The JAZZ Story

In any case, a new style, not necessarily inimical to the big bands yet very

different in spirit form earlier Jazz modes, had sprung up during the war.

Bebop, as it came to be called, was initially a musician's music, born in the

experimentation of informal jam sessions.

Characterized by harmonic sophistication, rhythmic complexity, and few

concessions to public taste, bop was spearheaded by Charlie Parker

(1920-1955), an alto saxophonist born and reared in Kansas City.

After apprenticeship with big bands (including Earl Hines'), Parker settled

in New York. From 1944 on, he began to attract attention on Manhattan's

52nd Street, a midtown block known as "Swing Street" which featured a

concentration of Jazz clubs and Jazz talent not equaled before or since.

BIRD

Bird, as Parker was called by his fans, was a fantastic improviser whose

imagination was matched by his technique. His way of playing (though

influenced by Lester Young and guitarist Charlie Christian (1916-1942), a

remarkable musician who was featured with Benny Goodman's sextet

between 1939-41), was something new in the world of Jazz. His influence

on musicians can be compared in scope only to that of Louis Armstrong.

Parker's principal early companions were Dizzy Gillespie, a trumpeter of

abilities that almost matched Bird's, and drummer Kenny Clarke

(1914-1985). Dizzy and Bird worked together in Hines' band and then in

the one formed by Hines vocalist Billy Eckstine (1914-1993), the key

developer of bop talent. Among those who passed through the Eckstine

ranks were trumpeters Miles Davis (1927-1991), Fats Navarro

(1923-1950), and Kenny Dorham (1924-1972); saxophonists Sonny Stitt