That's when Gillespie and Charlie Parker decided they wanted to take the next step in jazz, performing it on the extensions of a chord. The public and many musicians didn't accept the new style. But things are different now. Bebop is considered one of the most exciting styles of jazz for the musicians to play and for audiences to enjoy. The two Chico State groups have been rehearsing since the beginning of the semester, because Winslow said it gets harder when there are many people performing on the same melodic line with difficult rhythmic figures.
Some people say it's Chinese music.
Talent is necessary, Winslow said, but people need dedication and many hours of practicing bebop. Bop performers wore Zoot Suits, dark blue shirts and were many times addicted to heroin. Gillespie's religion, the Baha'i, kept him from using drugs and connected him with Chicovana Director Roger Hogan, who performed with Gillespie in the Hollywood Bowl Jazz Festival. In 1985 Hogan played with Gillespie again. It was in a Baha'i school in Hemingway, S.C., that has a yearly celebration called Peace Feast.