Hard Bop
Origin of Hard Bop
As the 1950s emerged, a genre titled rhythm & blues was quickly gaining popular as well as the birth of rock and roll. Not only several jazz musicians were influenced by this, but bebop was still unpopular and seen as undanceable due to its fast and complex melodies. Hard bop used simpler melodies, a medium to slow tempo, and a bluesy groove. The pioneer of hard bop came from a jazz quintet titled The Jazz Messengers led by Art Blakely. Due to trombonists often playing multiple genres, this website only features one trombone player. Nevertheless, he is still one of the great trombone masters.
Influential Trombonists
Curtis Fuller
Born in Detroit, Michigan in 1934, Curtis Fuller was a phenomenal trombone player, especially in the hard bop scene. Fuller spent a significant amount of his childhood in an orphanage. He first got into jazz when a nun at the orphanage took him to Illinois Jacquet's band featuring JJ Johnson. His playing in the U.S. Army Band shaped his skills and matured him into professional status. He worked with several jazz artists including John Coltrane on the famous album Blue Train. In the recent years before his death on May 8th, 2021, Fuller also worked in jazz clinics for several schools including Harvard University, Stanford University, Duke University, and the New England Conservatory of Music. From the Berklee College of Music, he has received an honorary doctorate.
Curtis Fuller
In this recording, the influence of JJ Johnson's simple riffs can be
heard here. However, Fuller implements his own style into his
trombone playing. He even makes a small reference to Frosty the
Snowman at around 2 minutes and 48 seconds of the video.