An extension of bebop, hard bop expands upon bebop’s fundamentals by incorporating elements of such African-American styles as blues, gospel, and rhythm and blues while employing simpler, more direct melodies and driving rhythms that restored some of the danceable elements that bebop had eschewed. Viewed by many observers as a response against the European influences of west coast cool jazz, hard bop first emerged in the early ’50s, via such landmarks as Miles Davis’ performance of “Walkin” at the 1954 Newport Jazz Festival. The following year, Davis formed his quintet with saxophonist John Coltrane; that group would soon emerge as the first great hard bop outfit.
Other leading hard bop figures included trumpeters Clifford Brown, Donald Byrd, Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan; saxophonists Cannonball Adderley, Dexter Gordon, Jackie McLean, Sonny Rollins and Sonny Stitt; pianists Horace Silver and Thelonious Monk; drummers Art Blakey and Max Roach; and bassist Charles Mingus.
A related spin-off of hard bop is soul-jazz, which also features strong grooves and melodic hooks, and was often manifested in the forms of funk organ-led trios, like those of Jimmy McGriff and Jimmy Smith.
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