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The Music Of Jazz Music Essay

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Ever since Jelly Roll Morton revolutionised jazz music in the early 1920’s, Piano has played a vital role in the development of Jazz music with greats such as Duke Ellington influencing jazz from the start of the swing era (Gioia, 2011). Jazz Pianists were often on the forefront of the ongoing development of jazz music. However, when the bebop era dawned, piano seemed to move into the background, with people like John Coltrane and Miles Davis leading the charge. However, this did not mean the piano disappeared, far from it; Jazz music is a genre that is in constant flux, driven by the players in the music. Often, the most famous jazz musicians were the most innovative and forward thinking players of their respective eras. Musicians hold jazz pedigree and genealogy in high regard, where playing with and learning from the masters that came before was almost a necessity. Some musicians learn from meticulously studying and transcribing solos and compositions performed by previous masters. Pianos ability to play melody and harmony together made it one of the most complex and diverse instruments in the world, especially in jazz music, being able to perform solo with rich musical timbres and complexity. Players such as Bill Evans and Thelonious Monk, whom are discussed in this paper, helped revolutionise jazz and bebop music in their own way, and are some of the best jazz pianists of all time, driving the genre of jazz forever forward (Solomon, 2013).

Thelonious Monk was known to

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