By Matthew J. Bellisario 2023
Jazz music is somewhat neglected in our time and for those largely unfamiliar with Jazz it is difficult to determine where to start your Jazz listening experience. Being that the documentary I am directing is about a trumpet player who primarily plays Bebop Jazz, I thought it might be important to write something about what recordings are important to accompanying your experience at one of Jose Carr’s live jam sessions at True Story Brewing. These jam sessions are experienced every Tuesday evening from 7PM to 10PM.
Although I am not one who insists on classifying music into genera, there are many types of jazz music which could be broken down into many groups. For the purpose of simplicity, I will classify jazz into seven basic groups by period. New Orleans, Swing, Bebop, Cool, Hard Bop, Fusion and Modern. What is bebop Jazz? This period of jazz music begins in the early 1940s and extends into the 50s and morphs into what would be called hard-bop. There are too many great musicians of this era to list.
Some of the most popular pioneers of bebop are saxophonists Charlie Parker, John Coltrane and Sonny Stitt, trumpet players Dizzy Gillespie, Clifford Brown and Lee Morgan, pianists Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, and Wynton Kelly, bassists Ray Brown, Charles Mingus and Oscar Pettiford, and drummers Max Roach, Kenny Clarke and Art Blakey. Guitarists such as Charlie Christian, Herb Ellis, Barney Kessel and Kenny Burrell often accompanied these greats on many recordings. One of the most recognizable jazz personalities, Miles Davis began his long jazz career learning and playing along with these greats.
The main characteristics of bebop jazz compared to the prior swing era are faster tempos that stray away from the traditional dance tempos. The notes played are in quicker phrasings and the name bebop came from the verbalizing of these phrases which sounded like scats of the notes to be played. Smaller bands such as trios and quartets began to become more popular compared to the often large swing bands. These smaller ensembles began to feature each musician’s improvised solo contribution to each piece.
The bebop song would begin with a basic melodic structure called a head, and then the musicians would begin to take turns improvising off of that melody. Often times after each musician’s primary solo which would happen over one or many choruses would come a quick exchange of solos across a series of 4 or 8 bars which would be referred to as trading four’s or eights. This exchange comes just before the end of the piece. Instrument virtuosity, musical knowledge and the jazz language are all required in bebop jazz.
Another notable element is that the drums and bass expand further beyond just keeping time or rhythm, they also become part of the improvised conversation among the players. Bebop also begins an era of a more experimental element in which rhythms and musical structure vary more than the prior swing band arrangements. With bebop jazz becomes more of a listening experience than a dance experience. Bebop artists also loved to take jazz and pop standards to modify and personalize them. The difference between the swing era and bebop can be easily understood if you listen to Duke Ellington’s ‘It Don’t Mean a thing’ and Charlie Parker’s ‘Ornithology.’ Finally, I would say that the difference between bebop and hard-bop is organic and the modes of expression and improvisation continue to expand. Modal elements begin to show up in jazz for example on Miles Davis’ famous Kind of Blue.
Many people want to know what recordings would be good to familiarize themselves with so they can better appreciate attending one of these jazz jam sessions. There are so many great recordings that it can be difficult to recommend just a handful. Listed below are what I believe are 25 both essential and accessible songs for first time listeners.
1. A Night in Tunisia - Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker
2. Ornithology - Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker
3. Cherokee - Clifford Brown
4. Round Midnight - Miles Davis
5. Candy - Lee Morgan
6. Moon River - Frank Sinatra
7. Solar - Miles Davis
8. Moanin- Art Blakey
9. Epistrophy- Thelonious Monk
10. Perdido - Charles Mingus
11. My Favorite Things - John Coltrane
12. Straight, No Chaser - Thelonious Monk
13. Dat Dere - Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
14. Just Friends - John Coltrane
15. Dear Old Stockholm - Miles Davis
16. You Go to My Head - Lee Morgan
17. All the Things You Are - Bill Evans
18. Stardust - Miles Davis
19. Lullaby of Birdland - Sarah Vaughan
20. How High the Moon- Ella Fitzgerald
21. Summertime - Ella Fitzgerald
22. My Funny Valentine - Miles Davis
23. They Can't Take That Away From Me - Billie Holiday
24. Groovin High - Dizzy Gillespie
25. The Sidewinder - Lee Morgan
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