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By the early 1980’s, the jazz of yester-year had been all but swallowed up in the drastic musical direction which the
70’s free jazz and jazz fusion brought. Young and upcoming jazz players longed for the rhythmic and harmonic
sophistication of the bebop and hard bop eras. Spearheaded by players such as Wynton Marsalis, Jeff Watts,
Kenny Kirkland, and others, neobop formed in the early 80’s into a viable outlet for a new generation of jazz
players influenced by both bop forms and by the current challenges of today’s society. Being a newly developing
style, neobop is continually evolving while finding its place in jazz history. New players (such as Roy Hargrove,
Joshua Redman, and Benny Green) influnced not only by classic bop artists but also influenced by the originators of
the neobop style continue to bring new unique individual sounds helping to develop the style to newer levels
accomplishment.
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