“The Bebop Era”

1. “The Bebop Era”

2. Bebop “a most inadequate word” that “throws up its hands in clownish self-deprecation before all the complexity of sound and rhythm and self-assertive passion which it pretends to name.” (Ralph Ellison)

3. Bebop • The beginning of “Modern Jazz Era:” • Part of the “training” of jazz musicians. • The “Canon” of Bebop continues to be relevant. • Significant performers continue to use Bebop’s musical language. • The move from a popular music to an art music.

4. General Style Characteristics • Focus on individual musicians’ technique and ability to improvise. • Smaller combos (4-5 pieces) more typical (possibly patterned after jam sessions in Kansas City and elsewhere). • Simpler arrangements of songs (intro/melody/solos/melody/ending). • The blues (AAB) and 32-bar standard song form (AABA) were popular. • More complicated harmonies: • Extensions and alterations to chords. • Chord progression increases in complexity. • Tempos faster and/or slower that Swing Era performances. • Disjunct, not easily singable melodies; asymmetrical phrases.

5. Chord Extensions and Alterations • Harmony based on the Western European tradition • Chords built by stacking thirds • Chords extended by adding more pitches • Pitches in a chord might be chromatically altered.

6. Revolution vs. Evolution • Studies of bebop that emphasize musical analysis characterize its emergence as ''evolutionary'‘ • continuity of development • “gradual, linear evolution, conserving essential qualities even as it introduces innovations" (DeVeaux) • Writers who emphasize the social aspects of the movement see bebop as "revolution“ • “a rejection of the status quo, a sharp break with the past” • discontinuity • The jazz musician as a marker for “hipness.”

7. Historical Origins • Minton’s Playhouse • Opened in 1938 by saxophonist Henry Minton in 1938 • Minton was the 1st Black delegate to Local 802 of the Musician’s Union. • Hired bandleader Teddy Hill to manage the club in late 1940. • Minton and Hill encouraged jam sessions, which were not allowed by the union. • The Union hired “walking delegates” that would fine musicians who participated. • Minton’s was relatively safe due to connections.

8. Jam Sessions at Minton’s • The “house band: • Kenny Clarke – drummer and bandleader • Joe Guy, trumpet • Nick Fenton, bass • Thelonious Monk, piano • Other frequent guests included Charlie Christian (guitar), John “Dizzy” Gillespie (trumpet), and later Charlie Parker (alto saxophone).

9. Other locations in New York • Monroe’s Uptown House • Many of the regulars included Big Band players. • Most of the jam session participants checked out several clubs. • West 52nd Street • In the middle 1940s, the primary venue for bebop. • Musicians were getting paid. • Instrumental music exempt from wartime 30% cabaret tax.

10. AFM Recording Ban • Musicians Union called for a ban on recording beginning Aug. 1942. • Musicians not paid for jukebox or radio play. • “V Discs” were exempt. • Capitol and Decca signed within a year, but Victor and Columbia held out for another year. • Enabled the rise of several smaller labels. • The beginnings of bebop not documented on recordings.

11. The Architects of Bebop • Charlie Parker • Dizzy Gillespie • Thelonious Monk • Kenny Clarke • Bud Powell