By Eric Starr
 By 1946, the swing era was declining rapidly, and by the mid 1950s, America's youth had swapped swing for rock 'n' roll altogether. After World War 2, however, jazz continued to thrive, but it was about to undergo major changes. In the late '40s, a new style of jazz called bebop gave birth to many of jazz's most celebrated drummers, namely Max Roach, Kenny Clarke, and Roy Haynes. The fathers of modern jazz drumming, these players ushered in a whole new approach to playing the drum set. For example, they were among the first to develop intricate left-hand and bass drum comping techniques.
As sub styles of jazz emerged, players such as Elvin Jones, Art Blakey, Philly Joe Jones, Paul Motian, and many others added their own distinctive stamp to the music, and thus contributed to jazz's rapid percussive advances.
Contemporary jazz, beginning with bebop, brought about radical changes in the ways drummers interacted with a band. Bop drummers were the first to reject the idea that the drums should be used for timekeeping purposes only or for flashy, crowd-rousing cadenza solos. Also, bebop artists |
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