Recommended Jazz Methods

Ted Greene's Chord Chemistry was originally published in 1971 and has become the classic chord reference book for two generations of guitarists. Whether you are just beginning to search beyond basic barre chords or are already an advanced player looking for new sounds and ideas this is the book that will get you there. Designed to inspire creativity this book is a musical treasure chest filled with exciting new ideas and sounds.

Fifth Edition, Paperback. Exploring chords, scales, voicings, progressions, style, function, and improvisation, this is a comprehensive approach for serious students of jazz piano. In this clearly written instructional text, Charles Austin draws on nearly fifty years of experience as a professional jazz pianist and thirty as a college instructor guiding hundreds of students in the fundamentals of jazz piano. Of special interest is the in-depth treatment of source scales and harmonic function, invaluable to both students and professionals. Interspersed throughout with exercises and practice suggestions, the book is a complete guide to learning jazz piano and harmony for intermediate to advanced students. It is also a comprehensive resource for professionals, with thorough presentations of chords, source scales, slash chords, harmonic function, polychords, and more.

The Jazz Standards, a comprehensive guide to the most important jazz compositions, is a unique resource, a browser's companion, and an invaluable introduction to the art form. This essential book for music lovers tells the story of more than 250 key jazz songs, and includes a listening guide to more than 2,000 recordings. Many books recommend jazz CDs or discuss musicians and styles, but this is the first to tell the story of the songs themselves. The fan who wants to know more about a jazz song heard at the club or on the radio will find this book indispensable. Musicians who play these songs night after night now have a handy guide, outlining their history and significance and telling how they have been performed by different generations of jazz artists. Students learning about jazz standards now have a complete reference work for all of these cornerstones of the repertoire.

(Keyboard Instruction). Legendary jazz pianist Oscar Peterson has long been devoted to the education of piano students. In this book he offers dozens of pieces designed to empower the student, whether novice or classically trained, with the technique needed to become an accomplished jazz pianist. The exercises start out simply and progresse to more difficult exercises. I would recommend this book to any person trying to become acquainted with the marvelous way that Oscar Peterson played Jazz. Intermediate to entering Advance piano levels will enjoy this book and learn a bit of Oscar's inside music improv.

In this book/online audio access pack, bass legend Ron Carter illustrates step by step the basic concepts of creating bass lines; constructing lines using non-harmonic tones and diverse rhythms; playing in fast tempos; and developing tone and pitch. Includes online audio access using the unique code printed in the book with an all-star rhythm section and isolated bass parts, so players can listen to Ron play the sample written lines, practice them with the audio tracks, then create their own lines with the guitar, piano and drums backing them up.

(Jazz Transcriptions). The Omnibook has become the book to turn to when you want to master the Bird. Includes 60 solos such as Anthropology * Au Privave (Nos. 1 and 2) * Billie's Bounce * Blues for Alice * Chi Chi * Confirmation * Constellation * Dewey Square * Donna Lee * Ko Ko * Moose the Mooch * Ornithology * Scrapple from the Apple * Shawnuff * Yardbird Suite * and more. Transcribed by Jamey Aebersold and Ken Slone. Spiral-bound, with chord symbols, metronome markings, record information, and practice suggestions. "One of jazz education's holy scriptures." JazzTimes Also available: Play-along tracks! See HL00240535 below for more info.

Endorsed by Kenny Barron, Jamey Aebersold, Richie Beirach, and more, this book presents all the information a student of jazz piano needs in an easy-to-understand, yet thorough, manner. For intermediate to advanced pianists, written by one of the acknowledged masters of jazz piano playing. I tandem with Levine's "Jazz Theory" book, this massive tome is a perfect Bible for beginner-to-intermediate jazz pianists. It gets you from theory to polychords, builds off of voicings and stylings by artists like Mulgrew Miller, Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner, Bill Evans, Wynton Kelly, Keith Jarrett and more, and approaches everything in bite-sized chunks that you can practice and build off of.

(Bass Instruction). Legendary jazz bassist Ray Brown reveals his lessons and teaching philosophy in this in-depth book. Includes: solo exercises and arpeggios; music fundamentals; right- and left-hand positions; scales; chords; exercises in tenths; rhythm patterns with "drops"; diminished chords; runs and variations; blues patterns; extension scales; and much more.

The Jazz Singer's Handbook provides an inspiring and practical window of insight into the world of professional jazz singing. Drawing upon an impressive career as an arranger, teacher, singer, pianist, and clinician, Michele Weir (faculty, UCLA) has distilled her experiences and observations into two handbook sections: the artistry and the mastery of singing jazz. Also included is a jazz chord library, a professional resource guide, a review of music fundamentals, and an index of terms and symbols.

Beyond Chord Melody Jazz Guitar. Do you struggle to create beautiful chord melody guitar arrangements? Do you want to find your own unique jazz guitar voice? Do you want to improvise spontaneous chord melody guitar solos? Beyond Chord Melody with Martin Taylor MBE condenses over 40 years of playing expertise and insight into this beautiful jazz guitar book. Learn from the internationally acclaimed master of jazz chord melody guitar as he guides you through his 7-step method to creating your own guitar arrangements. As a special bonus, 2 specially commissioned online videos are included, with Martin Taylor illustrating key techniques.

Endorsed by Jamey Aebersold, James Moody, Dave Liebman, and others, The Jazz Theory Book presents all the information any student of jazz needs in an easy-to-understand, yet thorough, manner. For intermediate to advanced players, and written by one of the acknowledged masters of jazz, it is used by universities around the world. Very comprehensive material and present extremely well and progressively. I have bought a number of different books on this topic and this is one of the best.

Anyone with a basic knowledge of guitar chords and scale fingerings can pick up this well-paced, comprehensive method and get started playing jazz right away. Beginning concepts include major scales, basic triad theory, extended chords, and modes. Intermediate topics include the ii-V-I progression, creating solo lines, altered chord formulas, and comping in different jazz feels such as Latin, swing, ballad, and funk. You will master the art of playing harmony, melody, rhythm, and bass parts of a song simultaneously, making your guitar the ultimate jazz solo instrument. This book concludes with advanced techniques for improvisation. Whether you are serious about starting to learn jazz guitar or an advanced player looking to improve your playing, this is the only book you will ever need. Access to online audio demonstrating the examples and for playing along is included.

Charles Mingus was a pioneer figure in modern jazz. Besides being a virtuoso bass player who played with the top jazz musicians for four decades, he was also an accomplished pianist, bandleader and composer who recorded more than 100 albums and wrote more than 300 original and innovative scores. This incredible collection explores Mingus' background and prestigious career as well as 55 of his pieces. The stories behind each song are given and accompanied by notes on how Mingus played the piece. Mingus photos, anecdotes, quotes and an extensive discography fill this volume that collectors will treasure. A truly personal work that celebrates the genius within this jazz legend. Songs include: Fables of Faubus * Sue's Changes * Better Get Hit in Your Soul * Weird Nightmare * and more.

The Real Books are the best-selling jazz books of all time. Since the 1970s, musicians have trusted these volumes to get them through every gig, night after night. The problem is that the books were illegally produced and distributed, without any regard to copyright law, or royalties paid to the composers who created these musical masterpieces. Hal Leonard is very proud to present the first legitimate and legal editions of these books ever produced. You won't even notice the difference, other than that all of the notorious errors have been fixed: the covers and typeface look the same, the song list is nearly identical, and the price for our edition is even cheaper than the original! Every conscientious musician will appreciate that these books are now produced accurately and ethically, benefitting the songwriters that we owe for some of the greatest tunes of all time! Includes 400 songs: All Blues * Au Privave * Autumn Leaves * Black Orpheus * Bluesette * Body and Soul * Bright Size Life * Con Alma * Dolphin Dance * Don't Get Around Much Anymore * Easy Living * Epistrophy * Falling in Love with Love * Footprints * Four on Six * Giant Steps * Have You Met Miss Jones? * How High the Moon * I'll Remember April * Impressions * Lullaby of Birdland * Misty * My Funny Valentine * Oleo * Red Clay * Satin Doll * Sidewinder * Stella by Starlight * Take Five * There Is No Greater Love * Wave * and hundreds more! Editions also available in B-flat, E-flat, and Bass Clef. Looking for a particular song? Check out the Real Book Songfinder here.

A reference book of scales and melodic patterns, presented in the form of piano scales and melodic studies; arranged according to the principal interval of each particular section. This book is terrific on several levels. One, it contains many useful patterns that one may incorporate into solos, especially if you're a jazz musician. There is also a section on scales, which is helpful. The patterns force you to figure out fingerings that you probably haven't used before. All in all, the material in this book helped me to think differently about construction of solos, etc.

Vocal Improvisation is designed for individual jazz singers, classroom students, and teachers of vocal jazz. The exercises are appropriate for all levels of experience and can also be useful to instrumentalists for developing jazz articulation and learning to better connect what they hear to what they play. The chapters on jazz theory and keyboard, as well as the glossary and selected solos for transcribing section make this publication an excellent resource of information for any jazz musician.

(Fake Book). A unique, comprehensive collection of jazz material in a wide range of styles, with no song duplication from The Ultimate Jazz Fake Book. Includes: Over 500 songs in all jazz styles, including standards, bebop, Latin, fusion, etc. A great deal of original material associated with major artists. Hard-to-find modern jazz repertoire. Songs which have never before appeared in print. Lyrics for all selections. Easy-to-read music typography. A songwriter index for reference Selections represent a diverse list of major jazz artists, including Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Bix Beiderbecke, Dave Brubeck, Billy Childs, Nat King Cole, John Coltrane, Chick Corea, Miles Davis, AL DiMeola, Billy Eckstine, Duke Ellington, Peter Erskine, Kevin Eubanks, Bill Evans...

This is a well put together compendium of Monk tunes, carefully transcribed and explained. As a tenorman I originally bought the Bb book but the C book has some harmony parts which are worth studying. If you want to get some Monk tunes under your belt, this is a great resource, much more reliable than RealBook transcriptions. The music of Thelonious Monk is among the most requested of any jazz composer, but accurate lead sheets and sources have never been widely available until now. This folio has 70 of the master composer/pianist's most familiar pieces, as well as a number of obscure and unrecorded tunes, in easy-to-read versions. Includes counterlines and ensemble parts for many pieces, as well as bass-lines and piano voicings where applicable. Also includes a biography, a glossary, and a definitive discography of the compositions in the book.