CHAPTER 11: Bebop
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. All of the following are true of the shift from swing to bebop EXCEPT:
a.
Bebop was performed in smaller spaces.
b.
Bebop was more difficult for audiences to understand.
c.
Bebop demonstrated the virtues of harmonic simplicity.
d.
Bebop musicians prized individual virtuosity.
e.
Bebop moved from the mainstream to become a music of outsiders.
2. Which of the following is NOT a “musical obstacle” imposed by participants in jam sessions to
assure that only qualified musicians could participate?
a.
performing at incredibly fast tempos
b.
playing tunes in unfamiliar keys
c.
making use of harmonic substitutions
d.
performing obscure, unpublished compositions
e.
modulating between different keys
3. Which Harlem club was a center of bebop creativity?
a.
Village Gate
b.
Village Vanguard
c.
Onyx Club
d.
Birdland
e.
Minton’s Playhouse
4. Drummer Kenny Clarke is credited with which change in drumming style?
a.
shifting the pulse to the hi-hat cymbal and using the ride cymbal for accents
b.
shifting the pulse to the ride cymbal and using the bass drum for accents
c.
shifting the pulse to the bass drum and using the ride cymbal for accents
d.
shifting the pulse to the snare drum and using the crash cymbal for accents
e.
shifting the pulse to the hi-hat cymbal and using the toms for accents
5. In a World War II-era reference, unexpected bass drum accents by Kenny Clarke and other
drummers became known as:
a.
bombs
b.
torpedoes
c.
depth charges
d.
blitzkriegs
e.
gatling guns
6. Which of the following is NOT a way that guitarists would respond to bebop style?
a.
avoid bebop altogether
b.
continue performing the steady accompaniment required in swing bands
c.
embrace the electric guitar
d.
follow the lead of pianists in adopting a new “comping” style
e.
step out as soloists
7. What challenge did bebop’s dissonant harmonies create for players?
a.
keeping the music danceable while using them in solos
b.
using them to create memorable song lyrics for musicals
c.
using them to create a shared musical vocabulary for soloists and rhythm section
d.
fitting individual parts within a complex large ensemble texture
e.
all of the above
8. Pitches used by bebop musicians that fall outside of the normal harmonic structure of the tune are
called:
a.
tritones
b.
diatonic notes
c.
long tones
d.
dark keys
e.
extended notes
9. Since they were banned from certain kinds of engagements, how did the top black swing bands
manage to make a living?
a.
They performed in residencies at major New York dancehalls.
b.
They produced and distributed their own recordings.
c.
They played on network radio shows.
d.
They toured constantly.
e.
They took other jobs in service industries.
10. Which is NOT true of Charlie Parker in his early years as a saxophonist?
a.
publicly embarrassed by Jo Jones when he didn’t play well
b.
avoided alcohol and drugs
c.
dedicated himself to practicing and improved quickly
d.
learned solos by Lester Young from recordings
e.
developed the ability to play incredibly fast
11. Why did bandleaders have difficulty keeping Charlie Parker in their bands?
a.
Parker’s dependency on drugs made him unpredictable.
b.
He demanded an exorbitant salary.
c.
His playing made the rest of the band sound inferior.
d.
His bebop playing was a disruption within the swing style.
e.
Parker’s ego made him difficult to travel with.
12. For whose swing band did Dizzy Gillespie play, compose, and arrange around 1940?
a.
Duke Ellington’s
b.
Count Basie’s
c.
Cab Calloway’s
d.
Jimmie Lunceford’s
e.
Chick Webb’s
13. Dizzy Gillespie’s skill on which instrument enabled him to take full advantage of the harmonic
possibilities of bebop?
a.
saxophone
b.
piano
c.
guitar
d.
bass
e.
drums
14. Which Dizzy Gillespie composition is a reworking of “I Got Rhythm” and is based on a three-note
bebop drum lick?
a.
“Now’s the Time”
b.
“Manteca”
c.
“A Night in Tunisia”
d.
“Pickin’ the Cabbage”
e.
“Salt Peanuts”
15. Which bandleader put together the first big band to fully embrace bebop?
a.
Count Basie
b.
Earl Hines
c.
Charlie Parker
d.
Billy Eckstine
e.
Mary Lou Williams
16. What new element did Dizzy Gillespie’s 1944 quintet add to the bebop style that had emerged
from Harlem jam session?
a.
lyrics for all of the instrumental themes
b.
a harmonized, slow introduction for each tune
c.
a bare, sinuous melody in disjointed rhythms at the start of the tune
d.
medium tempo grooves suitable for dancing
e.
fully notated bebop compositions
17. All of the following are true of the 1945 recording session that produced “Ko Ko” EXCEPT:
a.
The first take included the “Cherokee” theme, but the second (master) take didn’t.
b.
Dizzy Gillespie played piano behind Charlie Parker’s solo in the absence of Bud Powell.
c.
An abstract introduction precedes Parker’s two-chorus solo.
d.
The title may have been borrowed from a Count Basie tune by the same name.
e.
A raucous drum feature follows Parker’s solo.
18. All of the following are true of Dizzy Gillespie’s career after the death of Charlie Parker EXCEPT:
a.
anticipated aspects of the 1950s avant-garde in his big band
b.
followed Parker’s decline, becoming addicted to alcohol
c.
spurred the Afro-Cuban movement by collaborating with a number of Latin musicians
d.
nurtured the careers of countless young musicians
e.
toured the world as an American ambassador
19. Which is the aspect of Bud Powell’s piano technique that became the foundation for all bebop
pianists to follow?
a.
stride piano technique
b.
chordal comping in the left hand, fast melodies in the right hand
c.
Baroque style counterpoint
d.
two-handed chords played in a steady four-beat pattern
e.
one-handed playing
20. Dexter Gordon used Coleman Hawkins as his first model before adopting this saxophonist as his
creative inspiration:
a.
Johnny Hodges
b.
Frank Trumbauer
c.
Lester Young
d.
Ben Webster
e.
Sidney Bechet
21. Which is NOT true of Dexter Gordon’s later career?
a.
interrupted in the 1950s by jail sentences for heroin use
b.
made important records on the Blue Note label in the 1960s
c.
lived in Europe for fourteen years
d.
never returned to the United States after moving to Europe
e.
gained great success as a film actor
22. All of the following are true of the Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts EXCEPT:
a.
organized by Norman Granz
b.
included swing and bebop soloists
c.
quiet and restrained audiences
d.
held in concert halls
e.
racially integrated audiences
TRUE/FALSE
1. Kenny Clarke moved the primary pulse away from the bass drum because bebop performance
tempos became too fast.
2. The words “be–bop” or “re–bop” were originally used to describe a two-note gesture at the end of a
phrase.
3. Most older musicians quickly abandoned swing styles in the mid-1940s and eagerly embraced
bebop.
4. In the Swing Era, black bands were barred from having sponsored prime-time radio shows.
5. Charlie Parker’s bandmates called him “Bird” because he played so fast that his saxophone reed
would sometimes “chirp” from vibrating so quickly.
6. Both Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie suffered from heroin addiction.
7. Although he lived until 1993, Dizzy Gillespie ceased performing publicly after the death of Charlie
Parker in 1955.
8. Bud Powell developed his piano technique by studying Bach and Chopin.
9. Dexter Gordon’s saxophone style is a blend of the styles of Lester Young and Charlie Parker.
10. Concert promoter Norman Granz was active in the struggle to end racial segregation.
SHORT ANSWER
1. Bebop pianists abandoned stride technique in favor of an unpredictable approach to chordal
accompaniment called _________.
2. In the Middle Ages, the chromatic interval of the __________ was referred to as “the devil in
music.”
3. Dizzy Gillespie demonstrates his fascination with ___________ musical culture through the
nonswinging grooves of his compositions “Pickin’ the Cabbage” and “A Night in Tunisia.”
4. While working through the harmonies to the song ______________, Charlie Parker realized that
any note, no matter how dissonant, could be made to resolve in a chord.
5. Pianist ______________ pioneered the piano-bass-drums trio format, an ensemble instrumentation
still favored today.
6. In Los Angeles, residential laws known as __________________ prevented white residents from
selling their property to black buyers.
7. Jazz at the Philharmonic attempted to capture the freewheeling spirit of after-hours
______________ in a concert setting.
MATCHING
Match each song title to the song based on the same melody or harmony.
a.
“Now’s the Time”
d.
“I Got Rhythm”
b.
“Cherokee”
e.
“Happy–Go–Lucky Local”
c.
“What’s Your Story, Morning Glory?”
1. “Ko Ko”
2. “The Huckle–Buck”
3. “Salt Peanuts”
4. “Night Train”
5. “Black Coffee”
ESSAY
1. At different times, jazz historians have described bebop as a “revolution”—breaking from past
practice and forging a new path in improvised music, or as an evolution from swing and earlier
styles. Choose one side of this argument and present a defense of bebop as a musical revolution or
evolution. Be sure to cite specific musical details of bebop and swing in support of your argument.
2. Describe the social conditions of black musicians during the Swing Era, and explain how bebop
can be understood as a reaction against those conditions.
3. Compare and contrast the musical and professional practices of Charlie Parker and Dizzy
Gillespie. How were their musical styles similar? How did they differ? How did each musician’s
nonmusical choices lead them down different career paths?