bebop (1945)
 
Charlie Parker, alto sax; Dizzy Gillespie, trumpet; Al Haig, piano; Curly Russell, bass; Sidney Catlett, drums.

This performance demonstrates some of the typical sounds of bop. First is the remarkable unison melody lines of Parker and Gillespie. The sound of a sax and trumpet in fast unison is still a fundamental bop sound. Next is the musical form, AABA. The 32-measure form is the bop playground of chord changes, with the interesting focus on the contrasting B section. This bridge, or B section, is pointed out below. See if you can follow along and hear as the chords change there. Soloists like to explode into bridge sections melodically. Everyone likes a little change.
