jazz fundamentals - polarch.com fundamentals 04 bebop.pdf · jazz fundamentals greg polanik...
TRANSCRIPT
Jazz Fundamentals
Greg Polanik CoordinatorCorina Iukovici Co-Coordinator
Academy for Lifelong LearningCape Cod Community College
Spring 2015
Chapter 4Bebop
Oo Bop Sh' Bam!Dizzy Gillespie
Bebop
• 1945-1950s(development began 1940-1945)
• Bop; Sub-Style: Cu-Bop
• The First Period of Modern Jazz
• Named for it’s energetic nature
• And for a common 2 note phrase
1940 - 1950
• WWII
• Atomic Bomb
• Jackie Robinson
• Soviet Union
• McCarthyism
• Beat Generation
The Roots Bebop
• Jam Sessions at Minton’s Playhouse
• Serious musicians, bored with the Swing they played for work
• Informal, Experimental, Competitive
• Explored new harmonic ideas
• Exclusionary (speed, complexity)
Those who want to knowwhat sound goes into my music
should come to NYand open their ears
Thelonious Monk
Bebop Music
• Music for Listening, not for Dancing
• Based on Improvisation
• Creativity, not commercial success
• Spontaneity, not polished & arranged
• Complex harmonic ideas
• Small Clubs, not Dance Halls
Jam Session Core Players
• Charlie Parker (alto sax)
• Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet)
• Thelonious Monk (piano)
• Kenny Clarke (drums)
• Milt Hinton (bass)
• Charlie Christian (guitar)
Jazz musicians are only workerswho will put in a full shift for pay
and then go somewhere else& continue to work for free
George Carlin
Swing v Bop Saxophone
• Coleman Hawkins & Charlie Parker
Improvisation
• Swinging v Flying High
• Melodic, scalar improvisation v angular, upper chord tones
• They are Lip-Syncing
Playing ‘bop’ is likeplaying Scrabble
with all the vowels missing
Duke Ellington
Cultural Phenomenon
• For the public: a rejection of things conformist and mainstream
• For musicians: a political statement, declaration of independence, a cult
• A break with the racial stereotype of Blacks entertaining Whites (Louis)
• Followers emulated Dizzy’s beret, goatee & glasses; Bird’s addiction
any old way will doas long as it's different from
the way you played it before ...
you got no melody to rememberand no beat to dance to
Louis Armstrong
Bebop differs from Swing
• Small groups not big bands
• Soloists are main personalities
• Energetic, erratic rhythms
• Fast chord changes
• Too fast (or too slow) to dance
• Angular, disjointed melodies
Bebop differs from Swing
• More complex harmony (9ths, 13ths)
• Altered chords (b5, b9, #9, #11)
• ‘Head Arrangements’ not written
• Trumpet & Sax (alto) most important
• Training ground is small clubs
• Songs re-written Standards
Bop Band
• Organized into 2 Sections
• Horns: TrumpetSaxophone (alto)
• Rhythm Section: Piano, String Bass,Drums, (Guitar)
Rhythm Section• Standardized for Modern Jazz
• Piano: Harmony, Rhythmic AccentsSpare Comping
• Bass: Timekeeping, Harmonic BottomAll 4 Beats + Embellishment
• Drums: Timekeeping, Ride CymbalAccents Interact with Soloist
• Guitar: Harmony, Rhythmic AccentsHorn-like Solos
Bebop has set musicback twenty years
Tommy Dorsey
Sheet Music v Chart
Sheet Music v Chart
Ride / Crash Cymbal
String Bass
Bop Harmonic Structure
• Keep the original Melody, butChange the Chords of a Standard
• Write a new Melody, butKeep the Chords of a Standard
• Write a new melody, andChange the chords of a Standard
Soloing on Chord Changes
Important Bop Players
• Charlie ‘Yardbird’ ‘Bird’ ParkerAlto Saxophone – virtuoso player
• Most important player in Modern Jazz
• Brilliant innovator, influenced all
• New rhythmic & harmonic soloing
• Bluesy Kansas City inflections
• Heroin & Alcohol destroyed him
When Bird came on the scene,it was shocking as in the Bible:
everything was dark& then there was light
Shorty Rogers
Important Bop Songs
• Charlie Parker
Shaw ‘NuffKo-KoBillie’s BounceXxxxXxxx
Most of the soloists at Birdlandhad to wait for Parker’s
next record in order to find outwhat to play next
What will they do now?
Charles Minguson Bird's death
Important Bop Players
• John Birks ‘Dizzy’ GillespieTrumpet – first modern trumpet player
• Consummate musician, composer
• Harmonic ideas, upper chord tones
• Teacher, mentor, ambassador
• Entertainer, added fun & humor
• Afro-Cuban musical influence
It’s taken me all my lifeto learn what not to play
Dizzy Gillespie
Important Bop Songs
• Dizzy Gillespie
XxxXxxxXxxxXxxxXxxx
Important Bop Players
• Thelonious Sphere MonkPiano – eccentric, quirky style
• Stride, Boogie-Woogie, Blues
• New harmonic ideas, altered chords
• Emphasized space, dissonance
• Composed many Jazz Standards
• Unusual improv influenced Free Jazz
Wrong is right
Thelonious Monk
Important Bop Songs
• Thelonious Monk
XxxXxxxXxxxXxxxXxxx
Working with Monk is likefalling down a dark elevator shaft
John Coltrane
Important Bop Players
• Kenny ClarkeDrums – redefined modern drumming
• Moved timekeeping to Ride Cymbal
• Bass & snare used for accents
• Improvised syncopated accents
• Ride cymbal & accents add energy
• Drums interact with soloist
Those people who say there’s no music but bop are just stupid
it shows how much they don’t know
Miles Davis
Important Bop Songs
• Kenny Clarke
XxxXxxxXxxxXxxxXxxx
Important Bop Players
• Bud PowellPiano – created the modern style
• Most imitated bop pianist
• Codified modern comping
• Streamlined, spare left hand
• Occasional block chords or stride
• Right hand like Bird & Diz
Important Bop Songs
• Bud Powell
XxxXxxxXxxxXxxxXxxx
Other Important Players
• Miles Davis (trumpet)
• Fats Navarro (trumpet)
• Sonny Stitt (tenor sax)
• Dexter Gordon (tenor sax)
• Max Roach (drums)
• Roy Haynes (drums)
• Milt Jackson (vibes)
If it wasn't for hustlers, gangsters& gamblers there'd be no Jazz
Wasn't middle-class who said'Let's go hear Bird tonight'
Betty Carter
I made the wrong mistakes
Thelonious Monkafter playing a disappointing solo
Music is your experience, your thoughts, your wisdom
If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn
Charlie Parker
Music Theory
Melody
Scales used for solos change as thechords change
Faster chord changes make soloingmore difficult
Harmony
Chords add upper harmonic extensions
9ths, 11ths, 13ths (keyboard)
Chords use altered notes
b5, #5, b9, #9, #11
Chord substitutions
Reharmonize
Rhythm
Bop rhythms more varied than Swing
Rhythmic feel less clearly stated
Form
Common Bop Song Form
IntroHeadSolos (repeated choruses)HeadEnding
Jazz Vocabulary
• Chart – chords and melody only
• Head Arrangement - memorized
• Reharmonize – use new chords
• Standard – well known Jazz song
• Trading 4s – alternating soloists
• Turnaround – turns back to the top
Now’s The Time
Bird