noun
bebop
BEE-bop
noun
1
A fast, complex style of jazz that emerged in the 1940s, known for improvisation and intricate harmonies.
"Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie were pioneers of bebop."
How to Use Bebop
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA fast, improvisational style of jazz from the 1940s, more complex than earlier swing music.
Common pairings
a bebop musician
play bebop
bebop era
Word Forms
bebopped past tense, bebops singular
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Etymology
Thought to imitate the two-note vocal riff musicians used when scatting or humming the style's rhythms — "be-bop" — which became the genre's name in the 1940s jazz scene.