Bebop developed in the early to mid-1940, as the younger generation of jazz musicians expanded the creative possibilities of jazz beyond the popular, dance-oriented swing style with a new “musician’s music” that was not as danceable and demanded close listening.

As bebop was not intended for dancing, it enabled musicians like Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Kenny Clarke, Thelonious Monk, Dexter Gordon, Charlie Christian, Billy Eckstine and Bud Powell, to play at faster tempos.

This 3CD set comprises 70-tracks from these pioneers who first established this exciting musical movement. Compiled in chronological order, with a substantial booklet, the collection features recordings which are seen as significant performances in the genesis of bebop, or regarded as important or notable examples. They tracks have also been selected so that a significant proportion of the artists regarded as pioneers, innovators or noted exponents of bebop are represented in the collection.

On that basis, it features a host of great names not only in bebop but in the wider world of jazz, and offers a highly entertaining trawl across a dynamic jazz decade.

**** As Acrobat’s catalogue has evolved significantly and grown substantially over the years, this release repurposes some of the early albums. This release comprises the complete contents, plus some added titles, of three products released in our ACRCD range more than 15 years ago, and which offered the opportunity to assemble a nicely coherent product. Those ACRCD titles are: 117, 118 and 119, entitiled “Bebop Vols. 1, 2 & 3”.

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