Overview
In the early 1940s, a number of innovative and daring jazz musicians began searching for a new style. In after-hours jam sessions, they experimented with new melodic and harmonic vocabularies that challenged listeners and musicians alike. This music would come to be known by its onomatopoeic description: bebop.
In this section, we will first focus on the two principal innovators of this new jazz style: Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. We will also discover how the swing-style jazz of Count Basie provided a basis for the transition to bebop and the advent of the modern jazz era. In the second half of the section, we will discover other influential musicians who helped shape bebop and modern jazz.
Objectives
Upon completion of this lesson, you will be able to do the following:
- Identify Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie as the principal innovators who contributed to the development of bebop
- Appreciate bebop as a new approach that ushered in modern jazz
Afro-Cuban Jazz
Following his collaborations with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie formed a number of other small combos and then established several bop big bands. He was also a pioneer in introducing Latin elements into jazz, being one of the first jazz musicians to collaborate with Cuban musicians to create Afro-Cuban jazz. On a number of these early pieces, Gillespie teamed with Chano Pozo (1915-1948), a conga player well known in his native Cuba.
In some respects, Gillespie was picking up on one of the key ingredients of jazz that had been described by Jelly Roll Morton; that is, the "Spanish tinge." In this case, though, Chano Pozo's black Cuban heritage had even closer ties to the musical practices of West Africa. Gillespie, for his part, had come to know several Cuban players over the years and had been especially intrigued by the rhythmic aspects of Cuban music. When he was introduced to Chano Pozo, Gillespie welcomed the opportunity to collaborate with the percussionist. The two jointly composed the piece Manteca ♫, now regarded as the first Afro-Cuban jazz composition, which they subsequently recorded with Gillespie's big band. Less than a year later, Pozo was dead, the result of a barroom fight. Let's listen now to Chano Pozo's musical legacy, Manteca ♫.
Observe that Pozo's Cuban rhythms on congas do not use swing eighth notes, but instead rely on abundant sixteenth-note syncopations. The resulting forward momentum establishes an almost hypnotic groove that substitutes for the lilting swing eighth notes found in most jazz pieces. Following a 28-bar introduction, we hear the principal form of the piece, a 40-bar AABA modified song form (0:38-1:34) distinguished by a 16-bar B section. This extended bridge provides an important lyrical contrast to the simple construction of the A sections.
Gil Fuller's arrangement is sensational. Gillespie's vision — to bring together the bebop style and Afro-Cuban rhythmic elements within the context of a big band performance — comes to life in Manteca ♫. The bandleader's trumpet solos are interspersed throughout, highlighting Gillespie's virtuosic mastery of his instrument's upper range. George "Big Nick" Nicholas has a notable 16-bar solo on tenor sax to begin the second 40-bar chorus (1:48-2:10). Note the shift to swing eighth notes and the dominance of the swing rhythms in the second chorus, up until the final A section (2:33).
Dizzy Gillespie and His Orchestra, Manteca ♫ (Dizzy Gillespie, Walter Fuller, Chano Pozo), arranged by Gil Fuller, New York, December 30, 1947. Dizzy Gillespie, trumpet, vocal; Benny Bailey, Dave Burns, Elmon Wright, Lammar Wright, Jr., trumpet; Ted Kelly, Bill Shepherd, trombone; John Brown, Howard Johnson, alto saxophone; Joe Gayles, "Big Nick" Nicholas, tenor saxophone; Cecil Payne, baritone saxophone; Milt Jackson, vibraphone; John Lewis, piano; Al McKibbon, bass; Kenny Clarke, drums; Chano Pozo, conga, vocal.
Sarah Vaughan entered the talent contest at Harlem's Apollo Theater on a dare from friends. She sang her version of "Body and Soul" and won 1st prize.
