| September 1999 On That Note: Hard Bop
In the beginning, just after the turn of the century, there was Dixieland -- small groups, wild improvisation and a regional base. As Dixieland grew in recognition it soon began to influence popular music, but the larger ensembles therein were not the best place for Dixieland’s improv style. So the rhythms and sound had a stronger impact than the improvisational style. Still, given the brilliance of the original New Orleans players and their effect on the small groups of the North, it was inevitable that the technical skill and musical joy of improv jazz would influence the larger dance bands. Beginning in the early ‘30s, the blues feel, the relaxed phrasing and the chance to play outside the lines attracted the best players in the Ellington, Miller and Goodman bands, among others, and the result was swing. Whereas Dixie featured moderate leads and solos, swing was built on simple bridges and complex, melody-based solos, as well as blues-based chord structures. Bop, the next step, was the result of late-night jam sessions in the early ‘40s, headed by the original young lions -- Charlie Christian before his untimely death, Dizzy Gillespie, Max Roach, Bud Powell and Charlie Parker. All were blessed with instrumental ability of unsurpassed skill. Perhaps it was the speed with which they all could play and the hundreds of hours they devoted to study of music theory that led these geniuses to recognize a new way to play. Instead of solos based on melodies, solos could be built on the chords used in the tune. The freedom this allowed creative and sophisticated players was liberating, and each took his instrument to new heights. One of the even younger lions who attended to the birth of bop, Miles Davis, lacked the technical skill of fellow trumpeter Gillespie, but he had musical insight and training that surpassed the best of his predecessors. Starting in the early ‘50s, he, along with the wave of players just behind the original boppers, took the bop chordal improv theory and melded it to a more soulful, church-schooled, feeling-based aesthetic. The result, hard bop, featured the freedom of bop, required less of the players technically (although these players were extremely skilled, and many, especially in the early stages of hard bop, moved back and forth between the two genres), but asked for emotional investment of the highest degree. And it’s here, in the intensity of the emotion that these players communicate with, that hard bop has its value. Whether a melancholy lead by Davis; a swinging, soulful sax ride by Cannonball Adderley; a rousing, exuberant drum solo by Art Blakey; a back-porch, late-afternoon Wes Montgomery guitar lead; a deep-south, barbecue organ solo by Jimmy Smith; a sophisticated, sweet-tart Sonny Rollins sax invention; or a Lee Morgan uptown funk trumpet strut, hard bop never, ever strays from the feeling. While Columbia, Prestige, and other labels had their share of players, the Rome of hard bop was Blue Note. Founded in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff (Lion produced the albums while Wolff took the pictures for those classic Blue Note Album covers and ran the business side), if you played the style, you went to Blue Note to find out how good you were. Even the recorded sound of the era was defined by Blue Note recording engineer Rudy Van Gelder. In fact, it is not going too far to say that if you see a Blue Note recorded between 1953-54 and 1967, you are looking into the soul of the genre. The 1967 date is significant because that’s when Lion sold the label to Liberty and retired to Mexico, and thus is often used to mark the end of hard-bop era. Hard bop, unlike rock in popular music, did not sweep everything before it. One reason is that jazz, perhaps more than other musical genres, and at least until the arrival of the once promising but now increasingly fundamentalist Wynton Marsalis, both maintains its traditions and embraces diversity. So as hard bop was growing out of bop, cool jazz, with brilliant young players like Gerry Mulligan, Chico Hamilton and Dave Brubeck, was forming as a reaction to both. And bop continued in a significant role with Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Ben Webster and a young Art Pepper all making classic records late into and even after the hard-bop period. Even more, modal jazz, groove, soul jazz, avant-garde, free and fusion all began in or as a reaction to hard bop. Nonetheless, from the mid ‘50s to the mid ‘60s, hard bop was the dominate form of jazz, especially on the commercial front. In terms of filling out a hard-bop catalog, one of the confusing things is that many players moved through the style on their way to someplace else, so blindly picking up discs by Coltrane, Miles, Wayne Shorter, Max Roach, and Jackie McLean may not deliver the expected sounds. Others, such as Kenny Burrell, Milt Jackson and Jimmy Smith, moved in and out though their careers and so may not be easy to pin down either. Still, if you need a hard-bop fix, some players, most notably Art Blakey, took up permanent residence. Other players -- Kenny Dorham, Kenny Drew, Curtis Fuller, Philly Joe Jones, Lou Donaldson, Tommy Flanagan, Red Mitchell, Red Garland, Bobby Timmons, Tina Brooks, Yusef Lateef, Clifford Brown, Walter Davis, Donald Byrd, Sonny Clark, Doug Watkins, Johnny Griffin, Jimmy Cobb, Paul Chambers, Freddie Hubbard and Clifford Jordan -- made significant albums and contributions to the style, but in many cases are best heard on sessions led by others. ...Todd Warnke The Lists
The following is a very subjective list of albums that each contributor has deemed his favorite. You’ll see some of the albums listed above as well as some that could have been on the Essential 25 list. More than an academic grouping, this is a listing of albums that these writers love, of albums that they regularly play and enjoy. Hopefully besides charting some of the more overlooked corners of this vague genre, you’ll find albums in this list that will excite you as much as they have those who placed them here. James Causey: Herbie Hancock – The New Standard [Verve 529584] Herbie Hancock was a protégé of Miles Davis, one of the great masters of hard bop, and that legacy shows on 1996's The New Standard. Though the concept may seem somewhat half-baked at first glance (deriving a new set of jazz standards by covering classic rock and pop tunes), the product is sheer magic. Hancock's piano chops are incredible, and he's surrounded with one of the finest of modern ensembles, including Michael Brecker, John Scofield, Dave Holland, Jack DeJohnette, and Don Alias. The album alternates from wildly swinging to soft and romantic and back to potent swing, and you'll be riveted during the entire trip. I love every track on the album, and highly recommend you listen start-to-finish. But don't drive while listening to the version of Stevie Wonder's "You've Got It Bad Girl," as the tail-feather-shakin', head-bangin', super swing of this track will prevent you from focusing on anything but the groove. What else can you ask for? Joshua Redman – Freedom in the Groove [Warner Bros. 46330]
Miles Davis Quintet – Workin' [DCC 1063] (among others) It's completely impossible to have a "must-have" hard-bop list without choosing something from the Miles Davis Quintet -- but which one? Start with Workin'. This incredible 1956 effort nicely brackets the modern mastery of Hancock and the slowly growing talents of Redman with a pure injection of everything that hard bop is about. Davis' legendary band (including no-names like Coltrane, Silver, Monk, and Rollins) is in perfect form. If you own jazz CDs but don't own this one, you're living in a darker world than you realize. Just pick it up, and learn what truly great bop can be. Kick back with your favorite drink, and fire up the track "Half Nelson." If you don't automatically feel cooler, you might as well end it all now. Marc Mickelson:
Missing the "Essential 25" only because of the wealth of great hard-bop collections, Bags Groove gets its name from the Milt Jackson-penned slow-blues number that’s a jazz classic. What makes Bags Groove succeed so definitively is what makes hard-bop an important musical genre: melody, solos and timing, all in seemingly equal proportions. Oh, and there’s also Sonny Rollins, Horace Silver, Thelonious Monk and the killer rhythm section of Kenny Clarke and Percy Heath. The version to have is the JVC XRCD, whose sound is fabulous and which offers the added bonus of alternate takes of the title tune and "But Not For Me." Joshua Redman Quartet - Spirit of the Moment: Live at the Village Vanguard [Warner Bros. 45923] Aside from being the lone live set from one of the current kings of the sax, Spirit of the Moment proves that hard bop is still alive and kicking -- and popular with contemporary audiences of live jazz. And what better place for it all to occur than The Village Vanguard, home to so much great jazz and just about every important jazz musician. Hearing Redman on "My One and Only Love" and "Remember," the latter of which Hank Mobley covers on his seminal Soul Station, makes you realize that the standards always have evocative power in the hands of skilled musicians. A bonus here is the sound, which is very good, making this two-disc set all the more indispensable. Todd Warnke: This gets real hard. Perhaps more than any single genre of music, I could live my life in jazz, and perhaps even in hard bop and its variations. Choosing the 25 albums listed above was a soul-searching exercise and one that I still argue about with myself. But I get to add a few more, so here are the next five on my list. Miles Davis - Ascenseur Pour L'echafaud [Fontana 836 305-2] The soundtrack to a Louis Malle film (in English, "Lift to the Scaffold"), this was recorded in Paris using a couple of local musicians and Pierre Michelot on bass and Kenny Clarke on drums. With the movie playing on a wall, Miles and the group watched, rewound and then played. The post-recording technique added reverb to suit the noir-ish mood of the film, and while not purist, it does add to the intensity and drama of the proceedings. The Fontana release adds all the outtakes, and so many of the tracks end abruptly. That aside, this is a disc of superb, moody, late-night hard bop, and showcases Miles outside of his normal group. In fact, it also demonstrates how Miles could lead just about any group of players into doing something special.
Monk absolutely defies categories, and so placing this disc in a hard-bop list is difficult, but listening to it isn’t. The players, Max Roach, Oscar Pettiford, Clark Terry, Paul Chambers, Ernie Henry and Sonny Rollins, are first-rank. More difficult than standard hard bop, it is also among the most rewarding albums from the ‘50s. Jimmy Smith – Fourmost [Milestone MCD-9184-2] A soul jazz/hard bop hybrid, this 1991 album from former young lions Jimmy Smith, Grady Tate, Stanley Turrentine and Kenny Burrell hits a deep groove and stays there all night. Incidental to the music, the recording is superb too (many thanks to former SS! contributor Mike Fenech for turning me on to this album). Wes Montgomery – Full House [DCC GZS-1109] An inspired grouping: the Wynton Kelly Trio (Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums) Wes and Johnny Griffin on tenor. Montgomery rises to the occasion and makes many regret that there’s not more of Wes live. Sonny Clark – Sonny’s Crib [Japanese import – Blue Note TOCJ-1576] I encountered this album by way of several musician friends. It seems that it is consistently overlooked by jazz fans, while many players love it. After listening, I do too, even though it hasn’t helped my playing a damn. The players are young and still feeling their way, but play with passion and joy. Donald Byrd, Paul Chambers, Art Taylor, Curtis Fuller and John Coltrane make for a well-rounded, heart-felt grouping. GO BACK TO: |
As with many musical forms, to
understand hard bop you need to move back more than one step. In this case, three will do
nicely.
Pepper Adams – 10 to
4 at the 5-Spot
Speaking of grooves, Freedom
in the Groove is one of Redman's finest works to date. Often overhyped as one of the
leading artists in the "young lions" post-bop revival, Redman shows significant
improvements in improvisation and musical enjoyment in this 1996 effort. While no match
for the masters of the genre, at least yet, Redman's abilities as a player and a leader
are clearly shaping up. Try "Home Fries" for some lovely swing, or "Can't
Dance" for a cool experimentation with oddly timed funk. 
Miles Davis & The
Modern Jazz Giants - Bags Groove [JVC JVCXR-0046-2]
Thelonious Monk
– Brilliant Corners [Riverside OJCCD-026-2]