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New York; November 1945. World War 2 is over and life in the USA appears to be returning to normal. But 'normality' doesn't reign everywhere. A musical revolution is beginning that will eventually sow the seeds for a larger literary movement which will permeate every strata of American society and discard all orthodox notions about life and art: it will ultimately change thinking, behaviour and social mores across the world. The big bands are gone and jazz is no longer music to dance to, it has become an intellectual pursuit, considered by its adherents a serious art form. On 52nd St however, startling new sounds are emanating from a nightclub where alto saxophonist Charlie Parker and his High Priest the trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie are leading a small jazz combo. Fearless improvisation is the essence of this new music, characterised by astonishing feats of individual brilliance played against complex harmonies and a syncopated backbeat. The new style is named bebop. To the uninitiated, even its very moniker sounds alien, but for some it has opened a door to a new consciousness and a brave new world, the sound of freedom and the future. In the audience is a young college dropout who harbours aspirations of being a writer. He's totally immersed in the spectacle of Parker and Gillespie's daring exploits. During the next few years he will develop a style of writing that will attempt to replicate the unfettered expression and spontaneous, improvisatory nature of bebop. His name is Jean Louis Kerouac, and twelve years later he will publish 'On the Road,' a novel that will encapsulate the ethos of what became known as the Beat Movement. The history of bebop and the Beat Movement are inextricably intertwined and this collection of poetry, prose and music features readings by Kerouac together with key tracks from jazz musicians from the 40s, 50s and early 60s, which reflect the powerful influence of the Beat Movement and its fascinating cross-pollination with the jazz idiom.

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