Wow guys, thanks for all the useful help!! And I will venture in as a beginner again. As for the history of jazz, of which I am a long time serious student, yes so-called "modern jazz" begins with with bebop, and the very specific idiomatic transformation it brought to the improvised line. And this is the reason when one studies at, say Berklee, you study the likes of Bird etc, as this provides an initial idiomatic foundation for ALL that the follows. Simple google the phrase "modern jazz"'to explore these ideas further.

bird lives!
Thanks all!
Joe


Joseph P Cannavo
Not everything can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.