Watching Bud Powell breeze through “Anthropology”, inadvertently made me think of bebop anthropologically.
A Powell is in his later years, having suffered drug addictions, nervous breakdowns, and harsh incarceration, quite epitomizes what bop is about; never stop swinging.
And if you listen closely, you can hear Bud crassly singing out lines and ideas that he is playing. Non-wind jazz musicians (guitarists, pianists etc.) do this to ensure that they are playing what is in their heart, and not what contained within the muscle memory of their fingers. Melodic lines flow and bounce seemingly never ending. And that is precisely what distinguishes bop…
The diatonic scales in classical music are primarily composed of seven notes But when you’re bopping and swinging through 4/4 time, you want to be able to run through multiple bars without cutting a thought short. So that addition of the “bebop” tone makes seven into eight. Not that running through scales is an encouraged method of improvisation, but it builds a foundation that even the underlying scales emphasize an endless sense of flow. With one extra chromatic “passing tone” the scale is able to play a passing tone on the upbeat, and a chord tone on every downbeat.
When Charlie Parker first stumbled upon (and thereby invented) the bebop vernacular he described it as “learning to fly”. Discovering a more liberated version of what is now canonized as the “bebop scale” (described above); Parker realized he could play anything he wanted on the upbeat; as long as he resolved (occasionally) to a chord tone on the downbeat. And so Bebop embraces the odd path; it has high expectations, but does not care how you get there. It encourages all paths so long as they resolve.
The human condition involves constant adaptation with only a few structural certainties to rely on (at the very least empirical “givens” such as the effects of gravity and otherwise). Bebop as well has a foundation of the audience’s and musicians’ expectation, the structure of the song itself as well the timbre and range of the instruments; however it embraces unexpected circumstances.. In contrast to earlier forms of jazz, each band member (even the rhythm section) improvises in bebop, and will take full solos (this helps to explain the smaller ensemble settings in bop; typically quartets). Even while “comping” (accompanying) the pianist may alter or substitute a chord or two in the progression. The rhythm section may instigate a double-time, or provide unpredictable accents to encourage more intensity. And of course the soloist can take the melody to places that have literally never been heard.
“Anthropology” the song, is a great example of this adaptation. It all began with a tune written by Gerswhin, “I’ve Got Rhythm”. It was a great compelling platform so Ellington built upon it with “Cotton Tail”, even “The Flintstones” theme is based around the structure. Then Bebop unleashed a flurry of tunes based on embellished forms of the structure. Some of these include Gillespie and Parker’s “Anthropology” (which you are hopefully now listening to on the Powell video), Parker’s “Moose the Mooche” and “Dexterity”; Thelonious Monk’s “Rhythm-A-Ning” and the list goes on.
And if Jazz is borne of the human condition; (suffering, the blues, cultural clash and so much more) Bebop is almost a Meta form of this human condition. It processes and confronts its lineage in the blues, classical tradition, and the American Songbook but in an often ironic fashion: digesting it, analyzing it, breaking it apart, making fun of it, and dignifying it. Bebop is a true musician’s language. Rhythm and melodic motifs substitute for words, phrases, and colloquialisms.
That language evolved. Its etymology is rooted in the blues and early work song, the poly-rhythms of the Caribbean, and the complex melodic forms of the European classical tradition. By the time bebop swung around, the prose became more eloquent and the vernacular more specific.
Thus Bebop is about swinging in the face of change and uncertainty. During jam sessions, these giants of jazz would beckon each other with ever faster tempos, and esoteric keys. And yet they prevail. It is the triumph of man over uncertainty, randomness and artistic stasis.
In a world where models such as “Moore’s law” predict exponentially faster rates of technological (and thereby social) evolution; bop is arguably more apropos than ever. And yet the nation’s ears are dominated by repetitive and predictable songs that don’t swing. Perhaps it is the very rapidity of technological and societal change that helps to explain people grabbing for the familiar. People don’t want to introduce yet another variable into their lives. However I propose that it is one of the finest sources of wisdom and meaning for understanding a rapid world. It has a steeper learning curve, but the rewards are vastly disproportionately greater than the effort.
I tune in each and every day, and feel a rush of unadulterated joy when one of the giants comes in with a soaring bebop run, or blistering blues line that quite literally reinvigorates my soul. It makes a chaotic city (and world) seem sensible. I honestly do wonder how people can do without it.
Bounded by the sometimes jaded avante garde, and the naive swing era; bebop is just right. It quite literally is the human condition.