2 comments about A Power Stronger Than Itself: The AACM and American Experimental Music.

1. George E. Lewis has written a superlative history of avant-garde jazz and The Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians. I am truly amazed with his research, depth of understanding and what he is teaching me. I get the value of being one of his students just by reading and learning from his authoritative text. George E. Lewis is the subject matter authority on jazz.
   
   I have long wanted to study jazz with a historical timeline view. George E. Lewis helps me achieves this goal admirably.
   
   George thank you for the book my jazz soul has been yearning to know for decades.
   
   Live Your Light,
   Ed Jennings
   
   [...]



2. George E Lewis has written a very readable account of this organisation and its history. Its a long story 40+ years, many contributions, Includes biographies of key figures, and social history. a few more musical examples or analysis of actual works could have made it even better. Overall recommended to anyone into AACM or any fan of progressive jazz.

5 comments about Advanced Techniques For The Modern Drummer: Coordinating Independence As Applied To Jazz And Be-bop With Cd (audio).

1. DEFINITELY, A 5 STAR CLASSIC...DRUMMERS NEED TO HAVE THIS........IT S ESPECIALLY A GREAT EXERCISE TRY TO PLAY THE EXERCISES IN THE HIHAT, PAYING ATTENTION TO THE CORRECT ARTICULATION.AND ITS GREAT THAT NOW IT CAMES WITH 2 CDS, SO NOW WE CAN HEAR HOW THE EXERCISES SOUND , ACCORDING TO THIS TRUE DRUMMING LEGEND:MR. JIM CHAPIN!!!!



2. This book is full of challenges and inspiration!



3. This book is designed with the jazz drummer in mind, but the exercises will help all players develop independence. The cymbal / hi-hat pattern is pretty consistent through the entire book book - the dotted 16th pattern that is common in be-bop. This means that the right hand is doing the same thing in pretty much every exercise, assuming you are right handed. Despite this, the exercises can be quite challenging, especially as the book progresses. To keep things interesting, alternate the sticking so that your non-dominant hand plays the cymbal pattern. The CDs are great and are helpful in understanding the trickier patterns. It's easy to see why this book is a standard among jazz drummers, but any drummer will benefit from mastering the patterns in this book.



4. That quote stuck with me from a Peter Erskine video in which he pays homage to (though doesn't directly mention) the genius of Jim Chapin. I spent part of my workday cutting and pasting from this book to get the exercises to fit on one page because I wanted to remove distractions such as turning the book page mid-exercise! This requires we focus.
   
   What is especially nice is that this book relates the ideas in a musical context. Not just doing a complicated rudiment that you probably won't use: this stuff you can use right away.
   
   I agree that this is a must have for drummers regardless of style. Especially rock drummers, like myself. It has opened up a whole new world of ideas. I found it easiest to start with the dotted eighths and triplet sections (1A and 1C) before trying the eighths and sixteenths sections (1B and 1D). This book is one of the treasures of my library, and it has dramatically improved by playing in only one month. This after playing for 25 years.



5. excellant review of strengthening practices for finger, hand and wrist. Nothing new, older book, but man what a value for an aspiring percussionist!

5 comments about Patterns for Jazz: Treble Clef.

1. Although I have played saxophone for many years, I'm a rather
   late-comer to improvisation. In spite of a couple classes, this book has given me the most insight. By that, I think its pre- sentation of studies as connection of,let's say, various chords
   in ascending or descending creates a challenge to develope familiarity and smoothness one will obviously need in real life improvisation. Have only got to the first 10 pages and all I can say is this book has exposed my weaknesess and shows what I need to work on.



2. If you want to play jazz, and are willing to put the time into it, you need this book. Excellent practice.



3. This book is a classic all jazz students should have. Really helps the cerebral jazzer work on his improvisation. Jerry Coker is the father of all jazz educators, even Aebersold and Baker would agree!



4. The book (Patterns for Jazz, by Jerry Coker and others) is an absolute MUST for everybody who takes playing Jazz and Improvisation seriously.
   Your pricing was excellent and the(international) delivery was 3 weeks faster than expected. Bravo



5. The word "pattern" is sometimes associated with mechanical execution without thought or inspiration. The truth is that before a musical idea can be executed the mechanics must be worked out. The fingers must be ready to move to the right keys or frets to produce the tones the ear is hearing. Practing patterns is a great way to get the fingers and ears in synch.
   
   As far as pattern books go this one is well rounded -- many other pattern books concentrate on specific progressions or idioms (see: David Baker).
   
   I would like to recommend this book however there are some things that anyone who is considering purchasing it should be aware of:
   
   * The book is written for ALL treble clef instruments***. That means there are no suggested fingerings, and DEFINITELY NO TAB!
   
   * In most cases only a short sketch is given to establish a pattern. The student is required to transpose the pattern according to a given chord progression that cycles through all 12 keys.
   
   * It is up to the student to apply patterns to his/her instrument. That means working out each pattern in all fingerings through the full range of the instrument. If you only play each pattern using the easiest fingering through one octave in the most comfortable range, the fruits of your labors will be minimal at best.
   
   *** There is also a bass clef edition.

5 comments about Jazz Styles: History and Analysis Edition) (MyJazzKit Series).

1. Jazz styles: History & analysis. Instructor's resource manualThis book is about "Classical Jazz" and it's history.
   It is a good text and reference, but is somewhat dated
   in an age where hip hop and rap have replaced rock
   in the hearts of the many of the younger generation.
   Music tends to move on and the scholars only realize it a generation down the line and write about it then.
   This was in 1978 a revolutionary type of music text book: has become a standard, but has even with updated become a "classic".
   Mostly this gap has happened because we are living in a computer age of iPods and mp3's. Electronic jazz is here.



2. This book was received WITHOUT the 2 disks which were to be included. The text refers frequently to the tracks on the 2 CDs which the text states WERE packaged with the book & included in the price. Thanks a bunch for nothing! Since this book is to be used in a college class, I'm really out of luck!



3. This book is not supposed yo come with the CD. The CD'S are listed with separate ISBN numbers. I even returned this book to Amazon thinking I never received the CD'S and Amazon sent me a new copy, I guess even they did not know that it does not come with CDs. If you want the CDs then the ISBN number is 0136005616.



4. Amazon advertises this book in their editorial review as having "accompanying cd's". I did not get with my book and they dropped the book price by $5.00 this week. Now I have to track down just the cd's that are suppose to be included as advertised!!!!



5. I have not even began reading this book and I am highly disappointed. I ordered it on Amazon because prices are always better here than the on campus bookstore but it turnes out the textbook doesn't come with the required Jazz kit that the description implies it does!!!!!!!

5 comments about Modern Jazz Voicings: Arranging for Small and Medium Ensembles.

1. This book is absolutely excellent. Like other Berklee Press books, it is easy-to-understand, and it offers exercises after each exercise to ensure that the lessons are etched in your brain through hands-on application. This book demystifies alot concerning voicings and chord scale theory, and I dare say that this and "Reharmonization Techniques" by Randy Felts should be the first books one reads before they read other fine arranging books by Sebesky, Riddle, Mancini and Grove. Many of those books focus more on style, with little if any explaination of jazz/chord theory. Once you get the essentials from this book, you'll gain way more from the other books.
   
   This book starts with a lesson on chord theory, then simple 4 and 5 part voicings, as well as non-chord tone reharmonization. It then proceeds to tell you exactly how to write voicings in fourths, clusters, and upper-structure triads. In addition, it comes with a CD with recorded examples from each chapter of the book, so you can hear the subtle differences between the various voicings and effects.
   
   This book is amazing!
   
   One word of advice (speaking from my own initial misunderstanding): when reading the early chapter detailing "avoid notes", be sure to absorb and understand it as much as possible - it is the foundation upon which the later chapters on specialized voicings are built upon. This is the only part of the book where a decent grasp of jazz chord construction and tensions MAY be needed. In a nutshell, a note is avoided because: a.) It creates an nasty, dissonant interval with an essential chord tone, or b.) It creates an inteval with an essential chord tone that is uncharacteristic of that chord type (ie. a tritone in a Major 7th chord, etc.)



2. The material presented is great, and will prove helpful in my study of arranging.
   
   I did have one problem with the book however. In the introduction it states, "Because this book is intended for an expanded audience beyond students enrolled at Berklee, it includes substantial amounts of new text, many new musical examples, solutions to exercises and an accompanying CD."
   
   Yes, it's all there except the solutions to the exercises and I am finding that frustrating. I contacted the publisher and got this reply:
   
   Our Senior Editor clarified that the author meant the exercises begin with a measure of answers filled in for the student. They will clarify the "solutions to exercises" mention in the next printing of the book. My apologies for any confusion this may have caused you.
   
   Anyways, I found this aspect frustrating and a hinderance to my getting the full benefit of this book.



3. Well, I used old russian sources before, and had a lot of problems with understanding of voicings. I just can say - this book is amazing! Very clear, logical, exercises... if you need to know about how to change basic chords to more complex, this book is your helper.



4. O Autor dá um banho em matéria de pragmatismo. É um excelente material de ensino e um bom livro para pequenas consultas também. Traduz a didática americana da melhor maneira.
   The author makes a goal on pragmatism. It is an excellent material for teaching and a good book for small queries as well. Translates the american-teaching way very best.



5. I picked up this book to help me with my Jazz Studies classes. It is amazingly simple and clear, with just enough illustrations to make things easily understood, and a great dose of exercises for practical application. I found it clearly laid out and logically arranged. It's easy to find topics that I'm looking for just from the index, and there aren't pages of unnecessary information to go through before finding the needed resources.
   
   You will need a clear understanding of music theory, but not necessarily of specific jazz, since vocabulary specific to jazz writing is defined and clarified.
   
   The information is laid out as a reference, with information on each instrument, scale, chord, etc., carefully presented for quick reference.

No comments about Three Wishes: An Intimate Look at Jazz Greats.

5 comments about Miles the Crocodile Plays the Colors of Jazz: Baby Loves Jazz.

1. My husband and I absolutely love this series. It was made with adults in mind. It's not too kidish. We have the Miles the Crocodile, Charlie Bird, Ella Elephant, & Duck Ellington so far. We also have the Baby Loves Jazz CD (go baby go). It's great too. My 1 year old loves them all. We've been listening to them since he was about 8 months old. He listens to them every morning and night before bedtime. He's even started dancing to them. Now that he's a little older. He brings me the books and we read the little stories. I also dubbed these for my nieces who are 3 & 6. They really like them too. You can't go wrong with these books that come with the cd's. They are an excellent teaching tool as well as entertainment



2. This series is wonderful! Our two-year-old absolutely loves the Baby Loves Jazz series. We bought a few to start out, then ended up buying the whole set. Two months after acquiring them, she is still enamored and requests to listen to them and read them every day. Her favorites? Well, these are the words we hear most often: "Mommy, read Duck and Miles?" or "Daddy, listen to Duck and Miles?" Philly Joe is also high on the list. I recommend them all. The books stand out on their own, but the music is what makes this series really shine. For example, on Duck Ellington's CD, he does a great Monk style on one track, then switches to great impression of Coltrane's classic quartet on the next track, with a very nice McCoy Tyner impression. Lots of variety and high quality make this series worthwhile (though I could have done without Louis Lion's potty tune). Don't forget the Go Baby Go CD as well (a stand-alone CD without a book), which is perhaps a notch above the music on the book CDs. The ABC tune is her favorite on that one.



3. I have a 5 month old baby who I've been reading to since she was born.
   She loves all the books in the Baby Loves Jazz series. She loves the colorful illustrations and the rhythmic stories. Miles Crocodile is her favorite. Duck Ellington and Charlie Bird are great too.



4. Sturdy; colorful illustrations. Music matches moods based on colors. A couple of the selections are not age-appropriate for baby, but overall a fun concept.



5. After buying & loving Ella Elephant Scats Like That, we ordered Miles the Crocodile. My daughter loves the book and the CD! It's always playing in my car and isn't as cheesy as most children's music. We'll definitely buy more of the Baby Loves Jazz series.

2 comments about Reading Jazz: A Gathering of Autobiography, Reportage, and Criticism from 1919 to Now.

1. This book collects a vast range of articles, reviews and biographies covering jazz's most influential musicians. It's a wonderful compendium. I discovered great music from many artists I'd never heard of before. Well worth reading!



2. Robert Gottlieb is indeed up to the job of editing this anthology. The information about him provided on the book is incomplete--necessarily incomplete, because Gottlieb has one of the longest and most distinguished editing careers in American letters. He was head of a publishing house and editor-in-chief of "The New Yorker." He is responsible for some of the best writing of the last quarter century.

4 comments about The New Real Book, Volume 1 (Key of C).

1. This book has hundreds of pages filled with all kinds of jazz tunes, written in the clearest font possible. Most tunes have the basic chord changes and general solo's, but some are "as played by ..." and may even have the bass, piano or rythyms section written out, if it's particularly special. A must for people playing jazz from sheet music. If you could ever finish this book, you can get versions two and three both filled only with new, completely different songs!



2. This is one of the best. Easy to read during a gig. Very comprehensive. Plenty of tunes to keep you busy memorizing them for years. One book cannot have every tune, but this a great start. I also recommend volumes 2 and 3.



3. If you're looking to this book as an updated version of the old "Real Book", you will likely be disappointed. While there are a few tunes in common, most of the tunes in the old "Real Book" are not present here, replaced by newer (sometimes more complicated) compositions. The format and calligraphy in the book, while most excellent, is noticeably more formal than that of the old "Real Book", and may take some getting used to.
   
   THAT SAID, if you disregard the implicit connection to the old "Real Book", this book stands on its own quite well. It IS an extremely well-prepared collection of jazz tunes, some of which you would be hard-pressed to find transcribed anywhere else (e.g., "Waterwings"). This doesn't really replace the old "Real Book", but it supplements it nicely.



4. 
   [The following is a review I gave for a slightly different version of this same exact book, the Real Book from Sher. I've decided to copy it here because it's applicable.]
   
   From playing in both my high school's and college's jazz ensembles, it was clear to me that "The Real Book" was the bible of jazz standards. No instructor was without a copy. As a bass player, there have been countless times were I was just tossed a photocopy of a page from the Real Book and the instructions of "Here, do a walk over this chord progression."
   
   A number of things made this book the most demanded of its kind. First of all, it contained hundreds and hundreds of jazz songs in a single volume. Second of all, it mostly followed a one-page-per-song format, showing the most essential parts: the chord and structure changes, the introductions, and the melody. If a song seemed to center around something like a particular repeated bass line, then that line was also shown. And last but certainly not least, the type face and unique "hand written" look made it the by far easiest book to physically read (no eye strain!)
   
   Unfortunately, The Real Book was next to impossible to hunt down. No music stores carried it, or at least admitted to carrying it. It was pretty much an under-the-counter item that you could only get if you knew somebody. I guess these $50 books were always secretly copied and bounded in some local guy's basement, in hopes of skirting all the legal copyright issues.
   
   Finally, Sher Music Co. has taken the original Real Book, got copyright clearance from each and every living composer, and in so doing even got to correct many mistakes based off the the composers' very own lead sheets. They also threw in a number of full-page photographs of jazz greats. The result is the only LEGAL, updated, and widely obtainable version of the original underground book.
   
   One of the reviewers here [NOTE: again, this was for the "other" Sher Real Book I reviewed] seemed to make the gross assumption that this is a piano book. It's not. It's a book for everybody in the band. The fact that there are C, Bb and Eb versions of the book should tell you this. I've always been amused by "Piano/Vocal" sheet music books for bands that never even had a piano or keyboard player. For rock bands, they usually attempt a bad transcription of the guitar on the treble clef, and an even worse transcription of the bass on the bass cleff (written an octave down, of course).
   
   Which brings me to the reason why this book was always called "The REAL Book": it's because it didn't take the shortcuts that "Fake Books" take. "Fake Books" are called such because they allow you to "fake" the song, i.e. dumb-down some chord changes, play it in a presumably easier key, and usually even try to adapt the whole song to the single instrument of piano.
   
   It's so great to see a legit copy of this book in print. If you play jazz, this is the one book always worth investing in.

5 comments about Blues People: Negro Music in White America.

1. I actually purchased the first paperback edition this book a long time ago, and I learned that it had been out of print for quite some time. It was a time when I was a casual listener of blues and jazz, and didn't think about the roots of the music I was listening to. The book was interesting enough, but it didn't have information about more contemporary stuff, as it was printed in 1963.
   
   Recently, I found this book in the upper shelves of my library, having completely forgotten about it in spite of my infatuation with the blues for the better part of the last two decades. It was a most welcome surprise for me, as it contained a compact but comprehensive introduction to the time period from the first Africans came to America to the 1920s when their music was first recorded, and laid the groundwork to how this music evolved in a sociological context. The rural lifestyle, the reflections of the exodus from the south on the music and subsequent refined, urban sound are discussed in this framework.
   
   Although it would not really appeal to the casual reader and listener, "Blues People" is invaluable for the serious blues and jazz fan for setting the music into the general context of social life and external effects that made this music what it is today.



2. This is a really interesting look at the evolution of black culture through the lense of music. Some of the author's opinions about later music (50's-60's) may seem out of touch to today's readers, but overall it is well worth reading.



3. The other day a friend rashly claimed that art and music were equally hard to describe in words. I asked him to tell me about a certain painting of Picasso's. He did, but claimed it wasn't accurate. "OK," I said, "you're right, but now tell me about Mozart's Jupiter Symphony." He opened his mouth, closed it, looked at me, and said, "Yeah, I see what you mean." Writing a book about the blues would be equally hard, it seems to me. So, LeRoi Jones did what he could, back in 1963, to tie the indescribable to the more concrete. He wrote a social history of African-Americans in the USA through the prism of music or---maybe on the principle of red and yellow tile floors (are they red with yellow designs or yellow with red designs ?)---he wrote a book on African-American music through the prism of social history. It is one of the most important books on American music (and American society) that you can find. It has stood the test of time. He begins from the Africans who came to North America as slaves bearing very different cultures, confronted by an absolutely different view of the world emanating from their new masters. Here he tries to show how African music became transformed into African-AMERICAN music and then American. He continues then up through the generations of slavery, to Emancipation, migration to the cities, World War I, the Depression, World War II and the bebop age of the Fifties. The book is pre-Civil Rights movement, pre-Martin Luther King. Jones may have looked down on the NAACP and its allies as "white liberal supported organizations", I'm not sure, but they don't appear. The times are symbolized by the use of "Negro" throughout. I agree, the tome is dated, but don't reject it, don't pooh-pooh the man. This is a very intelligent, very worthwhile book. Anyone, particularly from outside the USA, who wants to know the history of African-American music within its social environment ought still to read BLUES PEOPLE. He writes, "If Negro music can be seen to be the result of certain attitudes, certain specific ways of thinking about the world (and only ultimately about the ways in which music can be made), then the basic hypothesis of this book is understood." [p.153] Jones goes to great lengths to get to the bottom of those attitudes and thoughts.
   
   My main criticism, apart from the fact that history dictates that we must be left a half century behind contemporary realities, is that though Jones obviously knew and loved the blues and jazz and all the various styles ( if not swing), his approach is coldly academic, highly dispassionate. He may criticize people who tried to make money, he may downplay all those who "abandoned" their roots, but my disappointment is that there is nothing of himself in the work barring a few mentions of his family. He does not share his enthusiasm. Music is beauty after all. I am sure he wanted the book to be taken as a serious essay, which it is. But in keeping himself removed from the discussion, being so analytic and professional in the style of the day, he has robbed us "readers of the future" of many insights.
   
   African-American experience in the USA expressed itself most particularly in the blues, only later did that musical mode become part of the general American culture, often watered down, sometimes imitated by those who didn't wish to fit in or who wished to cash in. When conditions have changed, when the black middle class has entered mainstream America, and the urban underclass is wrapped up in hip-hop, gangsta rap culture, which is relentlessly commercialized by the powerful media, talking about the blues may seem a matter for historians or ethnomusicologists. Still, BLUES PEOPLE resonates strongly if we try to understand where we have been. As for where we are going---that old line sums it up---we're goin where the Southern cross the yella dog.



4. This is one of the most important books on America and American history, culture and citizenship. It would benefit the world if it were incorporated into public education. Someone said that nations are judged by their art and this book examines that subject superlatively. This study of the blues examines the evolving cosmology of the Africans and their journey and creation: the blues, one of the singular most powerful beauties of America. He shows how from the blues came all and embraced all other peoples and cultures. Baraka's ability to live the thoughts of the originators enables us to understand the profoundity of their sorrow and sublimity of their joy.



5. The origin of Africans in America and the music they produced over the last three hundred years was very interesting to read. Mr. Jones provides a chronological and historically based history of the evolution of Black music in America.
   
   He also points out that when black music is accepted by the mainstream it becomes a diluted and pitiful shell of its former greater self. I agree. If anyone notices whenever a beloved artist goes mainstream, generally his or her music is so shallow, you wonder what happened to the real person. I guess it is all about the dollars. They want to get paid. They know that most folks in the mainstream society cannot take or intellectually and spiritually relate to the rawness of our people's music. It is too powerful and personal. The black experience is unique, which affects our worldview and attitudes.
   
   However, the black folk, the masses, always create new music or keep the real music alive. We continuously create, and the mainstream is darn well lucky. If not for black folks, I don't know what in de world they would do with dye selves. Lady this would be such a dull place.