What is Bebop?
Bebop is a style of jazz that developed in the early-to-mid 1940s in the United States. With a focus on improvisation, bebop allowed for an explosion of innovation. While many aspects of swing were imported, such as the triple-based meter, bebop musicians like Thelonious Monk played tunes at faster tempos.
Jazz Artists like Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Mary Lou Williams, Bud Powell, and Charlie Parker were only a few of the many artists who captured the intellectual art form of jazz bebop had introduced. Thelonious Monk specifically approached the style with a unique touch.
Who was Thelonious T. Monk?
Thelonious Monk was a jazz pianist known for his eccentric performance style and uses of highly dissonant intervals. The style is largely rhythmic and includes transformations of the basic melody line. In this video it can be noted how Monk uses his left hand to take a minimalistic approach to chord progression while using his right in total creative freedom, Thelonious T. Monk became known as the “High Priest” of Bebop and influential to many known artists today.
Thelonious’ jazz influence has continued to provide influence to artists whose bops I’ll forever keep on repeat.
Wu-Tang Clan sampled Monk’s “Black & Tan Fantasy” to release ‘Shame on a Nigga’.
Skee-Lo referenced “In Walked Bud” too create ‘This Is How It Sounds’.
The Legendary Chaka Khan sampled “Epistrophy” to bring the world ‘Be Bop Medley’.
