Lecture 10

The Bebop Revolution

What is bebop?!
Wikipedia defines it as:
A form of jazz characterized by fast tempos and improvisation based on
harmonic structure rather than melody
History
In the 1940s, the young boppers began to develop their own style out of the swing
music of the 1930s
Musicians were influenced by adventurous soloists of the preceding generation,
such as pianists Art Tatum and Earl Hines, tenor saxophonists Coleman Hawkins
and Lester Young, and the trumpet player Roy Eldridge
Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker had traveled with some of the pre-bop
masters, including Jack Teagarden, Earl Hines, and Jay McShann
These musicians had begun exploring more advanced harmonies, complex
syncopation, altered chords, and chord substitutions, and the boppers
continued this exploration with more freedom and a purposefully arcane
approach
The early history of bebop is difficult to document because of the strike of 19421943 by the American Federation of Musicians, during which there were no
official recordings
Instrumentation
The classic bebop combo consisted of saxophone, trumpet, bass, drums, and piano
Sometimes augmented by an extra saxophonist or guitar
Occasionally adding other horns (often a trombone)
Or dropping an instrument and leaving only a quartet
Musical Style
Bebop differed drastically from the straightforward compositions of the swing
era, and was instead characterized by fast tempos, complex harmonies, intricate
melodies, and rhythm sections that expanded on their role as tempo-keepers
The music itself seemed jarringly different to the ears of the public, who were
used to the bouncy, organized, danceable tunes of Benny Goodman and Glenn
Miller during the swing era
Instead, bebop appeared to sound racing, nervous, and often fragmented, but to
jazz musicians and jazz lovers, bebop was an exciting and beautiful revolution in
the art of jazz

The Music
While swing music tended to feature orchestrated big band arrangements, bebop
music was much more free in its structure
A head would be presented in unison at the beginning and the end of each
piece, with improvisational solos based on the major chords making up the body
of the work
Bebop music extended the jazz vocabulary by exploring new harmonic territory
through the use of altered chords and chord substitutions
Contrafacts
Melodies grew in complexity from those of swing jazz, and began to twist, turn,
and jump rapidly to follow quickly-changing chord progressions
As bebop grew from its swing-era roots, these progressions often were taken
directly from popular swing-era songs and reused with a new and more complex
bebop melody, forming new compositions known as a contrafacts
While contrafaction was already a well-established practice in earlier jazz, it came
to be central to the bebop style
Musicians and audiences alike were able to find something familiar in this new
exotic sound, but perhaps more importantly, small record labels such as Savoy,
often avoided paying copyright fees for pop tunes
Ornithology
Recorded on March 28, 1946 in Hollywood
Written by Charlie Parker and Benny Harris
Based on the chord changes to How High the Moon
Personnel
Charlie Parker (alto saxophone)
Lucky Thompson (tenor saxophone)
Miles Davis (trumpet)
Arvin Garrison (guitar)
Dodo Marmarosa (piano)
Vic McMillan (bass)
Roy Porter (drums)
Mintons Playhouse
A jazz club and bar located on the first floor of the Hotel Cecil at 210 West 118th
Street in Harlem
Mintons is famous for its role in the development of modern jazz, where in its
jam sessions in the early 1940s, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke, Charlie
Christian, and Dizzy Gillespie, pioneered the new music
Mintons thrived for three decades until its decline near the end of the 1960s, and
its eventual closing in 1974
The club reopened its doors in 2006, under the name Uptown Lounge at Mintons
Playhouse

Charlie Parker (1920 1955)

Born Charles Christopher Parker, Jr. on August 29, 1920 in Kansas City, Kansas
and raised in Kansas City, Missouri
One of the founding fathers of bebop
Commonly considered one of the greatest jazz musicians
Parkers innovative approaches to melody, rhythm, and harmony were enormously
influential on his contemporaries
His music remains an inspiration and resource for musicians in jazz as well as in
other genres
Early Years
Parker began playing the saxophone at age 11
At age 14 he joined his schools band using a rented school instrument
One story goes that Parker, having never been taught formally, was terrible,
and thrown out of the band
Experiencing occasional discouragements of this sort, at one point Parker
broke off his already constant practicing
Turning Point
In 1937 Parker played at a concert that included Jo Jones on drums, who
tossed a cymbal at Parker's feet in impatience with his playing, and to remove
him from the stand
Exasperated and determined, from that point Parker improved the quality of
practicing, learning the blues, Cherokee and I Got Rhythm in all twelve keys,
and eventually become a virtuoso through sheer hard work
In an interview with Paul Desmond, he said he spent 3-4 years practicing up
to 15 hours a day
Rumor has it that he used to play the same melodies in all twelve keys
Anthropology
Recorded November 26, 1945
Based on the chord changes to I Got Rhythm
Originally released as Thriving on a Riff
Personnel
Charlie Parker (alto saxophone)
Miles Davis (trumpet)
John Lewis (piano)
Curly Russell (bass)
Max Roach (drums)
Yardbird
Legend says that the pseudonym Yardbird came after Parker suggested he
and his bandmates cook up a yardbird for dinner, after their car ran over the
chicken in question
Eventually it was shortened to Bird

This came to symbolize the soaring flight of his music and his genius

Start Spreadin the News

In 1939, Parker moved to New York City to pursue a career in music, but he
held several other jobs as well
One of these was as a dishwasher, making $9 a week, at Jimmies Chicken
Shack, a restaurant where famous pianist Art Tatum was playing
In 1942 Parker left Jay McShanns band (which he joined in 1937) and played
with Earl Fatha Hines for seven months
Parker was one of a group of young musicians who congregated in after-hours
clubs in Harlem such as Mintons Playhouse and Clark Monroes Uptown
House
Making the Scene
It was not until 1945 that Parkers collaborations with Dizzy Gillespie had a
substantial effect on the jazz world
On November 26, 1945 Parker led a record date which was marketed as the
greatest jazz session ever
Shortly afterwards, the Parker-Gillespie band traveled to Los Angeles for an
unsuccessful run at Billy Bergs club, which left most of those in the audience
ambivalent or hostile towards the new music
Most of the band soon decided to return to New York, but Parker stayed in
California, where his self-destructive lifestyle was to catch up with him
Addiction
As a teenager, he had developed a morphine addiction while in a hospital after
an automobile accident
He subsequently became addicted to heroin, which was to haunt him
throughout his life and to ultimately contribute to his death
Parkers habit caused him to miss gigs and to be fired for being high
To continue his buzz he frequently resorted to busking on the streets for
drug money
Heroin was difficult to obtain after his dealer was arrested, and Parker began
to drink heavily to compensate for this
Relaxin at Camarillo
One night, Parker was drinking in his hotel room
He went down to the hotel lobby stark naked and asked to use the phone,
several times
He was refused on each attempt and the hotel manager eventually locked him
in his room
At some point in the night he set fire to his mattress with a cigarette, then ran
through the hotel lobby wearing only his socks
He was arrested and committed to Camarillo State Mental Hospital, where he
remained for six months

Coming out of the hospital, Parker was initially clean and healthy, and
proceeded to do some of the best playing and recording of his career
Before leaving California, he recorded Relaxin at Camarillo, in reference to
his hospital stay

Dude, wheres your horn?!

Parker was known for often showing up to performances without an
instrument and borrowing someone elses at the last moment
On one particular occasion before a concert in Toronto, Canada, he had sold
his saxophone to buy drugs, and at the last minute, he, Dizzy Gillespie and
other members of Charlies entourage went running around Toronto trying to
find a saxophone
After scouring all the downtown pawnshops open at the time, they were only
able to find a Grafton plastic saxophone, which Parker proceeded to use at the
concert that night
Jazz at Massey Hall
A jazz album featuring a live performance by The Quintet on May 15, 1953
at Massey Hall in Toronto
The musicians were five of the biggest names in jazz: Dizzy Gillespie,
Charlie Parker, Bud Powell, Charles Mingus, and Max Roach
Parker could not be listed on the original program notes or album cover for
contractual reasons, so he was billed as Charlie Chan (an allusion to the
fictional detective and to Parkers wife Chan)
It was the only time that the five recorded together as a unit, and it was the last
recorded meeting of Parker and Gillespie
Unfortunately, the concert clashed with a televised heavyweight boxing match
between Rocky Marciano and Jersey Joe Walcott and as a result was poorly
attended
Salt Peanuts
Recorded live in Toronto on May 15, 1953
Written by Dizzy Gillespie and Kenny Clarke
Based on the chord changes to I Got Rhythm
Personnel
Charlie Parker (alto saxophone)
Dizzy Gillespie (trumpet)
Bud Powell (piano)
Charles Mingus (bass)
Max Roach (drums)
Charlie Parker with Strings
In 1949, Norman Granz arranged for Parker to record an album of ballads
with a mixed group of jazz and chamber orchestra musicians that included
Mitch Miller on oboe and English horn, Ray Brown on bass, and Buddy Rich
on drums

Parkers improvisations are, relative to his usual work, more distilled and
economical, his tone is darker and softer than on his small-group recordings,
and the majority of his lines are beautiful embellishments on the original
melodies rather than harmonically-based improvisations
These are among the few recordings Parker made during a brief period when
he was able to control his heroin habit, and his sobriety and clarity of mind are
evident in his playing
When he did record and perform with strings, some fans thought it was a
sell-out and a pandering to popular tastes

Death
Parker died while watching Tommy Dorsey on television in the suite at the
Stanhope Hotel belonging to his friend and patroness Nica de Koenigswarter
Though the official cause of death was pneumonia and a bleeding ulcer, his
death was hastened by his drug and alcohol abuse
The 34-year-old Parker was so haggard that the coroner mistakenly estimated
Parkers age to be between 50 and 60

Sources
History and Tradition of Jazz by Thomas E. Larson
Jazz for Dummies by Dirk Sutro
Jazz a film by Ken Burns
http://en.wikipedia.org

Discography
1. Bebop by Dizzy Gillespie
from the album Ultimate Dizzy Gillespie
Verve
2. Ornithology by Charlie Parker
from the album The Genius of Charlie Parker
Savoy Jazz
3. Thriving on a Riff by Charlie Parker
from the album Charlie Parker Memorial, Volume 2
Savoy Jazz SV-0103
4. Relaxin at Camarillo by Charlie Parker
from the album The Genius of Charlie Parker
Savoy Jazz
5. Salt Peanuts by The Quintet
from the album The Quintet: Jazz at Massey Hall
Debut Records
6. Just Friends by Charlie Parker
from the album Charlie Parker with Strings Complete Master Takes
Verve POCJ-2078