Give a short answer to each question (Use whole sentences!) 1. What is the approximate time period for the Bebop era as given in the reading? (Years, not “3am ‘til 6am”.) 1pt 2. It is said that bebo

Thelonious Monk, Howard McGhee, Roy Eldridge, and Teddy Hill at Minton's Playh ouse in New York, 1947 CREDIT: Gottlieb, William, photographer. "Portrait of Thelonious Monk, Howard McGhee, Roy Eldridge, and Teddy Hill, Minton's Playhouse, New York, N.Y., ca. Sept. 1947." 1947. William P. Gottlieb - Photographs from the Golden Age of Jazz, Library of Congress. Sure, this is fun and danceable. It’s simple and happy. BUT….. Was this “risky” in any way? Was there a chance for a soloist to let loose and show his/her stuff? Were there any new, innovative, challenging sounds for the musicians to embrace and enjoy? While swing music was fun, danceable and accessible to the general public, it didn’t feed the souls of true “jazz” musicians who are all about risk, innovation and virtuosity. Bebop was born in the after - hours clubs of New York. Working musicians who w ere working “commercial” gigs downtown would rush to the all night sessions that were taking place at clubs like “Minton’s Playhouse” and “Clark Monroe’s Uptown House”. It was here that up and coming musicians would try new sounds out and participate in cutting contests that would separate the “players” from the “wanna -bes”. These contests were not always friendly. The established players woul d have no mercy on newbies coming in. They would do everything they could to mess up the new guy. They would play the tune in different keys. They would change the chord progression and use substitute chords all in an attempt to trip up the new guy. They w ere equally challenging to each other. Musicians would have to work their way up to playing with the big boys at Minton’s. There were plenty of jam sessions around town and you would gradually find your way to your level. 52nd Street, New York, N.Y., ca. 1948. Photograph from William P. Gottlieb Collection , American Memory project, Library of Congress . The bebop era is generally marked as 1945 -1955 but t hese sessions at Minton’s and the Uptown were taking place in the early 1940s . By the mid 1940s most of the action had moved downtown to 52 nd street. This little, one block area known as “The Street” became a h otbed of jazz for years to come. There is another neighborhood in New York City known as “Tin Pan Alley” . This was the area where all of the song publishing houses were located. Songwriters would go to this neighborhood to try and sell their songs to the publishers and the publishers woul d demonstrate the songs they have bought the rights to to potential performers. Imagine 100 out of tune pianos being heard through the open windows of all these publishing houses at once. Someone described the cacophony as the sound of a bunch of tin cans all being rattled at once and the name “Tin Pan Alley” was born. Many great songs from the 1920s all the way through the 1960s came out of this area. They’re often described as “The Great American Songbook”. Jazz musicians have used many of these songs ov er the years. Either playing them directly (Coleman Hawkins playing “Body and Soul”, Ella Fitzgerald doing Cole Porter tunes, Louis Armstrong singing Hoagy Charmichael’s “Stardust” etc…) or using them to create new tunes. (Charlie Parker’s Donna Lee is a r eworking of “Indiana”. Dexter Gordon’s “Fried Bananas” is “It Could Happen to You” etc…) A common practice of early Beboppers was to take a popular tune that most musicians and listeners were familiar with and write a new melody over the popular tune’s ch ord progression. “Ko -Ko” is a great example of this practice. The tune is based on the chord progression of a popular tune of the time entitled “Cherokee”. A very popular version of the tune was done by the Charlie Barnet orchestra. Here’s an excerpt of hi s version. Try and follow the chord progression behind the melody. ……