Although some history books claim that hard bop arose as a reaction to the softer sounds featured in cool jazz, it was actually an extension of bop that largely ignored West Coast jazz. The main differences between hard bop and bop are that the melodies tend to be simpler and often more "soulful," the rhythm section is usually looser with the bassist not as tightly confined to playing four-beats-to-the-bar as in bop, a gospel influence is felt in some of the music and quite often the saxophonists and pianists sound as if they were quite familiar with early rhythm and blues. Since the prime time period of hard bop (1955-70) was a decade later than bop, these differences were a logical evolution and one can think of hard bop as bop of the 50's and 60's. By the early '60s, the music had already splintered into a number of different styles, notably Modal Jazz, Post-Bop and Soul-Jazz. By the second half of the 1960's, the influence of the avant-garde was being felt and some of the more adventurous performances of the hard bop stylists (such as Jackie McLean and Lee Morgan) fell somewhere between the two styles. With the rise of fusion and the sale of Blue Note (hard bop's top label) in the late 1960's, the style fell upon hard times although it was revived to a certain extent in the 1980's. Much of the music performed by the so-called Young Lions during the latter decade (due to other influences altering their style) can be said to play Modern Mainstream although some groups (such as the Harper Brothers and T.S. Monk's Sextet) have kept the 1960's idiom alive.

(Scott Yanow)

hardbopc05

John Coltrane - Love Supreme

Listen to: Part 1 (Acknowledgement)

Coltrane, John (ts); Tyner, McCoy (p); Garrison, Jimmy (b); Jones, Elvin (dr)

Recorded: 09-12-1964

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc04

John Coltrane - Giant Steps

Listen to: Giant Steps

Coltrane, John (ts); Flanagan, Tommy (p); Chambers, Paul (b); Taylor, Art (dr)

Recorded: 05-05-1959

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc23

John Coltrane - Live At Birdland

Listen to: Afro Blue

Coltrane, John (ts); Tyner, McCoy (p); Garrison, Jimmy (b); Jones, Elvin (dr)

Recorded: 18-11-1963

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc22

John Coltrane - At The Village Vanguard

Listen to: Spiritual

Coltrane, John (ss); Dolphy, Eric (bcl); Tyner, McCoy (p); Workman, Reggie (b); Jones, Elvin (dr)

Recorded: 02 & 03. November 1961

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc07

Sonny Rollins - The Bridge

Listen to: Without A Song

Rollins, Sonny (ts); Hall, Jim (g); Cranshaw, Bob (b); Saunders, Harry (dr)

Recorded: 30-01-1962

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc08

Sonny Rollins - East Broadway Run Down

Listen to: East Broadway Run Down

Rollins, Sonny (ts); Hubbard, Freddie (tp); Garrison, Jimmy (b); Jones, Elvin (dr)

Recorded: 09-05-1966

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc09

Sonny Rollins - Sonny Meets Hawk

Listen to: Yesterdays

Rollins, Sonny (ts); Hawkins, Coleman (ts); Bley, Paul (p); McCurdy, Roy (dr); Cranshaw, Bob (b)

Recorded: 15 & 18 July 1963

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc10

Wayne Shorter - Supernova

Listen to: Super Nova

Shorter, Wayne (ss); McLaughlin, John (acg); Sharrock, Sonny (g); Booker, Walter (acg); Vitous, Miroslav (b); DeJohnette, Jack (dr); Corea, Chick (dr, vib); Moreira, Airto (perc); Booker, Maria (voc)

Recorded: 29-08-1969 und 02-09-1969

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc27

Wayne Shorter - Schizophrenia

Listen to: Schizophrenia

Fuller, Curtis (tb); Spaulding, James (as, fl); Shorter, Wayne (ts); Hancock, Herbie (p); Carter, Ron (b); Chambers, Joe (dr)

Recorded: 10-03-1967

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc26

Wayne Shorter - Speak No Evil

Listen to: Speak No Evil

Hubbard, Freddie (tp); Shorter, Wayne (ts); Hancock, Herbie (p); Carter, Ron (b); Jones, Elvin (dr)

Recorded: 08-11-1963

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc32

Joe Henderson - Mode For Joe

Listen to: Mode For Joe

Henderson, Joe (ts); Morgan, Lee (tp); Fuller, Curtis (tb); Hutcherson, Bobby (vib); Walton, Cedar (p); Carter, Ron (b); Chambers, Joe (dr)

Recorded: 27-01-1966

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc33

Joe Henderson - The State Of The Tenor

Listen to: Isotope

Henderson, Joe (ts); Carter, Ron (b); Foster, Al (dr)

Recorded: 14-16 November 1985

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc11

Booker Ervin - The Freedom Book

Listen to: A Lunar Tune

Ervin, Booker (ts); Byard, Jaki (p); Davis, Richard (b); Dawson, Alan (dr)

Recorded: 03-12-1963

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc34

Roland Kirk - Here Comes The Whistleman

Listen to: Here Comes The Whistleman

Kirk, Roland (ts, nose flute); Smith, Lonnie (p); Crosby, Charles (dr); Holley, Major (b)

Recorded: Unknown

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc35

Roland Kirk - Bright Moments

Listen to: Bright Moments

Kirk, Roland (ts, fl, manzello, stritch, nose flute); Burton, Ron (p); Pearson, Henry (b); Shy, Robert (dr); Habao, Joe (perc); Barkan, Todd (synth)

Recorded: 08-09 June 1973

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc02

Art Pepper - Live At The Village Vanguard

Listen to: The Trip

Pepper, Art (as); Cables, George (p); Mraz, George (b); Jones, Elvin (dr)

Recorded: 28-30 Oktober 1977

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc03

Eric Dolphy - At The Five Spot

Listen to: Fire Waltz

Little, Booker (tp); Dolphy, Eric (as, bcl, fl); Waldron, Mal (p); Davis, Richard (b); Blackwell, Ed (dr)

Recorded: 16-07-1961

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc06

Oliver Nelson - The Blues and The Abstract Truth

Listen to: Stolen Moments

Nelson, Oliver (as, ts); Dolphy, Eric (as, fl); Hubbard, Freddie (tp); Barrow, George (bs); Evans, Bill (p); Chambers, Paul (b); Haynes, Roy (dr)

Recorded: 23-02-1961

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc01

John Handy - Live At Monterey

Listen to: If Only We Know

Handy, John (as); White, Mike (viol); Hahn, Jerry (g); Thompson, Don (b); Clarke, Terry (dr)

Recorded: 18-09-1965

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc21

Booker Little - Out Front

Listen to: We Speak

Little, Booker(tp); Dolphy, Eric (as, fl); Priester, Julian (tb); Friedman, Don (p); Davis, Art (b); Roach, Max (dr, tympani, vib)

Recorded: 1961

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc29

Woody Shaw - Blackstone Legacy

Listen to: Blackstone Legacy

Shaw, Woody (tp); Bartz, Gary (as, ss); Maupin, Bennie (ts, bcl, fl); Gables, George (p); Carter, Ron (b); Houston, Clint (b); White, Lenny (dr)

Recorded: 8 & 9 December 1970

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc30

Tom Harrell - Art Of Rhythm

Listen to: Petals Danse

Harrell, Tom (flh); Tardy, Gregory (cl); Lubambo, Romero (acg); Carter, Regina (viol); Lawrence, Ron (viola); Dixon, Akua (violc)

Recorded: 1997

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc31

Tom Harrell - Live At The Vilage Vanguard

Listen to: Asia Minor

Harrell, Tom (tp); Greene, Jimmy (ts); Davis, Xavier (p); Okegwo, Ugonna (b); Davis, Quincy (dr)

Recorded: November 2001

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc12

Andrew Hill - Black Fire

Listen to: Pumpkin

Henderson, Joe (ts); Hill, Andrew (p); Davis, Richard (b); Haynes, Roy (dr)

Recorded: 08-11-1963

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc13

Herbie Hancock - Maiden Voyage

Listen to: Maiden Voyage

Hubbard, Freddie (tp); Coleman, George (ts); Hancock, Herbie (p); Carter, Ron (b); Williams, Tony (dr)

Recorded: 17-05-1965

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc14

Bill Evans - Live At The Village Vanguard

Listen to: Waltz For Debby

Evans, Bill (p); LaFaro, Scott (b); Motion, Paul (dr)

Recorded: 25-06-1961

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc15

Bill Evans - Turn Out Of The Stars

Listen to: Bill's Hit Tune

Evans, Bill (p); Johnson, Marc (b); LaBarbera, Joe (dr)

Recorded: June 1980

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc16

McCoy Tyner - Sahara

Listen to: Sahara

Tyner, McCoy (p); Fortune, Sonny (as, ss, fl); Hill, Calvin (b); Mouzon, Alphonse (dr)

Recorded: January 1972

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc17

McCoy Tyner - Song For My Lady

Listen to: Song For My Lady

Tyner, McCoy (p, perc); Fortune, Sonny (as, ss, fl); Hill, Calvin (b); Mouzon, Alphonse (dr)

Recorded: 27-12-1972

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc18

McCoy Tyner - The Real McCoy

Listen to: Passion Dance

Henderson, Joe (ts); Tyner, McCoy (p); Carter, Ron (b); Jones, Elvin (dr)

Recorded: 25-06-1961

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc19

McCoy Tyner - Time For Tyner

Listen to: African Village

Hutcherson, Bobby (vib); Tyner, McCoy (p); Lewis, Herbie (b); Waits, Freddie (dr)

Recorded: 21-04-1967

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc20

Paul Bley - Paul Plays Carla

Listen to: Vashkar

Bley, Paul (p); Johnson, Marc (b); Williams, Jeff (dr)

Recorded: December 1991

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc28

Bobby Hutcherson - Solo And Quartet

Listen to: Gotcha

Hutcherson, Bobby (vib, marimba)

Recorded: 28-09-1981

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc24

Tony Williams - Life Time

Listen to: Tomorrow Afternoon

Rivers, Sam (ts); Hutcherson, Bobby (vib); Hancock, Herbie (p); Davis, Richard (b); Peacock, Gary (b); Williams, Tony (dr)

Recorded: 21 & 24 August 1964

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopc25

Tony Williams - Spring

Listen to: Extras

Shorter, Wayne (ts); Rivers, Sam (ts); Peacock, Gary (b); Williams, Tony (dr)

Recorded: 12-08-1965

[...Wikipedia]