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Chapter 7: Bebop to Cool: The 1940s and 1950s
included players from outside New York City, especially from Detroit and
Philadelphia.
Hard bop isn’t as fast or frantic as bebop. It had a dark, gritty aura that
seemed to suit New York in the 1950s. Hard bop is distinguished by a few key
characteristics:
� Intense, swinging momentum rooted in gospel and blues, at slower
tempos than bebop.
� New compositions that were more elaborate and technically demanding
(in terms of group precision) than bebop.
� Intuitive, subtle interplay between players in bands where the group
dynamic was as important as the solos.
Like bebop, hard bop was distinguished by its soloists’ distinctive voices.
Here are some of the many players who made important contributions.
Cannonball Adderley
A physical and creative giant of hard bop, alto saxophonist Adderley
(1928–1975) produced a long line of solid recordings during the 1950s and
’60s. Adderley improvised not only with speed and unpredictability, but also
with a sweet tone and a melodic approach. A milestone in Adderley’s career
came when he joined the Miles Davis All Star Sextet in the late 1950s, where
Adderley’s alto saxophone played counterpoint to John Coltrane’s tenor on
Davis’s famous Kind of Blue album.
The following Cannonball CDs are a few of my favorites:
� Cannonball Adderley Quintet in Chicago with John Coltrane
(Polygram): Two great saxophonists team up for a stirring session.
� Cannonball Adderley Quintet in San Francisco (Riverside): A great
live recording with Cannonball’s brother Nat on trumpet.
� Cannonball’s Bossa Nova (Blue Note): The saxophonist’s take on the
Brazilian craze that swept America during the early 1960s.
Art Blakey
Art Blakey (1919–1990) was one of the first drummers to tune his drums so
that his playing made a melodic contribution. Blakey shifted from bass drum
up to snare and cymbals, providing a looser, more fluid sound.
In the 1940s, Blakey played with Charlie Parker and other beboppers, but in
the 1950s he became the most prolific bandleader of the hard bop era.
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