nsp, interesting question and great perspective. Personally, I would have to say that I don’t hear enough bebop in that 1944 recording to call it “bebop”. I don’t think that there is going to be universal agreement on where exactly it was that the style crossed some magical demarcation line into territory that can be called the first full-fledged bebop. The transitional recordings were just that, transitional.
pryso, listened to the soundtrack. I don’t think Altman got it wrong at all; quite the opposite. With the possible exception of “Yeah, Man” with its brisk tempo, I don’t hear bebop in that music. Kansas City, like other important jazz hubs, had its own style and sound and I think that music captures it well. Most of that music is based on simple song structures, mainly simple blues forms, the melodies don’t have the characteristic angular or “spiky” character of bebop tunes; nor the need for the virtuosity that playing bebop required. Some of the writing does sound modern, the way that ‘30’s Ellington can sound modern and especially coming from Armstrong/Teagarden. Great soundtrack. Thanks.
pryso, listened to the soundtrack. I don’t think Altman got it wrong at all; quite the opposite. With the possible exception of “Yeah, Man” with its brisk tempo, I don’t hear bebop in that music. Kansas City, like other important jazz hubs, had its own style and sound and I think that music captures it well. Most of that music is based on simple song structures, mainly simple blues forms, the melodies don’t have the characteristic angular or “spiky” character of bebop tunes; nor the need for the virtuosity that playing bebop required. Some of the writing does sound modern, the way that ‘30’s Ellington can sound modern and especially coming from Armstrong/Teagarden. Great soundtrack. Thanks.