TRANSCRIPT:
I’m Mark Rapp, and this is Rapp on Jazz.
Few places in American music history carry the weight and legacy of Minton’s Playhouse. Tucked inside Harlem’s Hotel Cecil, Minton’s became the beating heart of innovation in the 1940s, a sanctuary where musicians pushed boundaries and reshaped the future of jazz.
It was here that house drummer Kenny Clarke, pianist Thelonious Monk, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, and saxophonist Charlie Parker gathered after hours, trading ideas and crafting a bold new sound.
Their experiments gave rise to bebop, a style defined by complex harmonies, daring improvisation, and an unmistakable edge that changed the direction of modern jazz.
Minton’s was a creative laboratory where risk was encouraged, and mastery was born.
This has been Rapp on Jazz—a co-production of ColaJazz and SC Public Radio, made possible by The ETV Endowment of South Carolina.