Jazz HistoryRecord ReviewMonday, February 8, yJazz HistoryRecord Review- start with intro paragraph • title of album/names dates • artist• talk about what you're gonna write about- make sure to format your song and album titles right- dont make facts you can’t back up in the paper. - End with a conclusion- Discuss each track• instrumentation• style• comparison to other tunes• structure and layout of the tune- Textbook page 185 is where were picking- 1/16/17 Actual Notes probably - Bebop• Swing came before this from the 30s into the 40s• Bebop came along in the mid/late 40s1Monday, February 8, y- Characterization of Bebop• fast tempo (wheras swing was dance tempo)• instrumental virtuosity• improvisation based on the harmonic structure of a song (as opposed to improvisa-tion on the melody)• Developed gradually out of the swing era of jazz• “Wasn’t developed in any deliberate way…it just happened” - Monk• making art as opposed to swing which was more for dancing • considerably less popular with swing• performed by small combos• less emphasis was placed on arrangements• display of instrumental virtuosity was a higher priority for bop players (solos are the most important thing)- solos are the important parts• Melodies and harmonies are much more complex- ex. Indiana and Donna Lee- Charlie Parker• born August 29th, 1920 in kansas city• exposed to swing bands, blues, and gospel• dad is a theatre guy, his mom forced him to do music, picks up bari, likes alto better2Monday, February 8, y• played with Buster Smith and Jay McShann in kansas city• 1938-39 moved to NYC with McShann and played with guitarist William “Biddy” Fleet- Biddy was a lowkey huge influence on Bird- experimented with early concepts of Bebop• In December ’39 Bird and Biddy were playing at Dan Wahl’s Chili House when Bird had an epiphany playing over “Cherokee”• Worked at Jimmy’s chicken shack where Art Tatum was playing. Brough the lan-guage he heard from Art to his horn• Played session after session• played at the heat club (that’s where Miles picked him up)- already being called a genius• after his dad died he went back to Kansas City• went back to Jay McShann’s band for about 4 years• got his nickname Yardbird cause…- he was free as a bird?- loved chicken so much that he hit one on the road so he could eat it• aroudn ’42 bird moved back to NYC and is seen played in harlem with McShann’s band by Dizzy and Monk• didn’t join dizzy yet…he joined Earl Hines, and then joined Billy Ecksine’s band in 19443Monday, February 8, y• got kicked out of Ecksine’s band in ’45 cause of his drug problem. He was running his own band when Dizzy invited him to join and he did• 52nd street- 52nd street would become the main breeding ground for a new generation of jazzmusicians to rise• close proximity to a ton of clubs where all the giants were playing at- in ’45 Bird and Dizzy would headline at Three Deuces for a couple months - Together the pain would invite a new style and master it all at once.- But Bird’s addiction and his resulting unreliability would prove troublesome for Dizzy- this was clear at NYC’s Town Hall on June 22 1945 when the radio host, Sym-phony Sid Torin began his broadcast• Characteristics of Bebop- virtuosity- intricate melodies- common chord progressions- fast tempos- smaller ensembles- longer solo sections• Bird’s downward spiral4Monday, February 8, y- was beginning to receive more recognition into the 50’s especially with his re-lease of “Just Friends” off of Charlie Parker with Strings in ’49- but with his drug addiction stick taking hold, bird would lose his cabaret card in the summer of 1951, meaning he could not perform in any nightclub in New York- Bird used this crutch as a reason to hit the road. but bird would later receive newsof hi daughter’s passing in 1954 sending him into a tailspin- after consistent drug and alcohol abuse, Charlie Parker died on March 12, 1955- 1/23/18- Characteristics of Bop• performed by small combos• less emphasis was placed on arrangements• average tempo was faster• display of instrumental virtuosity was a higher priority for bop players• Melodies and harmonies were more complex- Thelonious Sphere Monk• piano• composer• bandleader• one of the three pioneers of bebop (along with bird and dizzy)• unique solo technique5Monday, February 8, y• unorthodox compositional style- Monk’s composition• have a logic and symmetry that is unique• often contain accents in irregular order• usually go in a direction or end on a note you wouldn’t expect- Monk’s piano playing• mixture of old and new techniques (stride and clusters)• employed blunt, strident phrasing• His comping was unconventional, sometimes fluid, jagged, or he would just lay out- 1/25/18- Dizzy Gillespie• born John Birks Gillespie in Cheraw, South Carolina on October 21, 1917• exposed to music early on - especially influences from gospel church• at age four, he was already learning to play piano and received a scholarship to at-tend the Laurinburg Institute in NC, later picking up the trumpet• moved to Philly at 18 and started a black musicians union• then moved to NYC for more work- Early Carreer• after he moves to NYC, he replaces Roy Eldridge, his idol, in Teddy Hill’s band as well as Edgar Hayes’ band (mid 1930s)6Monday, February 8, y• Roy Eldridge and Louis Armstrong were big influences. They both played with such musicality as well as had extreme technical facility over their instruments. But John would begin to branch from both of their styles• in 1939, he is beginning to create his own sound, when he joins Cab Calloways band, and meets godfather of Afro Cuban jazz, Mario Bauza• studying music theory with Mary Lou Williams• fired from Cab’s band when he stabbed him in the leg.- Dizzy and his Music• around 41-42 while playing in Betty Carter’s big band, Dizzy composes his famous tune “A Night in Tunisia” originally titled it “Interlude”• into the mid 40s, Dizzy invites Bird to join his band and they begin to head the be-bop revolution• in clubs like Minton’s playhouse in Harlem, these two would alter the course fo how jazz was played in almost every way• It was with Bird that Dizzy wrote his other hits “Groovin’ High” “Salt Peanuts” and “Woody N’ You” along with many more.- Bebop