vocals.

But important as these were (Lester in particular created a whole new style

for his instrument), it was the rhythm section of Basie that gave the band

its unique, smooth and rock-steady drive--the incarnation of swing,

Freddie Green (1911-1987) on guitar, Walter Page (1900-1957) on bass,

and Jo Jones (1911-1985) on drums and the Count on piano made the

rhythm section what it was. Basie, of course, continued to lead excellent

bands, but the greatest years were 1936-42.

EXIT THE BIG BANDS

The war years took a heavy toll of big bands. Restrictions made travel

more difficult and the best talent was being siphoned off by the draft. But

more importantly, public tastes were changing.

Ironically, the bands were in the end devoured by a monster they had

given birth to: the singers. Typified by Tommy Dorsey's Frank Sinatra,

the vocalist, made popular by a band affiliation, went out on his own; and

the public seemed to want romantic ballads more than swinging dance

music.

The big bands that survived the war soon found another form of

competition cutting into their following--television. The tube kept people

home more and more, and inevitably many ballrooms shut their doors for

good in the years between 1947 and 1955. By then it had also become too

expensive a proposition to keep 16 men traveling on the road in the big

bands' itinerant tradition. The leaders who didn't give up (Ellington, Basie,

Woody Herman, Harry James) had something special in the way of talent

and dedication that gave them durability in spite of changing tastes and

lifestyles.

The only new bands to come along in the post-war decades and make it

were those of pianist-composer Stan Kenton (1912-1979), who started his

band in 1940 but didn't hit until `45; drummer Buddy Rich (1917-1987), a

veteran of many famous swing era bands and one of jazzdom's most

phenomenal musicians, and co-leaders Thad Jones (1923-1990), and Mel

Lewis (1929-1990), a drummer once with Kenton. Another Kenton

alumnus, high-note trumpeter Maynard Ferguson (b. 1928), has led

successful big bands on and off.

THE BEBOP REVOLUTION

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

(1924-1982), Dexter Gordon (1923-1990), and Gene Ammons

(1925-1974); and pianist-arranger-bandleader Tadd Dameron (1917-1965).

Bop, of course, was basically small-group music, meant for listening, not

dancing. Still, there were big bands featuring bop--among them those led

by Dizzy Gillespie, who had several good crews in the late `40s and early

to mid-50's; and Woody Herman's so-called Second Herd, which included

the cream of white bop--trumpeter Red Rodney (b. 1927), and

saxophonists Stan Getz (1927-1993), Al Cohn (1925-1988) and Zoot Sims

(1925-1985), and Serge Chaloff (1923-1957).

BOP VS. NEW ORLEANS

Ironically, the coming of bop coincided with a revival of interest in New

Orleans and other traditional Jazz. This served to polarize audiences and

musicians and point up differences rather than common ground. The

needless harm done by partisan journalists and critics on both sides

lingered on for years.

Parker's greatest disciples were not alto saxophonists, except for Sonny

Stitt. Parker dominated on that instrument. Pianist Bud Powell

(1924-1966) translated Bird's mode to the keyboard; drummers Max

Roach and Art Blakey (1919-1990) adapted it to the percussion

instruments. A unique figure was pianist-composer Thelonious Monk,

(1917-1982). With roots in the stride piano tradition, Monk was a

forerunner of bop--in it but not of it.

JAZZ-ROCK FUSION

In the wake of Miles Davis' successful experiments, rock had an

increasing impact on Jazz. The notable Davis alumni Herbie

Hancock (b. 1940) and Chick Corea (b.1941) explored what soon

became known as fusion style in various ways, though neither cut

himself off from the jazz tradition. Thus Hancock's V.S.O.P., made

up of `60s Davis alumni plus trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, pursued

Miles’ pre-electronic style, while Corea continued to play acoustic

jazz in various settings. Keith Jarrett(b. 1945), who also briefly

played