Music |
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Music and Aesthetic ChoicesThe voids and spacing of shapes changed in Bearden's works—for good—after 1955. Compare the round undulating forms of Now the Dove (1946), which was inspired by Lorca's poem "Lament for a Bullfighter," to the more upright and energetic rhythms of City Lights (1970).Listen to: Earl Hines with Louis Armstrong, "A Weather Bird" 
Romare
Bearden, Now the Dove and the Leopard Wrestle, 1946, Clements Library,
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor |
Hines' piano style broke away from the
stride progression of early jazz with strong octaves (or tenths)
that
emphasized the pulse. Pauses between notes are as expressive as the
notes themselves. Hines played with trumpet-great Louis Armstrong,
and his piano is sometimes called 'trumpet style.' Compare this recording by Hines and Armstrong with James P. Johnson's "Carolina Shout." 
Romare Bearden, City
Lights, c.1970, Beverly Zimmerman Private Collection
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