In the mid-to-late 1940s, as the sound of swing gave way to the rise of bebop, popular bandleaders found themselves trying to incorporate the new music's more complex rhythms and harmonies into their dance-orchestra styles. Bebop was just one of several challenges the big bands faced after the end of World War II, but it inspired a number of vital, modernistic, and exciting records. We'll hear music from Claude Thornhill, Boyd Raeburn, Artie Shaw, Dizzy Gillespie, Billy Eckstine, Woody Herman, and Benny Goodman.
Watch Dizzy Gillespie's big band in 1946 performing "Things to Come":