Reviews
"A very fine overview of the period from 1955-1965, especially as itrefers to my personal involvement in the music of the time."--JackieMcLean, "A very fine overview of the period from 1955-1965, especially as it refers to my personal involvement in the music of the time."--Jackie McLean, "Covers one of the most vital ten years in jazz, an era that is still echoing through contemporary music of many styles in its influence. David Rosenthal vividly and coherently explains the musical developments of this unified, yet diverse time in jazz, beautifully bringing in vitalcontemporaneous information on the socio-cultural circles within and immediately surrounding jazz. His ability to cover all bases without weighing the reader down in tangents and minutia is admirable."--Michael Cuscuna, Mosaic Records, "Covers one of the most vital ten years in jazz, an era that is stillechoing through contemporary music of many styles in its influence. DavidRosenthal vividly and coherently explains the musical developments of thisunified, yet diverse time in jazz, beautifully bringing in vital contemporaneousinformation on the socio-cultural circles within and immediately surroundingjazz. His ability to cover all bases without weighing the reader down intangents and minutia is admirable."--Michael Cuscuna, Mosaic Records, "The author should be praised for breaking new ground with his Hill, Jones, Brooks, Hope, Clark, Harris, Kelly, Morgan, Jordan, Golson, and Turrentine biographies....Should be greatly appreciated as the beginning of a coming to terms with this vibrant period in jazz history....We are all indebted to Rosenthal for putting into motion what should be a continuing debate about jazz of this period."--American Book Review"An original and compelling assessment."--Kirkus Reviews"A solid, insightful study of one of the most misunderstood of jazz movements."--Harvey Pekar"A very fine overview of the period from 1955-1965, especially as it refers to my personal involvement in the music of the time."--Jackie McLean"Covers one of the most vital ten years in jazz, an era that is still echoing through contemporary music of many styles in its influence. David Rosenthal vividly and coherently explains the musical developments of this unified, yet diverse time in jazz, beautifully bringing in vital contemporaneous information on the socio-cultural circles within and immediately surrounding jazz. His ability to cover all bases without weighing the reader down in tangents andminutia is admirable."--Michael Cuscuna, Mosaic Records"An original and compelling assessment."--Kirkus Reviews, "The author should be praised for breaking new ground with his Hill,Jones, Brooks, Hope, Clark, HArris, Kelly, Morgan, Jordan, Golson, andTurrentine biographies....Should be greatly appreciated as the beginning of acoming to terms with this vibrant period in jazz history....We are all indebtedto Rosenthal for putting into motion what should be a continuing debate aboutjazz of this period."--American Book Review, "The author should be praised for breaking new ground with his Hill, Jones, Brooks, Hope, Clark, Harris, Kelly, Morgan, Jordan, Golson, and Turrentine biographies....Should be greatly appreciated as the beginning of a coming to terms with this vibrant period in jazz history....We are allindebted to Rosenthal for putting into motion what should be a continuing debate about jazz of this period."--American Book Review
Synopsis
It's nineteen fifty-something, in a dark, cramped, smoke-filled room. Everyone's wearing black. And on-stage a tenor is blowing his heart out, a searching, jagged saxophone journey played out against a moody, walking bass and the swish of a drummer's brushes. To a great many listeners--from African American aficionados of the period to a whole new group of fans today--this is the very embodiment of jazz. It is also quintessential hard bop. In this, the first thorough study of the subject, jazz expert and enthusiast David H. Rosenthal vividly examines the roots, traditions, explorations and permutations, personalities and recordings of a climactic period in jazz history. Beginning with hard bop's origins as an amalgam of bebop and R&B, Rosenthal narrates the growth of a movement that embraced the heavy beat and bluesy phrasing of such popular artists as Horace Silver and Cannonball Adderley; the stark, astringent, tormented music of saxophonists Jackie McLean and Tina Brooks; the gentler, more lyrical contributions of trumpeter Art Farmer, pianists Hank Jones and Tommy Flanagan, composers Benny Golson and Gigi Gryce; and such consciously experimental and truly one-of-a-kind players and composers as Andrew Hill, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Charles Mingus. Hard bop welcomed all influences--whether Gospel, the blues, Latin rhythms, or Debussy and Ravel--into its astonishingly creative, hard-swinging orbit. Although its emphasis on expression and downright "badness" over technical virtuosity was unappreciated by critics, hard bop was the music of black neighborhoods and the last jazz movement to attract the most talented young black musicians. Fortunately, records were there to catch it all. The years between 1955 and 1965 are unrivaled in jazz history for the number of milestones on vinyl. Miles Davis's Kind of Blue , Charles Mingus's Mingus Ah Um , Thelonious Monk's Brilliant Corners , Horace Silver's Further Explorations --Rosenthal gives a perceptive cut-by-cut analysis of these and other jazz masterpieces, supplying an essential discography as well. For knowledgeable jazz-lovers and novices alike, Hard Bop is a lively, multi-dimensional, much-needed examination of the artists, the milieus, and above all the sounds of one of America's great musical epochs., It's nineteen fifty-something, in a dark, cramped, smoke-filled room. Everyone's wearing black. And on-stage a tenor is blowing his heart out, a searching, jagged saxophone journey played out against a moody, walking bass and the swish of a drummer's brushes. To a great many listeners--from African American aficionados of the period to a whole new group of fans today--this is the very embodiment of jazz. It is also quintessential hard bop. In this, the first thorough study of the subject, jazz expert and enthusiast David H. Rosenthal vividly examines the roots, traditions, explorations and permutations, personalities and recordings of a climactic period in jazz history. Beginning with hard bop's origins as an amalgam of bebop and R&B, Rosenthal narrates the growth of a movement that embraced the heavy beat and bluesy phrasing of such popular artists as Horace Silver and Cannonball Adderley; the stark, astringent, tormented music of saxophonists Jackie McLean and Tina Brooks; the gentler, more lyrical contributions of trumpeter Art Farmer, pianists Hank Jones and Tommy Flanagan, composers Benny Golson and Gigi Gryce; and such consciously experimental and truly one-of-a-kind players and composers as Andrew Hill, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Charles Mingus. Hard bop welcomed all influences--whether Gospel, the blues, Latin rhythms, or Debussy and Ravel--into its astonishingly creative, hard-swinging orbit. Although its emphasis on expression and downright "badness" over technical virtuosity was unappreciated by critics, hard bop was the music of black neighborhoods and the last jazz movement to attract the most talented young black musicians. Fortunately, records were there to catch it all. The years between 1955 and 1965 are unrivaled in jazz history for the number of milestones on vinyl. Miles Davis's Kind of Blue, Charles Mingus's Mingus Ah Um, Thelonious Monk's Brilliant Corners, Horace Silver's Further Explorations--Rosenthal gives a perceptive cut-by-cut analysis of these and other jazz masterpieces, supplying an essential discography as well. For knowledgeable jazz-lovers and novices alike, Hard Bop is a lively, multi-dimensional, much-needed examination of the artists, the milieus, and above all the sounds of one of America's great musical epochs., Hard bop was a brand of post bebop jazz that enveloped many of the most talented American musicians in the period between 1955 and 1956. These were years unrivalled in jazz history for the number of musically brilliant records issued - including Art Blakey's Ugetsu, Miles Davis's Kind of Blue, Thelonius Monk's Brilliant Corners, and Sonny Rollins's Saxophone Colossus.This is the first book devoted entirely to hard bop, combining a narrative of the movement's evolution, from its beginnings as an amalgam of bebop and R&B to its experimental breakthroughs in the 1960s. With close analyses of musicians' styles and recordings, as well as specific tendencies within the school, such as 'soul jazz', it offers a much needed examination of the artists, milieus, and above all the sounds of one of America's greatest musical epochs., In Hard Bop, the first thorough study of a brand of post-bebop jazz that included many of the most talented American musicians from roughly 1955 to 1965, the late David H. Rosenthal vividly examines the roots, traditions, explorations and permutations, personalities and recordings of a climactic period in jazz history. Beginning with hard bop's origins as an amalgam of bebop and R&B, he narrates the evolution of a movement that welcomed all influences--whether gospel, the blues, Latin rhythms, or Debussy and Ravel--into its astonishingly creative, hard-swinging orbit. Rosenthal delves into this movement that embraced the heavy beat and bluesy phrasing of such popular artists as Horace Silver and Cannonball Adderley; the stark, astringent, tormented music of saxophonists Jackie McLean, and Tina Brooks; the gentler, more lyrical contributions of trumpeter Art Farmer, pianists Hank Jones and Tommy Flanagan, composers Benny Goodman and Gigi Gryce; and such consciously experimental and truly one-of-a-kind players and composers as Andrew Hill, Sonny Rollins, John Coltrane, Thelonious Monk, and Charles Mingus. For knowledgeable jazz-lovers and novices alike, Hard Bop is a lively, multi-dimentional, much needed examination of the artists, the milieus, and above all the sounds of one of America's great musical epochs.
