and favored small
combo set ups
THE SHIFT TO BE
BOP
• The new young players were interested in
allowing for more improvisation and letting the
soloist lead the group
• They were tired of reading written arrangements
that limited the exploration of new sounds
• Its is hard to pin down an exact start to BeBop.
• It is commonly thought to have solidified in New
York in the early 1940’s
• However, Kansas City, St. Louis, Oklahoma
City, and Chicago all could be said to have
spawned BeBop players at this time as well.
THE SHIFT TO BE
BOP
• BeBop is today’s mainstream Jazz style that is
studied or played by modern players
• Only through historical context do we actually
see that BeBop contains most of the innovations
and innovative players most remembered today.
• Jazz used to be the music of the dance hall, the
night club, the street, and the church.
• Today it has become concert music and is
studied in Colleges & Universities worldwide.
THE SHIFT TO BE BOP
BE BOP Arranging
• More radical changes were embraced by the BeBop
musician than ever before in Jazz.
• The smaller groups provided more chances for the
improvised solo to lead the group.
• Unlike Big Bands, BeBop groups only used a very
small portion of composed material.
• Unison lines would be played by the lead instruments
(usually by the Trumpet & Sax) at the onset
• Improvised chorus of solos would follow
• A repeat of the “head” or composed section would end
the piece.
THE SHIFT TO BE BOP
Musical Expansion
• The BeBop player used extended harmonies in the
chords.
• These higher harmonies were reflections of the
experimentations occurring in 20th century classical
music.
• They included notes that occurred in higher octaves in
the overtone series above the Root, 3, 5, & 7 used
mostly by earlier Jazz styles.
• Complex combinations of old triads called Poly-chords
were also used
THE SHIFT TO BE BOP
Musical Expansion
• BeBop tempos were general faster than previous music
in part because it was a listening music and not
intended for dance.
• BeBop accented beats differently than previous Jazz
music (usually accents occurred in-between the beat)
• More tonal clashes occurred in the music using
unusual harmonies that was a reflection of the tension
felt in the early days of WWII in America
• Sometimes Chord Arpeggios were used only instead of
a melodic solo because of the complexities of a
particular tune.
THE SHIFT TO BE BOP
Musical Expansion
• One other Major Change in BeBop was the
development of STANDARD TUNES.
• These tunes would contain chord changes that were
used by more than one artist to create different songs
by changing only the head or the first composed
melody
• BeBop players also changed the phrasing of the main
melodies and solo melodies from neat symmetrical
lines of the past to what would seem uneven and
unnatural.
THE SHIFT TO BE BOP
The BeBop Rhythm Section
• Drums – Played the main rhythm on the ride cymbal and
used the snare and bass for accents only
• Piano – left behind the steady 1,2,3,4 and played
syncopated chord accents
• Guitar – with the advent of the amplifier it became a solo
instrument like the trumpet and sax
• String Bass – the only instrument left play 1,2,3,4 but
now played “walking bass” lines and not just root notes
• The Rhythm section was now freer to explore new
rhythms and less likely to just duplicate parts for the sake
of pulse
THE SHIFT TO BE BOP
THE PERFORMERS
• Individual Players would shape this music more so than the
composer/ arranger of the past.
• ROY ELDRIDGE & DIZZY GILLESPIE(Trumpet)
• Dizzy is often considered the first Bop trumpet player
• Dizzy was influenced by Louis Armstrong but more so
by Roy Eldridge who is often over looked in Jazz history
• Eldridge played with Fletcher Henderson and was
known for his virtuosic technique & use of the extreme
upper register of the trumpet
• Dizzy model much of his playing on Eldridge so much
so he often was called as a replacement for Eldridge
THE SHIFT TO BE BOP
THE PERFORMERS
• ROY ELDRIDGE & DIZZY GILLESPIE
• Around 1944 Dizzy is credited with putting together the
first official Bop group with bassist Oscar Pettiford
• There group along with other great Jazz groups played
the clubs along NYC’s 52nd Street from 1944-47 and
help shoot BeBop into the mainstream of Jazz
• Dizzy’s style was either praised or vilified, but was
defiantly the most talked about Bop musician of the
time.
• *YOUTUBE –
• DIZZY & CHARLIE PARKER “HOT HOUSE”
THE SHIFT TO BE BOP
THE PERFORMERS
• CHARLIE PARKER (Alto Sax)
• Known as “Bird” born in Kansas City 1921.
• @ 15 he was hanging around Kansas City clubs listening
and trying to imitate the players he heard such as in The
Basie Band.
• He studied with local classically trained sax players as
well as guitarist and pianist and anyone who would teach
him.
• First moved to New York in 1939 to seek out jam
sessions and supported himself doing odd jobs
• He was hired for a few big band tours that left New York
THE SHIFT TO BE BOP
THE PERFORMERS
• CHARLIE PARKER (Alto Sax)
• Returned to New York and was 1st hired in 1944 as a
leader at the Spotlight Club on 52nd Street.
• He began associations with fellow players like Dizzy
Gillespie and a young trumpeter named Miles Davis
• Some of his most remember melodies came out of his time
on 52nd street such as KoKo, Now’s the Time, Billie’s
Bounce, etc…
• Parkers influence to later musicians extends much as
Armstrong before him to all instruments not just the Sax
• LISTENING JOURNAL
• CHARLIE PARKERS RE-BOPPERS = KOKO
• *YOUTUBE - Charlie’s tragic life
• DVD CHAOS- Bebop beginnings 0:00 – 26:10
THE SHIFT TO BE BOP
THE PERFORMERS
• BUD POWELL (Piano)
• Was classically trained as a school boy
• Brought his advanced knowledge of harmony and
technique to the BeBop community
• Became an established member of the 52nd Street
“family” before moving to France in 1959.
• His left hand chords were his major contribution to Bop
• The way he “voiced” the chords and the way he choose
were and when to place them in the music were fresh and
innovative for the time.
• *YOUTUBE – Bud Powell Trio
THE SHIFT TO BE BOP
THE PERFORMERS
• CHARLIE CHRISTIAN (Guitar) ( Benny Goodman)
• & JIMMY BLANTON (Bass) (Duke Ellington)
• Both were national figures in 1939 and both died of
tuberculosis in 1942
• Both change the concept of playing the respective
instruments
• Both elevated their instruments from simple rhythm
playing to solo instruments
• Both subsequently influenced all future players on their
instruments
• *YOUTUBE – CHARLIE CHRISTIAN
THE SHIFT TO BE BOP
THE PERFORMERS
• THELONIOUS MONK (Piano)
• Influential pianist and composer.
• His pieces were considered compositions that were not
interchangeable from melodic lines and chord changes.
• His soloing style was compositional in that he would develop
phrases and ideas in ever conceivable manner. Used much
more space & sparseness in ideas.
• Recognized as an innovative composer before he was as an
influential pianist.
• Considered a Founding Father of BeBop, he would later take
his composition style in other directions.
• LISTENING JOURNAL =BAGS GROOVE
• *YOUTUBE – Straight Note Chaser pt 1
THE SHIFT TO BE BOP
THE PERFORMERS
• JJ JOHNSON (Trombone)
• The trombone did not contribute to the development of
BeBop
• Most Trombone players at the time did not have the
“Chops” to be able to succeed in BeBop
• JJ Johnson was one trombone player that proved it was
possible.
• Johnson’s smooth & clean style worked perfectly for the
Bop style.
• He became the leading influence on all trombonist to
follow
• **YOUTUBE – NOW’S THE TIME
THE SHIFT TO BE BOP
PROGRESSIVE BIG BANDS
• When larger Bands used the harmonic &
rhythmic developments of Bop they were called
progressive
• Swing Big Bands only had hints of Bop in some
soloist
• Progressive bands took the instrumentation of Big
Band Swing and combined it with BeBop
• Two progressive band leaders were
• DIZZY GILLESPIE & STAN KENTON
THE SHIFT TO BE BOP
PROGRESSIVE BIG BANDS
• Dizzy’s Big Band
• Gillespie was the first to put a big band together
to play Bop in 1945.
• The Band was short lived as Dizzy became
interested in Cuban music and started to change
the direction from Bop to Afro-Cuban
• It is notable that Dizzy’s big band was the first to
tour on behalf of the US State Department with a
complete mix of black and white musicians
THE SHIFT TO BE BOP
PROGRESSIVE BIG BANDS
• STAN KENTON
• Band leader out of Los Angeles
• Began to add to his repertoire the new styles and
tunes of BeBop from the players that worked in
his band
• He was never one to compromise Jazz as art for
the safety and comfort of commercially
successful big bands
• **YOUTUBE – LIMEHOUSE BLUES