TRANSCRIPT:
Hi, I’m Mark Rapp, and this is Rapp on Jazz.
Bebop may have been born in the clubs of New York, but South Carolina musicians were right there in the mix—bringing that fast, fiery, intellectual style home.
Take Chris Potter, a Columbia native and one of the world’s top saxophonists. His early work shows deep bebop roots—lightning-fast lines, daring harmony, and fearless improvisation. Or Skipp Pearson,one of South Carolina’s Jazz Ambassadors, whose performances and teachings carried bebop’s language to generations of local players.
Columbia’s Brookland Baptist Church and Charleston’s Jenkins Orphanage helped cultivate talent with strong musical foundations, giving young artists the chops to explore bebop and beyond.
Today, South Carolina universities and jazz festivals continue to celebrate bebop, honoring its legacy while training the next wave of innovators.
This has been Rapp on Jazz, a co-production of ColaJazz and South Carolina Public Radio, made possible by the ETV Endowment of South Carolina.