Jazz standard and Billy Strayhorn's "Take the 'A' Train" (1941). With the big bands struggling to keep going during World War II, a shift was happening in jazz in favor of smaller groups. Some swing era musicians, such as Louis Jordan, later found popularity in a new kind of music, called "rhythm and blues", that would evolve into rock and roll in the 1950s. Bebop emerged in the early 1940s, with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Thelonious Monk leading the way. It appealed to a more specialized audiences than earlier forms of jazz, with sophisticated harmonies, fast tempos and often virtuoso musicianship.
Flea (musician) interest in music to jazz performers like Jaco Pastorius, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, and Dizzy Gillespie. After Kiedis introduced him to punk and rock, Flea became infatuated with artists such as Black Flag, David Bowie, and Defunkt. Flea's early influences before "Blood Sugar Sex Magik" were mainly funk artists. They would become a notable aspect of the Red Hot Chili Peppers' sound up to "Mother's Milk". Originally, Flea was given the impression by punk bands, that one should play as hard and fast as they possibly could, but ultimately rejected this philosophy during "Blood