The Bebop Collection

I will be doing a series of jazz paintings based on the bebop era.

Bebop emerged in the 1940s as a style of jazz in great contrast to the music of the big bands. It featured a small group of musicians -- four to six players -- rather than the 10 or more associated with the big bands. The smaller size allowed more solo opportunities for the players. The music itself was characterized by more complex melodies and chord progressions, as well as more emphasis on the role the rhythm section. Furthermore, phrases within the music were often irregular in length, making bebop interesting to listen to, but in contrast to music of the big bands, unsuitable for dancing.

The development of bebop is attributed in large part to trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and alto saxophonist Charlie Parker. The unique styles of Gillespie and Parker contributed to and typified the bebop sound. They experimented with unconventional chromaticism, discordant sounds, and placement of accents in melodies. In contrast to the regular phrasing of big band music, Gillespie and Parker often created irregular phrases of odd length, and combined swing and straight eighth-note rhythms within the swing style. 

Other influential bebop musicians included saxophonists Sonny Stitt and Dexter Gordon, trumpeters Red Rodney and Kenny Dorham, trombonists J.J. Johnson and Bennie Green, guitarists Tal Farlow and Kenny Burrell, pianists Oscar Peterson, Bud Powell, and Thelonius Monk, drummers Kenny Clarke and Max Roach, and bassists Charles Mingus and Paul Chambers.

More on bebop 

John Coltrane a musician associated with bebop.

Coltrane Lean
12" x 9"
Acrylic on Canvas Sheet. 2008
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The Jazz Influence on Ray Charles

Ray Charles

20" x 16"

Acrylic on Canvas. 2010

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While pianist and singer Ray Charles's unique ability to meld gospel and blues brought him commercial success and acclaim, he also possessed a dazzling gift and feeling for jazz. A disciple of Nat King Cole, his piano playing was full of expression, swing, and creativity, and his talents rivaled those of the most celebrated jazz pianists.

Charles made a memorable appearance at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival and recorded jazz standards throughout his career.

When Ray was fifteen his mother passed away and he set out for Jacksonville, Florida as orphan. He played around the city for about a year, staying with some family friends of his mother. During this time Charles chief influence was jazz pianist turned entertainer Nat King Cole. Ray spoke highly of Cole and fashioned his whole persona of Cole's initially. 

Charles recorded a jazz album in 1960, Genius+Soul= Jazz, which featured arrangements by his friend Quincy Jones and music by the Count Basie Orchestra.

Original Abstract Jazz Art Drummer Man Painting

Jazz Drummer

8" x 10"

Acrylic on Canvas Board. 2012

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The Jazz Genesis and Genius of Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye

10" x 8"

Acrylic on Canvas Board. 2012

$100.00
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By the late 1960s, Marvin Gaye had deservedly earned the title of "The Prince of Motown" for his many hits and that definitive and gorgeously silky smooth singing voice of his. As the hugely influential label's best-selling male star, Marvin Gaye had also scored Motown's biggest-selling hit, "I Heard It through the Grapevine" by 1968. He also maintained a successful parallel career singing duets with several of Motown's leading ladies, namely Tammi Terrell.

Following Terrell's collapse in his arms onstage during the summer of 1967 for an undiagnosed brain tumor, Marvin Gaye began a spiritual and emotional decline of his own. Problems with his wife, the IRS and Terrell's eventual death in March 1970 brought him to a point where he felt he wanted to express himself his own way. No doubt inspired by the inventive Norman Whitfield, who was chiefly responsible for "I Heard it through the Grapevine" and many, many other classics that transcended Motown's rather restrictive limitations, Marvin Gaye felt it was no longer enough to bring out the best in other producers and musical associates. He wanted to bring out the best in himself.

But this wasn't the way at the Motown machine. Singers were fronts for corporate music and, like so many other artists elsewhere – especially those of the African American variety – he was not allowed to have any sort of artistic control. Marvin Gaye refused to be reigned in by that and while his obstinacy rightfully furthered the cause of black artists gaining control of their own musical artistry, it did nothing but cause him problems with the Motown brass and namely Motown's chief and Marvin Gaye's brother-in-law, Berry Gordy, Jr. almost until the very end of his life. It probably even hurt his own career as much as the new direction he sought in music furthered the financial fortunes of Motown and, later, other labels as well.

As rampant racism, the Vietnam War, protest in the streets and police brutality seemed to bring America to its knees in 1970, Marvin Gaye brought forth all his talents to simply state – or ask? - "What's Going On." As Ben Edmonds says in his beautiful notes to the Deluxe Edition CD release of What's Going On, "Its relaxed yet forceful groove was closer to jazz than anything in the Motown canon, but it wasn't really jazz either. Usually the Funk Brothers [the studio musicians who played without credit – until this album – on nearly every Motown recording ever made didn't have the slightest idea for whom a song was intended or even what it was called. These supremely gifted musicians often looked down their noses at the pop music they were hired to churn out. Not this day. When bassist James Jamerson got home from work, he told his wife he'd just cut a classic."

Marvin Gaye had been inspired and fashioned an inspiring ode that did indeed become a classic, almost immediately. But Berry Gordy, Jr. hated it and refused to release it. Too political. Too weird. And not a hit. Marvin Gaye refused to record anything more for Motown unless "What's Going On" was released. Finally in January 1971, it was released and not only did it become a number 2 pop hit, it even outsold the hugely popular "I Heard it through the Grapevine." Motown demanded an album to follow it up with and this launched Marvin Gaye into the most artistically satisfying stage of his career.

What he was doing was searching the wellspring of his soul to create music he felt. Rather than singing words that were put in front of him, he was singing what came from within him. Lyrically, it might not even make sense. But it was him and there was a poetic beauty about it all. It was the same spontaneous composition that fuels so much of jazz. Marvin Gaye learned how to use technology to make his voice do multiple things at once. If you listen to any of the music from this period (1970-1980), a study of Marvin Gaye's voicings would read like a treatise on a jazz group. Marvin Gaye heard something that no one before him had ever heard: precisely how to turn a crooner into a choir. A jazz choir.

Much of the jazz sensibility Marvin Gaye was exercising in his perfect and profitable voice extended to the musical instrumentation supporting those songs. The Funk Brothers must have loved playing for this guy. Marvin Gaye was not looking for pet licks, riff-based programmatics, familiar/topical sounds or chock-a-block, cookie-cutter rhythms. He was hearing an extension of what he was trying to express. That it yielded hit after hit of hitherto unheard musical magic is miraculous enough. But that it is, like Miles Davis, seeking to express a sound that has never been heard before is a testament to the man's musical genius – a genius that was probably sublimated to that "Love Man" voice as the unfortunately crowned "Prince of Motown."

There is much that is fascinating and worthwhile in Marvin Gaye's music from this period aside from the hits and that beautiful voice. Here, now, is a voice that is an instrument of divinity, transcending Top 40 radio, and expressing what is soulful about soul, heartfelt about life and creative about so much jazz. Since I do not propose a survey of the hits and how successful or unsuccessful any of the music is, I will contain my commentary to the jazz elements I detect in the work – and the jazz coverage the music has received. It's what makes Marvin Gaye's music important to me and what makes it live beyond The Big Chill type nostalgia.

A lot of Marvin Gaye's music was covered by jazz players such as Grover Washington, Jr., Jay Anderson, Houston Person, Marc Copland, Charles Lloyd (!), George Gruntz and Carl Allen have covered "What's Going On" but Quincy Jones' marvelous 1971 cover from Smackwater Jack is most highly recommended. All of these renditions perfectly showcase the jazz genius Marvin Gaye brings to his music.

The Jazz Foundation of America

"I cannot even imagine the world without jazz and the blues, and I cannot imagine turning our backs on the very people who gave their lives, their life experiences, and their music to us all these years, especially now when they need us most. The Jazz Foundation is saving the music."

— Quincy Jones

Please visit this website - The Jazz Foundation of America

Original Abstract Jazz Art Trumpet Man Painting

Jazz Trumpetier

10" x 8"

Acrylic Wash on 140lb Watercolor Paper. 2012

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Original Abstract Jazz Art Guitar Man Painting

Jazz Guitarist

10" x 8"

Acrylic Wash on 140lb Watercolor Paper. 2012

Contact me if interested @ kenjoslin@yahoo.com.

Original Abstract Jazz Art Trumpet Man Painting

Trumpet Player #2

10" x 8"

Acrylic Wash on 140lb Watercolor Paper. 2012

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An Introduction to Jazz

Born in America, jazz can be seen as a reflection of the cultural diversity and individualism of this country. At its core are openness to all influences, and personal expression through improvisation. Throughout its history, jazz has straddled the worlds of popular music and art music, and it has expanded to a point where its styles are so varied that one may sound completely unrelated to another. First performed in bars, jazz can now be heard in clubs, concert halls, universities, and large festivals all over the world.

The Birth of Jazz:

New Orleans, Louisiana around the turn of the 20th century was a melting pot of cultures. A major port city, people from all over the world came together there, and as a result, musicians were exposed to a variety of music. European classical music, American blues, and South American songs and rhythms came together to form what became known as jazz. The origin of the word jazz is widely disputed, although it is thought to have originally been a sexual term.

Louis Armstrong:

One thing that makes jazz music so unique is that it’s focus on improvisation. Louis Armstrong, a trumpet player from New Orleans, is considered the father of modern jazz improvisation. His trumpet solos were melodic and playful, and filled with energy that could only result from being composed on the spot. A leader of several groups in the 1920s and 30s, Armstrong inspired countless others to make the music their own by developing a personal style of improvisation. 

Expansion:

Thanks to early records, the music of Armstrong and others in New Orleans could reach a broad radio audience. The music’s popularity began to increase as did its sophistication, and major cultural centers around the country began to feature jazz bands. Chicago, Kansas City, and New York had the most thriving music scenes in the 1940s, where dance halls were filled with fans that came to see large jazz ensembles. This period is known as the Swing Era, referring to the lilting “swing” rhythms employed by the Big Bands.

 Bebop:

Big Bands gave musicians the opportunity to experiment with different approaches to improvisation. While members of a Big Band, saxophonist Charlie Parker and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie began to develop a highly virtuosic and harmonically advanced style known as "Bebop," an onomatopoeic reference to the rhythmic punches heard in the music. Parker and Gillespie performed their music in small ensembles all over the country, and musicians flocked to hear the new direction jazz was taking. The intellectual approach and technical facility of these pioneers of Bebop has set the standard for today’s jazz musicians.

Jazz Today:

Jazz is a highly developed art form that continues to evolve and expand in numerous directions. The music of each decade sounds fresh and distinct from the music that preceded it. Since the days of bebop, the jazz scene has included avant-garde music, Latin jazz, jazz/rock fusion, and countless other styles. Jazz today is so diverse and broad that there is something unique and interesting about every artist’s style. 

Miles Davis Jazz Art Music Trumpet Painting

Simply Miles

8" x 10"

Acrylic Wash on 140lb Watercolor Paper. 2012

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Original Abstract Jazz Art Guitar Man Painting

Guitar Passion

10" x 8"

Acrylic Wash on 140lb Watercolor Paper. 2012

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Charles Mingus Jazz Art Music Bass Painting

Mr. Mingus

10" x 8"

Acrylic Wash on 140lb Watercolor Paper. 2012

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Dizzy Gillespie Jazz Art Music Trumpet Painting

Dizzy Gillespie

10" x 8"
Acrylic Wash on 140lb Watercolor Paper. 2012

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John Birks 'Dizzy' Gillespie
(born October 21, 1917, Cheraw, South Carolina; died January 6, 1993, Englewood, New Jersey)

With his great ballooning cheeks and trademark trumpet's bell upturned at a 45-degree angle, Dizzy Gillespie easily has the most recognizable face in jazz.

He is also easily one of the most influential figures in that most American of musical forms, having first revolutionized jazz in the 40s by being one of the acknowledged inventors of bebop; and then again in the decades that followed when he championed the rich rhythms of Afro-Cuban, Caribbean, and Brazilian music that, to a large extent, still dominate jazz to this very day.

Born John Birks Gillespie, Dizzy moved to Philadelphia with his family at age 18 and joined Frankie Fairfax's band before moving on to New York City and Teddy Hill's big band in 1937, Later he played with all the greats--Ella Fitzgerald. Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton, Earl Hines, and Billie Holliday. He met saxophonist Charlie "Bird" Parker in 1940 and soon was jamming with Parker, Thelonious Monk, and others. It was in this hothouse atmosphere of creativity that Gillespie and his cohorts astonished the world with their aggressive ornamentations, complex harmonic alterations, and rhythmic exploration that would soon be labeled "bebop." "What they did was like nitroglycerine, electricity," says Quincy Jones. "They broke all the rules, changed the world concert of American music." 

Not all audiences and critics fell immediately in love with these new, often strange sounds. Gillespie, however, was a natural public relations man for this music with his hair-raising technical virtuosity, harmonic adventurousness, and most of all, integrating showmanship. He was, in fact, the first jazz artist to be sent abroad under the auspices of the United States government, spreading American goodwill and good music around the world. 

Gillespie's legacy is probably best summed up by Gillespie himself in a statement that would sound a bit arrogant if it weren't so probable: "The music of Charlie Parker and me laid a foundation for all the music that is being played now. . . . Our music is going to be the classical music of the future."

And just how did Gillespie end up with that bizarre, trademark trumpet of his? The bent-bell trumpet got its start in 1953 when someone fell on his trumpet stand backstage; Gillespie liked the sound of the altered instrument so much that his trumpets were specially made from then on.

Original Abstract Jazz Art Trumpet Man Painting

Trumpet Solo

8" x 6"
Acrylic on Canvas Board. 2012

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