Next, let's learn about some more jazz music.

Bebop and Cool Jazz:

Bebop was a newer jazz style that was characterized by a very fast tempo, quick chord changes, and very complex chords, melodies, and rhythms. You actually need to be a virtuoso, which is a very advanced player, to play a lot of it! Two men who helped grow this style are Charlie “Bird” Parker (1920-1955) on saxophone:

and Dizzy Gillespie (1917-1993) on trumpet:

“Take Five” by Paul Desmond, performed by the Dave Brubek Quartet in 1959, is the best-selling jazz single of all time. It’s in the unusual time meter of 5/4 time, which is how it got its name. This jazz style of the 1950s and early 1960s is called Cool Jazz.

Some other artists in the Cool Jazz style are Miles Davis (1926-1991):

and Chet Baker (1929-1988):

“Playing ‘bop’ is like playing Scrabble with all the vowels missing.” -Duke Ellington