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BEBOP TO COOL: The 1940s and 1950s

© Agha Yasir

Jazz, like any art form, runs in cycles. Innovative art is rarely born in a vacuum, and the birth of bebop combined artistic forces with social and historical events. As World War II wound down in the mid - '40s, the country was in a state of flux, and the jazz scene was in a disarray. During the war, fans and musicians alike had been drafted away from the music. The recording ban enforced by the Musicians' union in a battle over royalties put a halt to recording from 1942 to 1944. new taxes on cabarets and dance halls forced many venues to cut back on costs - which often meant hiring smaller bands.

In New York City clubs, backrooms and apartments, where young jazz musicians began experimenting with new ides during the mid - '40s, the influences were diverse. Some young boppers appreciated the swing of the bands led by drummer Chick Webb or pianist Count Basie, but preferred the more innovative music of Duke Ellington and Artie Shaw's Orchestra. Young boppers also studied the music of pianist Art Tatum and saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, who had already explored advanced harmonies, altered chords, and chord substitution - all hallmarks of bebop. Swing saxophonist Lester Young had already shown that jazz could be played with many subtle variations. Drummer Jo Jones, the catalyst in Count Basie's big band, had revolutionized the rhythm section's role with complex new rhythmic combinations. Guitarist Charlie Christian and bassist Jimmy Blanton also came up through swing and had a significant impact on bebop with their revolutionary soloing techniques.

While bebop was truly a revolution in jazz, it seemed even more revolutionary than previous movements for several reasons:

• As the war ended and musicians and fans returned from years of military duty; the whole country looked different to a lot of people.



• With the recording ban from 1942 to 1944 (in a dispute over artists' royalties), bebop had already evolved for a couple of years before it was recorded. As a result, when the music finally made it to vinyl, it was more mature than most new styles, and it sounded radically different.



• African American musicians were well aware of the rise of popular white musicians and integrated bands. Some of the black players wanted to return to their roots, to play music that might be a more pure reflection of their culture.

Seeds of Change

Kansas City and the Midwest territory bands produced many of the swing era's top soloists: saxmen Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Herschel Evans, and Ben Webster. Most of the graduates of the territory bands moved on to Chicago or New York, and to prominent parts in big bands led by Duke Ellington, Fletcher Henderson, Count Basie, and others.

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