Dizzy Gillespie was one of the pioneers of the bebop style and language, as evidenced by many of compositions including this one, “Bebop.” Like many bebop tunes, this one is both deceptively simple and challenging at the same time. This tune is one I enjoy challenging students with in classes (just ask the students from my Improvisation class at Florida State!) to get them to really check out the way Dizzy (and others like Charlie Parker) deal with playing accents, and how their eighth notes REALLY feel.
This was a really fun session with my great friend and guitarist Alex Wintz. He’s got an amazing ability to make just this duo sound like a much bigger ensemble! Make sure you check out all the great things Alex is up to here.
Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you back here next week!
- Nick