Cool Jazz And Bebop Compare And Contrast

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Cool jazz and Bebop are two very different types of music, but they are under the same umbrella of jazz. Bebop was developed somewhere in the 1940s, and was characterized by very fast tempos, complex and very quick chord progressions, as well as heavy improvisation. Due to the high difficulty, bebop musicians tended to be virtuosic in their instrument. Cool jazz was also developed somewhere in the 1940s, but was applied the name “cool jazz” in the 1950s. This new style was an antithesis in a way to bebop, as it was characterized by slower, more “cool” tempos, smooth melodies that were not sporadic, and an overall sense of smooth motion and a feeling of flowing. While these two styles were developed around the same time period, they are both very different to each other in a lot of ways.
Cool jazz as a music genre had more structure than its bebop counterpart. Most of the time, cool jazz songs were created and performed using written arrangements. This gives the songs a more consistent feeling. It also conveyed a feeling of relaxation, as with written arrangements, the musicians are more relaxed and tend to have less expressions when performing. This was one of the characteristics that made cool jazz gain its label “cool.” …show more content…

Due to the fast chord progressions and sporadic nature of the songs in general, the sound range would be all over the place. Bebop is also very upbeat, which fits the mood of higher notes as it brings more energy to the song. The use of hitting a higher range of notes is used to express the adventurous nature of bebop. According to Eddie S. Meadows, author of Bebop to Cool, “bebop was without a doubt disjunct compared to cool jazz.” This meant there were a lot more jumps in range in consecutive notes, which is very different from cool jazz. Combined with less straight tone quality and more vibrato, bebop’s sound characteristics are very different from cool

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