An Introduction to Jazz: One Hundred Tunes to Discover Jazz

Part 6, the bebop

When we talk about jazz, one immediately thinks of the fiery saxophone or drum solos, fast tempos and harsh dissonances typical of this music. All these elements originated in bebop, the revolution that shook jazz music in the 1940s and transformed it from entertainment music, functional for dancing or cabaret shows, into concert music worthy of being heard in theatres, without the need for dancing.

With bebop, modern jazz began. Some instruments that were mere comprimarios such as the double bass and drums became protagonists in playing themes and solos, just like wind instruments. Here are the tunes I have selected to learn more about this era and its great innovations.

1. Tadd Dameron, Lady Bird (1948)
2. Fats Navarro, Anthropology (1948)
3. Bud Powell, Celia (1949)
4. Milt Jackson, Bags Groove (1952)
5. Thelonious Monk, ‘Round Midnight (1954)
6. Kenny Clarke, Bohemia After Dark (1955)
7. Sonny Stitt, But Not For Me (1956)
8. Dizzy Gillespie, Bebop (1958)
9. Art Blakey, Moanin’ (1958)
10. Charlie Parker, Scrapple From the Apple (1959)
11. Barry Harris, All the Things You Are (1959)
12. Wes Montgomery, Four on Six (1960)

Other tracks

• Wes Montgomery, Little Child, Daddy Dear
• Dexter Gordon, Clubhouse
• Sonny Red, Jelly Roll