Indeed, bebop, with its improvisatory ethos and demand for virtuosity, insisted upon being perceived as an art form. As it wasn’t danceable – it was usually played too fast for that – those who had enjoyed swing jazz found it of little interest and too intellectual. It proved to be a profoundly influential recording for aspiring saxophonists.īut bebop – or “rebop,” as it was also known for a time – wasn’t to everyone’s taste. It’s worth noting that tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins anticipated the improv aspect of bebop when he recorded the song “Body & Soul” in 1939, in which he briefly stated the main melody before embarking on a long improvisation that bore little resemblance to the main theme. This meant that soloists really had to be sharp-witted, well-prepared, and know their scales inside out, especially when the chord changes came thick and fast (as was the norm with bebop). In the hands of bebop musicians, jazz became more blues-oriented and riff-based too and because Parker and Gillespie were able to marry their supreme technical ability with their knowledge of advanced music theory, what resulted was a new type of jazz defined by extended solos and whose harmonic language was denser and richer than ever before. In bebop, though, the rhythmic emphasis was switched from the bass drum to the more subtle hi-hat and ride cymbal, which allowed greater rhythmic fluidity (drummers Kenny Clarke and Max Roach were the chief instigators of this new approach). Bebop, as the revolutionary new style and sound eventually came to be known (the origin of the word “bebop” partly stems from a nonsensical word used in improvised scat singing) grew as both an offshoot of and reaction to big band swing music, which was dominated by propulsive dance rhythms.
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