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)

hardbopb03

Hank Mobley - No Room For Squares

Listen to: No Room For Squares

Byrd, Donald (tp); Mobley, Hank (ts); Hancock, Herbie (p); Warren, Butch (b); Jones, Philly Joe (dr)

Recorded: 02-10-1963

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopb02

Hank Mobley - Soul Station

Listen to: Soul Station

Mobley, Hank (ts); Kelly, Wynton (p); Chambers, Paul (b); Blakey, Art (dr)

Recorded: 07-02-1960

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopb04

Wayne Shorter - Adams Apple

Listen to: Adams Apple

Shorter, Wayne (ts); Hancock, Herbie (p); Workman, Reginald (b); Chambers, Joe (dr)

Recorded: 03-02-1966

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopb33

Tina Brooks - Back To The Tracks

Listen to: Back To The Tracks

Mitchell, Blue (tp); McLean, Jackie (as); Brooks, Tina (ts); Drew, Kenny (p); Chambers, Paul (b); Taylor, Art (dr)

Recorded: 1960

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopb05

Jimmy Forrest - Out Of The Forrest

Listen to: Bolo Blues

Forrest, Jimmy (ts); Zawinul, Joe (p); Potter, Tommy (b); Johnston, Clarence (dr)

Recorded: 18-04-1961

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopb25

Jackie McLean - New And Old Gospel

Listen to: Lifeline

McLean, Jackie (as); Coleman, Ornette (tp); Johnson, Lamont (p); Holt, Scott (b); Higgins, Billy (dr)

Recorded: 24-03-1967

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopb01

Jackie McLean - Jackies Bag

Listen to: Quadrangle

Byrd, Donald (tp); McLean, Jackie (as); Clark, Sonny (p); Chambers, Paul (b); Jones, Philly Joe (dr)

Recorded: 18-01-1959

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopb23

Jackie McLean - Let Freedom Ring

Listen to: Melody For Melonae

McLean, Jackie (as); Davis, Walter (p); Lewis, Herbie (b); Higgins, Billy (dr)

Recorded: 19-03-1962

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopb24

Jackie McLean - One Step Beyond

Listen to: Saturday And Sunday

Moncur, Grachan (tb); McLean, Jackie (as); Hutcherson, Bobby (vib); Khan, Eddie (b); Williams, Tony (dr)

Recorded: 01-03-1963

[...Wikipedia]

hardbopb09

Eric Kloss - In The Land Of The Giants

Listen to: Summertime

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

Recorded: 02-01-1969

[...Wikipedia]