Considered the joint founder of bebop, along with Dizzy Gillespie, alto saxophonist Charlie Parker brought a new level of harmonic, melodic, and rhythmic sophistication to jazz. His music was controversial at first, as it drew away from the popular sensibilities of swing. Despite a self-destructive lifestyle, which ended when he was 34, Parker’s bebop is regarded as one of the most important steps in jazz history, just as important today as it was decades ago.

Trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie was Charlie Parker’s friend and collaborator, and after playing together in the swing jazz ensembles led by Earl Hines and Billy Eckstine. Gillespie pushed the limits of the jazz trumpet, demonstrating prolific technique that often screamed into the instrument’s highest registers. After the early days of bebop, he went on to become a living jazz icon, helping to introduce Latin music to the jazz repertoire, and also leading a big band on diplomatic tours around the world.

Drummer Max Roach played with some of the greatest musicians of his time, including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Miles Davis. He is credited, along with Kenny Clarke, for having developed the bebop style of drumming. By keeping time on the cymbals, he reserved the other parts of the drum set for accents and colors. This innovation gave the drummer more flexibility and independence, allowing him to become more of a presence in the collaborative bebop ensemble. It also made the lightning-fast bebop tempos possible.

Drummer Kenny Clarke played a pivotal role in the transition from swing to bebop. Early in his career, he played with swing bands, including one led by trumpeter Roy Eldridge. However, as the house drummer at the famous Minton’s Playhouse in Harlem, he began to shift the means of keeping time from the snare drum and hi-hat to the ride cymbal. This allowed independence of each of the parts of the drum set, adding to the explosive sounds of bebop.

As a young man, pianist Bud Powell fell under the tutelage of