Horace Silver, Art Blakey and Hard Bop

Topics we will discuss and learn:

• Hardbop was a mixture of bebop, gospel music, and blues
• Key figures in Hardbop

Hardbop was a mixture of bebop, gospel music, and the blues

Cool jazz was a response to bebop’s angularity and fire and hardbop was a response to cool jazz’s light evenness.  Hardbop was a funky, down-home version of bebop that used blues elements and gospel influences to reach out to its audience.  Many songs got regular play on the radio and in jukeboxes with titles like, “Cornbread,” ”Cookin,” and others.

Key figures in Hardbop

            Horace Silver – pianist and founder of the Jazz Messengers who left and went on

to create many jazz standards such as “Song For My Father.”

            Art Blakey – drummer and founder of the Jazz Messengers and took over its

leadership bringing in many notable jazz musicians such as Jackie

McLean, Clifford Brown, Johnny Griffin, Freddie Hubbard, Donald Byrd, Lee Morgan, Wayne Shorter, Wynton and Branford Marsalis

            Clifford Brown – phenomenal trumpet player who was “clean” (didn’t do drugs or

smoke) who died young in a car accident.

            Miles Davis – trumpeter who spanned many eras of jazz from bebop, cool jazz,

hardbop, modal, fusion and is credited with starting most of them

            Sonny Rollins – tenor saxophonist from the Caribbean who played in Miles early

groups and later changed his style after leaving jazz and playing on the

Willingsborough bridge in NYC only to come back harder and stronger

Cannonball Adderley – amazing alto saxophone player who played in Miles’ most

notable group of this period who played very fast and bouncy

            John Coltrane – phenomenal tenor saxophone player who played in Miles’ most

notable group of this period who had a distinct sound that seemed to be

searching for more

            Wayne Shorter – tenor saxophonist and composer who wrote many jazz standards

including “Fee Fi Fo Fum,” “Speak No Evil,” and “Peace”

            Jackie McClean – alto player who had a distinct tone that sounded out of tune

but was swinging and inventive

            Paul Chambers – bass player with Miles in his most notable group of this period

who had a thick sound and a strong sense of swing

Red Garland – piano player with Miles in his most notable group of this period

who is famous for playing block chords

Philly Joe Jones – drummer with Miles in his most notable group of this period

whose style of drum playing was considered “textbook” for many

musicians for small ensemble jazz playing.

           

Terms and topics to know:

funky

block chords