Monroe, Bill

Monroe heard a different sound in his head, and he was determined to have it realised. His new band, the Bluegrass Boys , incorporated the lively polyphonic jazz he had heard in Chicago into the traditional string band sound of the Monroe Brothers. Inflections of the blues made their way into both the instrumental arrangements and the vocals, and instead of playing the standard stringed instrument keys, Monroe adjusted the pitch of the songs to suit his high tenor voice. Most importantly,...