How To Play Bebop Drums
The Beginning of Bebop
A Brief Introduction
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Where did Bebop start, and how did Bebop develop out of the history of Swing Bands? In this article, we give you a brief introduction to the beginning of bebop, and who some influential figures are that helped move the Jazz style forward beginning in the late 1930's.
A New Style
In the mid to late 1930s, Jazz musicians were seeking a new, more advanced form of music. Some of the most important figures of the time that lead the charge, blending the traditional Swing music with a new, more involved form of music included Lester Young, Charlie Christian, Jimmy Blanton, Art Tatum, Coleman Hawkins, and Roy Eldridge. Some more influencers, specifically for Bebop, included Kenny Clark, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Charlie Parker.
Pianists
Essential to the developing Bebop sound was new uses of chord tone extensions (9, 11, 13), passing notes, passing chords, altered chords, chromaticism, and overall use of more harmonies. Each instrument in the rhythm section lightened up their feel, with the piano playing much less of the chunking 4/4 feel present in the swing. One of the first to influence bebop was pianist Teddy Wilson, and he was followed by others such as Joe Albany, Al Haig, George Wallington, and more. The playing of those pianists allowed freedom that wasn't previously allowed in the swing era. The drums and bass also moved away from a more rigid role in the rhythm section, to a role that helped set up, move the song and shape the music as a whole.
Kenny Clarke
Kenny Clarke was one of the most influential drummers and was among the first to move the time center away from the snare and bass drum over to the ride cymbal and hi-hats. Kenny was one of the first to break up the time while still having a feel that could be easily understood. Clarke is very much responsible for elevating the importance of the drummer in the band, as he was also one of the first to use offbeat snare drum and bass drum hits as comping. "It is clear that what Klook did was truly profound. He changed how time was viewed, used, and physically presented. He proved that the symmetrical and asymmetrical could live in a state of intimacy. He took the drums from black-and-white to Technicolor." (Qtd. In: Drummin' Men: The Heartbeat of Jazz: The Bebop Years by Burt Korall).
Flexibility
Bebop truly paved the way for all Jazz to come in the future. Previously, in the swing era, Jazz was very much associated with dancing and the primary responsibility of the band was to play a groove that could be danced to. This relationship completely changed with bebop, as the music moved into a listening environment, as opposed to a dancing environment. Virtuosity became a necessity for players wishing to play the music.
As Jazz moved further away from the mainstream, it was able to speed up, slow down, be more flexible, and deal with harmonies previously unacceptable in the mainstream. Additionally, the music became primarily instrumental. The size of the groups became smaller, with a focus on the quintet, as opposed to the standard Big Band of the Swing era The focus was on improvisation, and a full arrangement oftentimes wasn't necessary. This was the first time that jazz was no longer considered The popular music. Many bebop composers at the time still relied on standards to compose their new songs, with a bebop contra-fact frequently being written on top of the chord changes of an old song. However, composers such as Dizzy Gillespie and Tadd Dameron were known for writing completely new compositions.
Particularly popular in Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and Chicago, bebop had a large appreciation among black communities and the influence began seeping into the popular Big Bands of the time. It never became a "popular music " on the level of the big bands of the swing era, but it was never supposed to. It required listeners to focus, and hear the music in a certain way.
Bird
Most people boil down all of the innovation of bebop as coming from Charlie Parker. Parker's rhythmic ideas, harmonic ideas, melodic ideas, and overall new approach made such an impact, that people were desperate to play like him. A known heroin addict, Parker's influence sweep across the Jazz scene, with players trying anything they could to sound like Bird (Parker's nickname). Charlie Parker passed away on March 12, 1955.
Drummers
In the world of drummers, there is a mix of many drummers who paved the way for bebop. They blended the old with the current and created something entirely new. Some of the drummers who most contributed to the early stages of Bebop include Max Roach, Art Blakey, Kenny Clarke, Philly Joe Jones, Shelly Manne, Buddy Rich, Stan Levey, and Papa Jo Jones. This innovation, however, was not appreciated by all swing drummers at the time. Much in the same way that certain modern swing, and bebop oriented players look at straight eight to modern jazz.
Innovation is going to occur, no matter what, but the connection to the history of the music is vital to the lineage of Jazz music. As long as there is a connection to the past, and you love what you are doing, go ahead and ignore those critics.
CONCLUSION
There are so many great books to read on this topic, but I hope you enjoyed this brief introduction into the beginning of bebop. Without bebop, and all of the figures mentioned above, who knows how Jazz would have developed.
My main resource for this article was a book that I highly recommend called "Drummin Men: The Heart Beat of Jazz: The Bebop Years" by Burt Korall. In this book, Korall goes deep into the history of Bebop drummers, and writes about each of the most influential figures in considerable depth.
Additionally, if you are interested, Korall has another book which goes in depth of Swing drummers called "Drumming' Men: The Heartbeat of Jazz, The Swing Years".
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How To Play Bebop Drums
Source: https://learnjazzdrums.co/2019/09/11/beginningofbebop/
Posted by: hoserearget1982.blogspot.com
2 Comments
Great article! I've read both of the drummin men books, and recommend them not to just drummers but anyone who wants to study the history of jazz.
I'm still waiting on individual biographies of Blakey, Roach, especially Roach.
Thank you very much! They are great books indeed. Maybe you're the one to write those Blakey, and Roach biographies!