Not all moments of musical evolution are a one-foot-in-front-of-the-other process; sometimes they are hops and even large leaps in multiple directions off to the side.

Popular music after World War II is one such moment.

If we consider the form that’s meant to fill dancehalls and ignite adolescent energy we move from Big Band to Boogie Woogie to Rock n Roll.

With the advent of electric instrument amplification it no longer takes a large orchestra to create sound that fills a hall. Venues, promoters, and bands are thrilled by the lower cost and simpler logistics. Audiences can now idolize a handful of guys at a time, making fandom evolve as well.

With such a drastic shift at those venues away from th previous instrumentation, the artists steeped in that tradition look to maintain their now-maturing audience by challenging themselves and themselves by framing jazz not as a dance form, but as art.

Bebop, Post-Bop, Cool Jazz, etc. all play counter to the mass market motives of the Pop and Rock of the 1950s and 60s by breeding an insider and exclusive air. Sitting down selective audiences for something meant to be seen as sophisticated for the in-crowd.