He ever so gracefully lands into the melody of “Just Friends” and perfectly introduces the song at the end of his improvisation. You have this beautiful orchestration of strings, with a whimsical yet eerie backdrop, and like a bolt of lightning, Bird comes in with a highly imaginative, vivid, rapid flow of endless ideas that for four measures is exhilarating, taking you on a virtuosic sonic roller coaster ride. This version of “Just Friends” is what bebop is all about in a nutshell. His improvisations were innovative, limitless, freeing, bold, boundary-pushing and unapologetically groundbreaking in the way he transcended all preconceived understanding of western harmony. ◆ ◆ ◆ Camille Thurman, saxophonist and vocalistĬharlie Parker was the epitome of bebop. As Dizzy used to say, “Two hearts as one.” Charlie Parker is on fire, and Dizzy Gillespie is right there with him. Although there are many classic bebop recordings, such as “Complete Jazz at Massey Hall,” “Parker’s Mood,” “Koko,” “Groovin’ High,” and another favorite of mine, Bird’s solo on “Lady Be Good,” this version of “Dizzy Atmosphere” epitomizes the genius abilities of Bird and Diz to create at such a high level. On an autumn evening over 75 years ago, at one of my favorite venues, Carnegie Hall, a groundbreaking concert made many fall in love with bebop. Parker spearheaded bebop Gillespie, a consummate teacher, conveyed this complex musical style to others. This is not to negate the contributions of Bud Powell, Thelonious Monk, Oscar Pettiford, Kenny Clarke, Fats Navarro, Max Roach and many others. ◆ ◆ ◆ Jon Faddis, trumpeterįor me, any discussion of bebop must include Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. You can find a playlist at the bottom of the article, and be sure to leave your own bebop favorites in the comments. And it’s never really gone out of fashion: Bebop is the music Jean-Michel Basquiat painted to, and it’s the foundation of jazz theory that music students around the world are taught when they learn to improvise.Įnjoy listening to these tracks selected by a range of the genre’s practitioners, commentators and devotees. “To a certain extent, this music resulted from conscious attempts to remove it from the danger of mainstream dilution or even understanding,” Baraka says.īy way of its corrugated harmonies, its dashing tempos and the particular spotlight it placed on the interplay between horns and drums, bebop altered the course of American music, and raised the bar for improvisation and composition worldwide. That’s bebop.įorged in the fires of Black urban life during the postwar era, bebop was, as Amiri Baraka writes in “ Blues People,” the style that “led jazz into the arena of art.” It was also laced with irreverence. Think of a horn player zipping through a dizzying line, over a swinging beat that sizzles so fast you can almost see smoke drifting from the cymbals. This month, our focus isn’t an artist, but a style: bebop. What five minutes of music would you play for a friend to make them love Alice Coltrane or Duke Ellington? After a few years of listening to a wide range of classical music, The New York Times has been asking musicians, writers, editors, critics and scholars to share their jazz favorites with readers.
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