CUL 401: A Comparative Study of Jazz Styles: Bebop and Early Jazz

This essay provides a comparative analysis of jazz combos, contrasting the bebop styles of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Thelonious Monk with the earlier jazz styles of Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, and Clarence Williams' Blue Five. The analysis focuses on specific tracks, including Gillespie’s “Salt Peanuts,” Armstrong’s “Heebie Jeebies,” Parker’s “Koko,” Morton’s “Dead Man Blues,” Monk’s “Straight, No Chaser,” Williams’ “Wild Cat Blues,” Parker’s “Scrapple from the Apple,” and Armstrong’s “Potato Head Blues.” The comparison examines musical elements such as tempo, rhythm (2-beat vs. 4-beat), syncopation, form (AABA, 12-bar blues), instrumentation, polyphony, unison, harmony, mood, and texture, highlighting the evolution and distinct characteristics of each jazz style.

Running head: CULTURE OF JAZZ
CULTURE OF JAZZ
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Bebop is a style of jazz created in the mid-1940s in the United States, which highlights
tunes described by a quick rhythm, complex harmony movements with fast changes of harmony
and innovations of the keys, instrumental virtuosity, and act of spontaneity in view of a mix of
consonant structure, the utilization of scales and intermittent references to the tune. Some of the
most influencer tenor sax player includes the likes of Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and
Thelonious Monk (Kerouac). These artists followed the tenor saxophone where is pitched in the
key of B♭. On the other hand, artists like Louis Armstrong, Jelly Roll Morton, and Clarence
Williams’ Blue Five used a completely different method where the key is of E♭.
“Salt Peanuts” is a bebop track that was composed by Dizzy Gillespie that is primary an
Octave note interval that matches with a bebop vocal (Giraldo, Sergio, and Ramírez). The track
consists of a taste of fusion of jazz and blues. It was recorded at a tempo of 58 BP and the key of
F major. It is anything but difficult to see the contrasts between this tune and pieces from swing.
For one the beat is significantly speedier than a swing tune and the tune does not generally
appear to infer that one ought to move despite the fact that it makes the listener need to move.
With the AABA bar, the tunes are likewise to a great degree angular and do not swing in the way
people are normally used to (Virkkula). On the other hand, “Heebie Jeebies” of Louis Armstrong
is an arrangement composed by Boyd Atkins which accomplished popularity when it was
recorded by Louis Armstrong. The track consists of the innovative technique of scar singing and
the hokum coda where a line of a song is delivered early and thus leaves a break that should have
been an empty verse. It was recorded at a tempo of 156 BPM with 8-bar of blues.
“Koko” was composed by Charlie Parker as a bebop recording. It is recorded with a
harmonically ambiguous start but then transits to B flat major that is contrasted to Parker’s solo
chorus. The piece starts with a 32 bar intro that gets split into phases of 8-bar. However, after

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the introduction, the second part are from two 64 bar choruses of Parker on the saxophone
(Cataldo). The track maintains a B flat major throughout however ends with an F on the final
note that ends with a 28-bar coda which makes it an abrupt ending. On the other hand, “Dead
Man Blues” was recorded by Jelly Roll Morton. The track has a BPM of 88 with the Key of G
minor. The track begins with a slow tempo however it is picked up with a polyphonic texture
(Jones, LeRoi, and Baraka). The bass on the other hand is played at a variety of patterns, two
beat patterns to four beats and even to eight beats to the bar. The track has a wonderful contrast
of clarinets and the trombone which leads to a harmonic clash. The trumpet is introduced at the
final chorus with a trombone glissando with the use of various instruments with a light
counterpoint of the piano.
“Straight, No Chaser” is a jazz standard that was composed by Thelonious Monk. It is
considered the most influential song of Monk that has been covered by many artists. It has a 12
bar blues in E flat with a tempo of 93 BPM. Due to many influences in the song, it is performed
in many scales that include F and B♭. The track involves only one idea that is repeated again and
again, each time in a different part with a different conclusion (Wilf). On the other hand, “Wild
Cat Blues” was recorded by Clarence Williams, Blues Five which was made for Okeh. The track
consists of various instruments like soprano sax, cornet, trombone, piano and banjo. It has a 12
pattern of blues that is structured to formal rags. It is a labeled as “hot jazz” with the typical New
Orleans music of polyphony formed a basis of solo. With a composition of 88 BPM, the track
uses all the instruments in a perfect sync to create a well-balanced jazz composition.
“Scrapple from the Apple” is a bebop composition by Charlie Parker which is labeled as
a standard jazz music. It was written in F major that is inspired from the chord progression of
“Honeysuckle Rose”. It is rather a very fast paced song with a 201 BMP. It is swing music with

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the use of drums, piano, organ and bass. Even many saxophonists have covered the song over the
years. Just like “Salt Peanuts” of Dizzy Gillespie has an AABA bar which is utilized into swing
music. On the other hand, “Potato Head Blues” of Louis Armstrong is much more included to
blues rather than a traditional jazz (Kemp and Michael). Despite having the elements of blues, it
is considered to be one of the most famous jazz works of Armstrong. The chord has a signature
of 32-bar structure that has a bar of ABAC. With the BPM of 182, the stop-time chorus in the
end part of the recoding makes the track iconic along with Armstrong’s well versed solos. Each
layer of the first 45 seconds of the song is at a high tempo and high pitch. The reason for this
song to have a piano cover is because of the consistent repetition of the rest of the verse (Green
and Lucy). There are no lyrics and the intro and the conclusion are the only places where there
are more than 2 layers with the exact same note and sound. It is only the middle portion that has
a complete shift of tempo. With the vibrant presence of trumpet and trombone and the piano in
the background which seems to be the lowest dynamic in compared to the other instruments, the
track is a milestone of 20th century music. Despite being a famous song, very few artists over the
years have tried to cover it.

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