What if Bebop never happened? And ‘swing’ evolved into something very different from the swing of the 30’s, 40’s, and even 50’s?

That’s the question I asked of jazz musicians and aficionados who frequent the JazzWorld site on facebook. And I received some great responses!

My favourite was a questioning of the question: “bit like if ancient ape-like creatures did not evolve into humans what might they have become that was more ape-like”

But I received some great ideas for this week’s and next week’s episodes.

I play recordings that demonstrate how big band music evolved from Benny Goodman to Duke Ellington—and all the way to Don Ellis. And throw in some 3rd Stream Music a la Sketches of Spain, Cuban music thanks to Roberto Fonseca, and some Gypsy jazz of Django Reinhardt.

I also explore some of the evolution from Louis Jordan to hip-hop and pop-rock via Post Modern Jukebox and Victoria’s “Downtown Mischief”,

And we can’t forget The WDR Big Band (and their evolution), Woody Herman, and Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band.