The Bebop Scene

Other players who participated in the bebop scene, but whose roles are often overlooked, include saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, trumpeters Harry “Sweets” Edison, Cootie Williams and Al Killian, and drummers Shelly Manne and Buddy Rich. Pianist Thelonious Monk and drummer Kenny Clarke often formed the nimble nucleus of early bop jazz sessions – which were held in spite of musicians’ union rules about when and where a union member could play.

Some Examples of Bebop

Charlie “Yardbird” Parker and Dizzy Gillespie made dozens of recordings. Here are some essential examples of their music, and some other with bebop titles:

• The Complete Dial Sessions (Jazz Classics) is a favorite of many Parker Collections. Four CDs catch Parker in a Los Angeles studio in 1946 and 1947, just before personal troubles landed him in California State Hospital. During the sessions, he was emotionally distraught, but he played brilliantly despite the pain that comes through the music (for example, he misses his cue to play the melody for “Lover Man”).



• Dizzy Gillespie 1945-1946 (Classics 935) is another excellent example of bebop in its prime. Gillespie tears through signature tunes such as “salt Peanuts,” “Shaw ‘Nuff,” and “Night in Tunisia.” And the cast also includes Charlie Parker, Lucky Thompson, Milt Jackson, Al Haig, Don Byas, Sid Catlett, Charles Mingus, and Ray Brown.



• The Bebop Era (Columbia), with Cootie Williams, Dizzy Gillespie, Woody Herman, Claude Thornhill, Charlie Parker and the Metronome All Stars.



• Bop Begins (Topaz) with Dizzy Gillespie, Don Byas, Dexter Gordon, Oscar Pettiford, Charlie Parker, and Coleman Hawkins.



• Masters of Jazz Vol. 2: Bebop’s Greatest Hits (Rhino) with Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Kenny Clarke, Bud Powell, and Thelonious Monk.



• Complete Dial Master: Modern Jazz Trumpets (Jazz Classics) Diz, Fats Navarro, Sonny Berman, Serge Chaloff, Lucky Thompson, and Milt Jackson.



• The Bebop Boys: Navarro/Stitt/Powell (Indigo).



The copyright of the article The Bebop Scene in Jazz is owned by Agha Yasir. Permission to republish The Bebop Scene in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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