Transcript Charlie “Bird” Parker (1920-1955)

Chapter 34: Postwar Jazz
Bebop
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Emerged shortly after World War II
Complex, hard-driving jazz
Played without musical notation
Name derived from the snappy sounds of the melody
Bebop ensemble typically consists of a quintet of
trumpet, saxophone, piano, double bass, and drums
Improvisation instead of composition
“Jammed” in small, elite groups
Charlie Parker (1920-1955)
Dizzy Gillespie (1917-1993)
Charlie “Bird” Parker (1920-1955)
• Perhaps the most gifted bebop artist
• A tragic figure: a drug addicted, alcoholic, antisocial
man whose skills as an improviser and performer were at
the highest level
• Standard: A tune so influential that it inspires other
musicians to record their own interpretations of it
• Cover: A new version of a standard
• “Salt Peanuts”
– Standard created by Parker and Gillespie
– Frenetic pace, complex melodic lines, and focus on
improvisation
Cool Jazz
• Style emerged in the 1950’s
• Softer, relaxed, and less frenzied than bebop
• Emphasis on lyricism, lower instrumental registers,
moderate tempos, and quieter dynamic levels
• Gerry Mulligan (1927) and Dave Brubeck (b. 1920)
• Miles Davis (1926-1991)
– Album Birth of the Cool
• Group of 9 players
• Tuba and French horn added
• “Jeru”
Fusion and Beyond
• Fusion: Jazz-rock style
– 1960’s: Miles Davis released two albums that
incorporated rock elements
• Current Jazz performers:
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Singer-pianist Diana Krall
Trumpeter Chris Botti
Saxophonist Boney James
Trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis
Wynton Marsalis (b. 1961):
Spokesperson for Jazz Today
• New Orleans native
• From family of jazz musicians:
– Father pianist Ellis Marsalis
– Brother saxophonist Branford Marsalis
• Studied classical repertoire at Juilliard School
• Only person to win Grammys for classical and jazz
performance
• Known as spokesperson of jazz today
• Jazz oratorio Blood in the Fields won the 1997 Pulitzer
Prize
• Since 2006: Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center (NY)
Review:
• Compare and contrast the various jazz styles
after World War II, giving specific musical
examples in addition to descriptions of styles.