Bebop and Cool Jazz

Charlie Parker (1920 - 1955)

In the 1940s and 1950s, a new style called Bebop developed out of swing music. It featured smaller ensembles, more complicated rhythms, faster and more sophisticated chord progressions, and more virtuosic improvisation. The most important Bebop artists were saxophonist Charlie Parker and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie.

Somewhat in response to Bebop came, in the 1950s, the genre of Cool Jazz. Cool Jazz retained the harmonic complexity of Bebop but with slower tempos and a more lyrical style. Important Cool Jazz artists include trumpet player Miles Davis and tenor saxophonist John Coltrane.