Essential Tools for Post-Bop Cutting Edge Jazz Improvisation

Post-Bop, evolving from Hard Bop in the early to mid-60s, keeps jazz's swing rhythm and extended harmonies. Pioneered by Bill Evans, Wayne Shorter, and Herbie Hancock, it introduced abstract structures and looser rhythms. When Hancock and Shorter joined Miles Davis’s quintet, they pushed Post-Bop's limits, evident in albums like “Nefertiti.” Though its prominence faded since the early 70s, musicians like Kenny Garret keep it alive. Understanding Post-Bop transcends theory; it's about storytelling and connecting with audiences on a deeper level.

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About the Author: Olegario Diaz
Composer/pianist, Olegario Diaz
was born in Caracas, Venezuela. He studied music at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Composition in 1978. Later, in 1986 he earned a Master’s Degree in Jazz Studies from the Manhattan School of Music in New York. Olegario Diaz has performed as a pianist in the East and West Coast with artists such as Tito Puente, Willie Bobbo, Celia Cruz, Mario Bauza Big Band, Paquito de Rivera, Louie Ramirez, Victor Paz and Daniel Ponce.

For his SteepleChase debut album, he recorded with renowned musicians in the New York jazz scene: Rich Perry (tenor sax), Ron McClure (bass) and Billy Hart (drums). For his second, third, fourth and fifth SteepleChase albums, he reunited with artists like Randy Brecker, Lewis Nash, Ron McClure, Rich Perry, Alex Sipiagin, Seamus Blake, Scott Colley, Jeff Tain Watts, James Genus, Nate Smith, Bob Franceshini and Bill Stewart.

Diaz lived in LA from 2018 to 2019, where he had the chance to perform with his jazz quartet with great personalities such as Justo Armario, Ralph Moore, Doug Web, Bob Shepard, Dave Robaire and Antony Funk. He also participated at the Morelia Jazztival 2019 in Mexico with his quartet.
Piano and Ensemble Faculty at the New Jersey City University since 2019.
Post-Bop is a modern jazz style that continues the distinguishing characteristics that separate jazz from the world of pop and rock; swing rhythm and extended harmonies (9th chords 11ths, altered chords, etc). Post-Bop grew out of the Hard Bop genre during the early to mid 60s as musicians such as Bill Evans, Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock began to introduce more extended harmonies, abstract structures and looser rhythms in their playing and compositions.

When Hancock and Shorter joined Miles Davis’s quintet in the mid-60s, that group became the perfect vehicle for extending the boundaries of what could happen in a Post-Bop format. The Miles Davis Quintet albums, “Nefertiti” and “Sorcer”, continue to be pinnacles of Post-Bop composition and performance. Some styles of free modal jazz, such as Coltrane’s “A Love Supreme”, are also part of the Post-Bop sound.

Although there are still some musicians, such as Kenny Garret, who play in that style, mostly that sound has been fading since the early 70s. Of course, theory doesn’t come close to explaining music. If music is a language, theory is just grammar. More important than grammar is knowing the vocabulary that comes from listening, with awareness, to great players, and playing as much as possible. Beyond grammar and vocabulary is the ability to communicate with listeners to “tell a story,” and to reach an audience on an emotional, or even spiritual, level.

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Available in the following formats: .epub, .pdf

Price: $21.95 USD

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