I suppose I should be glad that you guys finally had the good sense to concede 😔; but, as always, it's too bad that you perceive the opportunity to learn something new as a "fight" or "argument".
Who was it that often said, "Lord, lord, my burden is great"? ☺️
Well, "Lord, lord, my burden is great"; more fake musicology. While it is true that Bird was a leading exponent of bebop and probably the greatest, he was far from "the only one who could do it" and not the first to move in that direction musically. In fact, he was not the first to lead a bebop recording session; Coleman Hawkins was. In fact, in was Hawkins' 1939 recording of "Body And Soul" that "cracked the door" into the bebop "room".
In the early 40's bebop was taking shape and being molded by the musical experimentations and contributions of several players who were coming out of the swing tradition and who sought to move the music forward with a much more sophisticated harmonic palette and emphasis on improvisation with great technical virtuosity. Bird certainly distinguished himself as probably the greatest exponent of the style, but to suggest that he was a lone voice is not true at all. An interesting footnote about this period in jazz, and one very unfortunate and ironic one at that, is that due to a two year long (1942-44?) musicians' union strike during which all recording was prohibited, there are no (formal) documents of the most important years in the music's development. This is one of the reasons that so many of Bird's recordings have poor sound quality; they were bootleg recordings. These particulars may not matter to some who want to keep their personal heroes on a unrealistic pedestal, but they truly are important to understanding and having an honest grasp of the evolution of this great music. I am not a huge fan of Wiki as a source of definitive information, but this is one of the best Wiki entries that I've read and is recommended for anyone who wants a more comprehensive look at what was going on at the time of bebop' birth:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/BebopBtw, "Bird With Strings" (great record and thanks for the clip, O-10) was born out of Bird's deep interest in Classical music; Igor Stravinsky and Bartok in particular. He really wanted to record with a string section and blend elements of Jazz and of Classical.
O-10, the following is not intended to provoke nor prolong any "argument", but to try to clarify (again) and hopefully pave the way to better and less contentious interaction on this thread. Contrary to your assertions, your comments about my motivations are off the mark. Let me put it this way and hopefully this will clarify where I'm coming from: I have no interest in "impressing" anyone nor win arguments. How can I say this? Because nothing I write or have written is anything new, revelatory, nor particularly interesting to anyone who has a truly indepth knowledge of this stuff. It is all out there to read and learn for anyone who has the interest and curiosity to do so. As I have said before, try speaking to someone like Billy Taylor or Wynton about this stuff; their level of knowledge and perspective is awe inspiring. Food for thought....hopefully.
