Definition of "Bebop Head"

[j***@hotmail.com]

I've been enjoying the growing list of people's favorite bebop
heads...I myself put in 4 of my favorites, but 2 of them I astericked
with words to the effect, "if this counts." Others have also mentioned
Celia, Airegin, etc. "if it counts."

So what do others think is the definition of the classic "Bebop Head?"
Does it have to have a certain author (Parker, Gillespie, Monk?) or
come from a particular era? (1945+) and is there a 'cutoff' year?

I recently saw the 2000 DVD of Benson Absolutely Live and he and Joe
Sample did a tune that but for the funk beat I personally would have
characterized as a Bebop head. I don't remember the name.

JM

[Five Sharp]

I think Tom L. has a bebop head now, with him having shaved off the goatie
and the skinhead look.

#####

Post by j***@hotmail.com
I've been enjoying the growing list of people's favorite bebop
heads...I myself put in 4 of my favorites, but 2 of them I astericked
with words to the effect, "if this counts." Others have also mentioned
Celia, Airegin, etc. "if it counts."
So what do others think is the definition of the classic "Bebop Head?"
Does it have to have a certain author (Parker, Gillespie, Monk?) or
come from a particular era? (1945+) and is there a 'cutoff' year?
I recently saw the 2000 DVD of Benson Absolutely Live and he and Joe
Sample did a tune that but for the funk beat I personally would have
characterized as a Bebop head. I don't remember the name.
JM

[j***@hotmail.com]

Fred Flintstone sorta has a "prebop" head.

[pmfan57]

Post by j***@hotmail.com
Fred Flintstone sorta has a "prebop" head.

Yes. In fact he sang an amazing version of When the Saints Go Marching
In in one episode. Does anyone remember the hep cat announcer?
"Scooby to wha wowww!" or something like that.

[Tom Lippincott]

Post by Five Sharp
I think Tom L. has a bebop head now, with him having shaved off the goatie
and the skinhead look.
#####

Ha! Funny you should say that; first off, I grew the goatee back! I've
actually been without it for years now (that old picture of me was from the
mid '90s) and just recently tried growing it back It sure makes shaving in
the morning quicker. I just ran into my old friend Julien Kasper the other
night and he said "oh, you've got a nice 'jazz cat' thing going on now"
referring to my "look." I didn't even realize I HAD a look, heh.

also funny, one of those synchronicity type things, is my percussionist
friend Dave Schanzer, who is concentrating on learning jazz drum vocabulary
right now, asked me at our gig the other night just what constitutes a
"bebop" tune. He was somewhat under the impression that any uptempo jazz
tune was called a "bop tune." I explained it's more about the style period,
but I realized that a lot of people DO tend to use the word "bebop" as a
generic term, synonymous with "fast," usually with a lot of chord changes.
He asked me what would Seven Steps to Heaven be considered, and I wasn't
sure what to tell him; it's not from the bebop period. I settled on "post
bop." I generally think of stuff in the early sixties as either being "hard
bop" or "modal" or maybe "cool," but I don't think a tune like Seven Steps
really fits into any of those categories, nor does a lot of the stuff Miles
was doing in that period (Four & More, My Funny Valentine, ect.) Those
recordings were so ahead of their time, I tend to still think of them simply
as "modern jazz." Opinions?
--
Tom Lippincott
Guitarist, Composer, Teacher
audio samples, articles, CD's at:
http://www.tomlippincott.com
8 string guitar audio samples at:
http://www.soundclick.com/bands/3/tomlippincottmusic.htm

Post by Five Sharp

Post by j***@hotmail.com
I've been enjoying the growing list of people's favorite bebop
heads...I myself put in 4 of my favorites, but 2 of them I astericked
with words to the effect, "if this counts." Others have also mentioned
Celia, Airegin, etc. "if it counts."
So what do others think is the definition of the classic "Bebop Head?"
Does it have to have a certain author (Parker, Gillespie, Monk?) or
come from a particular era? (1945+) and is there a 'cutoff' year?
I recently saw the 2000 DVD of Benson Absolutely Live and he and Joe
Sample did a tune that but for the funk beat I personally would have
characterized as a Bebop head. I don't remember the name.
JM

[j***@csc.cps.k12.il.us]

I was unsure of 26-2 (my choice) just because it was not temporally
related, and seems to be a different approach to prior harmony, i.e;
not adding altered tones to standard changes, but changing the basic
harmony. I don't really know. Expert input needed.

[Kurt Shapiro]

I'm jealous. I've been wanting to shave the noggin' for a few years now,
but Mrs. Me won't let me. I keep telling her all the cool jazz cats do it,
and then she flatly says "please don't," followed by "don't you dare!" and
"if you do, you will be so sorry."

I figure since I'm already sportin' the Magic Horseshoe, I don't see the
problem.

I ditched the goatee though. Too much trouble to maintain, and it kept
scratching me and picking up bits of food.



"Tom Lippincott" <***@bellsouth.net> wrote in message news:Ixm1e.70424$***@bignews5.bellsouth.net...

[snip]

Post by Tom Lippincott
Ha! Funny you should say that; first off, I grew the goatee back! I've
actually been without it for years now (that old picture of me was from the
mid '90s) and just recently tried growing it back It sure makes shaving in
the morning quicker. I just ran into my old friend Julien Kasper the other
night and he said "oh, you've got a nice 'jazz cat' thing going on now"
referring to my "look." I didn't even realize I HAD a look, heh.

[snip]

[Tom Walls]

Post by Kurt Shapiro
I ditched the goatee though. Too much trouble to maintain, and it kept
scratching me and picking up bits of food.

I originally grew a beard to make myself appear more mature, so about a
year ago I shaved it with the intention of looking younger. Turned out I
looked both older AND uglier.

[Kurt Shapiro]

Oh, Bruddahman, I do SO feel your pain.

Post by Tom Walls

Post by Kurt Shapiro
I ditched the goatee though. Too much trouble to maintain, and it kept
scratching me and picking up bits of food.

I originally grew a beard to make myself appear more mature, so about a
year ago I shaved it with the intention of looking younger. Turned out I
looked both older AND uglier.
--
Tom Walls
the guy at the Temple of Zeus

[j***@aol.com]

So what do others think is the definition of the classic "Bebop Head

I was thinking more in terms of a girl who could hum Donna Lee while-
oh, never mind....

[Marc Sabatella]

Post by j***@hotmail.com
I've been enjoying the growing list of people's favorite bebop
heads...I myself put in 4 of my favorites, but 2 of them I astericked
with words to the effect, "if this counts." Others have also mentioned
Celia, Airegin, etc. "if it counts."
So what do others think is the definition of the classic "Bebop Head?"
Does it have to have a certain author (Parker, Gillespie, Monk?) or
come from a particular era? (1945+) and is there a 'cutoff' year?

There can not possibly be any such black and white definition that
people would agree on. I think you're on the right track by
acknowledging that there is a lot of gray area when it comes to tunes
that have characteristics of more obviously bebop heads but also have
either other elements that make them seem less beboppy or just don't
have the pedigree that would assure them automatic inclusion.

--------------
Marc Sabatella
***@outsideshore.com

The Outside Shore
Music, art, & educational materials:
http://www.outsideshore.com/