Hard bop is a subgengre of jazz, that emerged in the middle of the fifties. It continues bebop by referring deeper to Afro-American elements. Here, the complex melody sequences of cool jazz were simplified without compromising on intensity. Famous representatives were Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Dexter Gordon, Sonny Rollins or Cannonball Adderley. An even more stringent version of hard bop is the soul jazz, which has been popular in the sixties.