Introduction
The bebop jazz era was started in the 1940s by Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonius Monk and Charlie Parker. They were trumpeters, pianists and alto saxophonists respectively and a group of other young men. The bebop jazz era was characterized by very fast rhythms, tempos and very intricate melodies. This was unlike the previous era where the beats were not as fest and the melodies were slow. This jazz era saw the extension of the jazz vocabulary and led to the introduction of jazz songs that were somewhat very fast, nervous and which sounded like racing. This kind of music appeared to depart from the mainstream music which was being produced during that time. (Deveaux, 1999)
Main text
Socially, the bebop jazz era was condemned and was also said to be noisy and out of rhythm. It is at this time that jazz was seen as transforming from music to art. Initially jazz was taken as an accompaniment, that is, it used to be played when other musicians were singing. That is it was a backup for other musicians. The emergence of bebop jazz era led to a period where there was some form of consciousness between the musicians and the audience. They both discovered that jazz was a good form of art. The musicians paid particular attention to the music, concentrated on the authentic qualities of jazz music and most of the technical aspects that concerned the music. That is jazz musicians also begun to appreciate the music. During this period, for the first time, the audience paid attention to jazz music-there was serious listening to his form of music. Even today bebop has always remained fresh. Bebop gave jazz music some form of focus (Deveaux, 1999)
During this era the musicians did not concentrate on being hip or selling their music but rather concentrated on creating something authentic. The boppers did not concentrate on creating something that will attract their audience but rather concentrated on technical aspects of the music and its authenticity. Therefore being hip to them did not matter (Deveaux 1999).
Bebop was connected to other movements that support the black community. Therefore, the bebop era was seen as a rebellion by the black musicians against the rules of the whites. This music was fused together with the black revolution. The bebop was taken as an expression of the black community and also their subculture. This era brought about the renewed forces which emphasized the racial inequalities that were present during that time.
Historically, the bebop era brought about a big change in jazz. This is because people began to appreciate and pay more attention o jazz music. This era also led to jazz being recognized by everyone as a form of art, earlier notions that were there about jazz music being a black subculture were softened. This period therefore created a new history for jazz music.
During this time the media did not give enough attention to the jazz musicians. Therefore the boppers created this genre in ordered to commercialize their music in a way that the white dominance will not be felt. This music gave them something unique to market. Before this period, the musicians were kind of alienated from the mainstream. This is because music was one of the few avenues through which one would advance especially if one was black. This made the boppers feel alienated since they did not create what the society wanted to here but rather created something unique.
Summary
In the current music and musical discourse, the society still has different views about musicians. For instance, there are certain genres that are associated with certain communities. For instance though jazz was taken up by different communities it is still associated with the lack of community. Another example is reggae, where people who have Africa heritage tend to create something associated with reggae. Anyone who deviates from this kind of “organization” is alienated from society. That is his/ her music is not readily accepted.
References
Scott, Deveaux. The Birth of Bebop: A social and Musical History. New York: University of California Press, 1999.
Ted, Gioia. The History of Jazz. New York: Macmillan Company, 2000.