Are bebop and hard bop that dissimilar?
Are bebop and hard bop that dissimilar? For new fans of jazz or jazz history the differences between the two can seem hard to detect. Even back in college when I took a Jazz in American Music course, the professor even said the contrasts could be minimal. There are some similarities and differences of which this article will discuss.
Both styles are distinct expressions of being black American in the United States and filter those expressions through the music. The swing era of the late 1920’s into the early 1930’s emphasized dance able rhythms and memorable melody while bebop shifted things towards the abstract. Melodies were quicksilver flights, with virtuosic improvisation on chord changes, and rhythm section interaction between the soloists. Though some folk in the black community did dance to bebop, it was largely a listening, intellectual music. Hard bop followed around 1954, and unlike the complex melodies and contrapuntal structures of cool jazz, hard bop featured tight unison melodies and a rock solid rhythm section. Also, the 12″ LP introduced in 1948 was a major factor in the development of the music. In the bebop era, the 78 and 10″ vinyl record formats were limitations as the 78 only held about 4 and a half minutes of music per side and 10″ about 12 minutes. The 12″ LP allowed performances to be captured that were similar in length to club performances and the Miles Davis albums Bags Groove and Walkin’ (Prestige, 1954) were important early records in the hard bop movement with extended performances. Hard bop brought a bluesier, funkier element to the music, adding touches from gospel, and R&B, Horace Silver’s hit “The Preacher” being an example. Hard bop found rhythm sections utilizing a lot tighter unison passages in the rhythm section as Blakey and Silver’s groups demonstrated. Both bebop and hard bop utilized the 32 bar AABA song forms, and hard bop recordings such as those from Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers, still featured many bop era compositions from Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk and Bud Powell. Though albums such as Blakey’s A Night At Birdland, Vols. 1&2 (Blue Note, 1954) are considered cornerstones of the emerging hard bop movement, they are mainly rooted in bebop, most tunes taken at racehorse tempos.
Bebop and hard bop shared similar vocabularies. As hard bop grew through modal and eventually adopting some aspects of free jazz, most soloists used bop vocabulary. The New York Jazz Workshop features workshops such as Bebop to Hard bop taught by Mark Sherman that outline some of the concepts discussed above, to give students a more well rounded view point.
I have been the staff writer for the New York Jazz Workshop School of Music blog in midtown Manhattan since 2014, and that has broadened my freelance writing skills considerably. In addition to writing artist bios, and articles of interest that pertain to the mission of the school, I have interviewed (in print on the site) legendary guitarist and NEA Jazz Master Pat Metheny, trumpeter Cuong Vu, and in 2015 embarked on producing a podcast for the school where I have achieved my dream and interviewed jazz giants such as Dave Liebman, Lenny White, rising talents like Thana Alexa, Logan Richardson, guitarist and bassist Brian Kastan, among others. I also work on SEO optimization for the blog. In 2015 I started my blog Jazz Views with CJ Shearn, and have written liner notes for 5 time Grammy winner and Oscar and Golden Globe nominee, Antonio Sanchez (for his latest recording “Channels of Energy”) and guitarist Gene Ess for his latest recording, scheduled to be released in November 2018.
My passion for jazz music is what drives me, which is an interest I’ve had since I can remember. I initially began writing about jazz at the age of 13 for my high school newspaper, and in my late teens contributed occasionally to jazzreview.com. In college I was member of the Harpur Jazz Project which brought jazz acts to campus. I’ve also contributed in the past to AllAboutJazz where I was mentored by John Kelman. I decided to focus on my passion for jazz music journalism after a job in the social services field as a caseworker went south, and as a person with a physical disability I work on going against the odds, living independently and having accomplished things people had said I’d never do.