Bebop
Bebop or bop is a form of jazz which uses a fast tempo and complex improvisational techniques. It was developed in the 1940s.
Many Big Band musicians in New York City would associate at Minton's Playhouse, a small jazz club. There the musicians were free to improvise as they wished, free of what some considered the restrictions of an audience expecting smooth, dancable versions of popular songs.
The creation of bebop language is generally credited to Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk. Bebop was criticized by contemporaries for being too technical. (Louis Armstrong opined famously that bebop was incomprehensible "Chinese Music.") Gillespie was quoted as saying that was exactly his goal, to elevate the music to a level where only the most elite musicians could participate.
Many bebop tunes were based on chord progressions (also called chord changes) from popular songs, which allowed recording artists to avoid paying copyright fees. The chord changes to the song "I Got Rhythm" by George Gershwin were so often used that they are often referred to simply as "Rhythm Changes." Jazz musicians had always improvised solos over chord changes, but writing entirely new compositions based on existing chord changes was an innovation.
The typical bebop combo consisted of bass, drums, and piano, with two horn players up front. The classic 1940s bebop combo was Charlie Parker on alto sax, Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet, Max Roach on drums, Percy Heath on bass, and Bud Powell on piano.
The name bebop (briefly called rebop) is an imitation of a characteristic quick two-note phrase that was played together by the lead instruments to introduce a solo or end a song.
Other notable musicians identified with bebop:
- Miles Davis, trumpet
- Chubby Jackson, bass
- Dexter Gordon, tenor sax
- Thelonious Monk, piano
| Jazz | Jazz genres |
|---|
| Bebop - Dixieland - Cool jazz - Free jazz - Hard bop - Modal jazz |
| Acid jazz - Jazz fusion - Jazz rap - Nu jazz |