Bop is probably the first modern jazz style: wild, unpredictable, and signifying both a musical and cultural revolution. In fact, to understand jazz itself, one must first understand bebop. Bebop's heyday occurred from the early 1940s through the late 1950s. It... [more]

Bop is probably the first modern jazz style: wild, unpredictable, and signifying both a musical and cultural revolution. In fact, to understand jazz itself, one must first understand bebop. Bebop's heyday occurred from the early 1940s through the late 1950s. It emerged as a stylistic rejection of swing (early 1930s to late 1940s), which stressed a visual experience through dancers and singers performing alongside formally dressed instrumentalists. Bebop also rejected the musical structures imposed by swing. The written arrangements used by swing big bands provided danceable and listenable music for the audience but restricted solo time and spontaneous musical interaction between soloist and accompanist. Important bebop innovators include alto saxophonist Charlie Parker, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, and pianist Thelonious Monk. They emphasized in their music brisk tempos and long, unpredictable phrases. Virtuosic improvisation of instrumentalists was required to play within complex chordal structures. Bebop was also a protest against commercialism and white American culture. Some view the bebop genre as a social revolution, heralded by innovative young black musicians who sought to create a black subculture untainted by the white mainstream. In the intimate settings of New York City venues such as Minton's in Harlem and the Spotlite Club on 52nd Street, bebop instrumentalists birthed the small jazz combo - most commonly saxophone/trumpet/bass/piano/drums. After hours, bebop musicians asserted their art through a raw and energetic complexity of sound, completely independent of the mainstream marketplace. [show less]