Chapter 8 - Hard Bop

Question 1

A number of jazz styles emerged during the 1950s and 60s. Most of them, including many of the “cool” styles, were variants of ________.

Answer 1

Bebop.

Question 2

Was “cool” jazz a new style, or did it fall under bebop?

Answer 2

Musicians considered it bebop. Journalists and publicists coined new names such as hard bop, funky jazz, mainstream, post-bop and soul jazz.

Question 3

Which name was attached to most earthy, blues-drenched, gospelish pieces that were played by musicians such as Horace Silver and others?

Answer 3

Funky Jazz.

Question 4

T or F: Music called funky jazz was more popular than almost any other segment of modern jazz.

Answer 4

True.

Question 5

Did the styles that coexisted with “funky jazz” have a single accepted name?

Answer 5

No. Although, for simplicity, the book uses Hard Bop.

Question 6

Did Hard Bop differ much from bebop?

Answer 6

No.

Question 7

What are some differences between Hard Bop and Bebop? (6)

Answer 7

1. Drummers play with more activity
2. Tone colours are darker, weightier and rougher
3. Chord progressions in the accompaniment are less frequently identical to those of pop tunes
4. There is somewhat less of the start-and-stop quality that leaves the listener off balance
5. There is a hard-driving feeling that pushes relentlessly, with an emphasis on consistent swinging
6. Piano comping has more variety in rhythms and chord voicings

Question 8

Were the sound of Hard Bop limited tone geographic region?

Answer 8

No. Los Angelos, New York, Philadelphia, Indianapolis and Detroit contributed many vital players.

Question 9

Which men are considered the first wave of Hard Bop players?

Answer 9

Art Blakey, Clifford Brown and Horace Silver.

Question 10

Were the second wave of Hard Bop players more creative with Hard Bop streams of styles?

Answer 10

Yes. These players made their mark in the 1960s and derived their approaches even less directly from bebop than did the first wave players. Most of their influence came from outside of Hard Bop

Question 11

Horace Silver is one of the biggest names in hard bop. Where did his reputation derive from?

Answer 11

Mostly from his work as a composer and bandleader. But he also developed an original and substantial piano style.

Question 12

T or F: Silver had replaced bebops’ emphasis on long, bobbing lines with his own brief, catchy phrases.

Answer 12

True. Virtuosity is not essential to Silver’s Style. He almost never plays fast for long stretches. Compactness and clarity are far higher priorities in his playing than speed and agility.

Question 13

Did Silver considerably use silence?

Answer 13

Yes, he was very clever in timing the starting and stopping points of his phrases.

Question 14

Are Silver’s tunes and solos easy to remember?

Answer 14

Yes.

Question 15

Are Silver’s melodic statements played in a forceful, percussive way?

Answer 15

Yes. It is as though, while improvising, he keeps on composing at the same level of creativity and clarity that he maintains in his writing.

Question 16

As an accompanist, did Silver draw from bebop style?

Answer 16

Yes. However, he eventually perfected a new style of accompaniment.

Question 17

What did Silver’s accompaniment patterns sound like?

Answer 17

Structured setups for his soloists. This differed from the normal practice of spontaneous chording that responded to the twists and turns of solo improvisations.

Question 18

In which way were the soloists in Silver’s band supported by backgrounds similar to those in big bands?

Answer 18

The structured setups without any spontaneous chording that responded to the twists and turns. This gave Silver’s music more continuity than was common in most modern groups.

Question 19

Although the accompaniments provided continuity, did they have any restrictions?

Answer 19

Yes, they limited the range of moods an improvising soloist could create. But it gave listeners something easier to hear, and this may account for his greater popularity.

Question 20

Who was Hard Bop’s most prolific composer?

Answer 20

Horace Silver. For the Blue Note record company alone, he composed almost all the tunes on over twenty-five years’ worth of his bands’ album.

Question 21

T or F: Silver put together arrangements that were generally more elaborate than those of other hard bop groups.

Answer 21

True. They often contained written melodies in the middle of a piece, as well as Latin American rhythms and hints of gospel music. He often assigned notes to trumpet and tenor saxophone, creating harmony that made it sound as though is quintet contained more than five musicians.

Question 22

Did Silver often write bass figures and play them on the piano in unison with his bassist?

Answer 22

Yes. These figures had an engaging quality that expanded the limited scope of bebop bass lines.

Question 23

T or F: Silver’s quintet performances were consistently swinging and polished and they featured many of the best musicians of the 50s and 60s.

Answer 23

True.

Question 24

When did Silver continue on to tour and record in his original style?

Answer 24

2003, when he retired.

Question 25

What did hard bop musicians find that the public tended to do similarly to bebop musicians?

Answer 25

Neglect their music. Only a few managed to make steady livelihoods from performing jazz.

Question 26

T or F: The few hard bop pieces that found their way onto jukeboxes were mostly simple, funky compositions arranged with lots of very repetitive accompaniment rhythms and less improvisation than was found in most hard bop performances.

Answer 26

True.

Question 27

Who won the highest record sales in Hard Bop?

Answer 27

The organ-guitar-drums groups of Jimmy Smith and the piano-bass-drums group of Ramsey Lewis. Musicians and critics do not ordinarily consider their music to be as serious as that of the other players.

Question 28

Hard Bop summary #1

Answer 28

Hard bop evolved directly from bebop during the 1950s, mainly among East Coast and Midwest musicians.

Question 29

Hard Bop summary #2

Answer 29

When hard bop differs from bebop, it is simpler; has more variety in accompaniment patterns; fewer pop tune chord progressions; darker, weightier tone qualities; and more emphasis on hard swinging.

Question 30

Hard Bop summary #3

Answer 30

Funky jazz is a subcategory of hard bop. It is characterized by bluesy inflections of pitch and gospel-type harmonies. Several pieces performed by the bands of Horace Silver and Cannonball Adderley were popular because of their funky qualities and simple, catchy melodies.

Question 31

Hard Bop summary #4

Answer 31

The most prominent figures in hard bop were drummer-bandleader Art Blakey; the pianist-composer Horace Silver; trumpeters Clifford Brown, Miles Davis and Freddie Hubbard; alto saxophonist-bandleader Cannonball Adderley; and tenor saxophonists Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane.

Question 32

Hard Bop summary #5

Answer 32

Miles Davis was a pivotal bandleader in bebop, cool jazz, modal jazz, and jazz-rock fusion. His trumpet style is very distinctive in many ways that are widely admired.

Question 33

Hard Bop summary #6

Answer 33

John Coltrane was the most influential saxophonists in jazz after Charlie Parker. He was also important for several styles of composing.