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.

5 comments about Jazz Composition: Theory and Practice.

1. This is a great book. My daughter found it very easy to read.



2. This excellent book realy help me to teach modern jazz theory and composition on Jezek Conservatory Prague.I recommend this book to all my students.



3. It starts with melody, and what is cool has exercises throughout, so you can really learn on the way... if you are interesting with jazz theory, I suggest this book, and also "modern jazz voicings" compliments it very well.



4. This is a great book for those who know a respectable amount of jazz theory and want to understand the practice and art of jazz composition. Throughout the book, you are given exercises and opportunities to write your own pieces and comes with a CD. Although this book teaches you modal harmony, chromatic harmony, blues writing, ect., there is no substitute for a jazz composition professional teacher who would be valuable to check your work and offer criticism and suggestions.
   
   Writing pieces on your own is basically made easier in terms of form and structure.



5. This book is an excellent guide for the beginning to intermediate jazz composer. This book assumes some basic knowledge of jazz style and notation. The resorces are are excellent for jazz harmonization and melodic composition both tonal and modal. This book does not, however, go into much depth in regards to part writing for an ensemble. I think this book is good preparation for Sammy Nestico's "The Complete Arranger" book.

No comments about Jazz Styles: History & Analysis, 9th Edition (Jazz Classics CD Set).

3 comments about Jazz Baby.

1. This book is a wonderful rhythmic short story about a baby and his family. The rhythm of the words encourages the reader and listeners to get involved and to enjoy the musical nature of the story as told and in terms of content. It is one of our children's favorites and is frequent in our bedtime rotation. I highly recommend it to parents who arent afraid of getting a little creative with the stories they read and for children who are musically inclined.



2. This book is my classroom's favorite. The illustrations are very "jazzy" and fun to experience and the text is very fun to clap and move along with. Do I think "Jazz Baby" is a great book? "OH YEAH".



3. Very short, simple book. Not many words per spread, which makes it suited for even little-little ones.
   
   I love how the text is largely done with sound words (there's a word for that, but I can't for the life of me remember how to spell it!) or scat singing. Very bouncy, very great, wonderful way to teach basic wordplay for little ones.
   
   I'm not a huge fan of the illustrations. They're not ill-suited for the text, they just aren't a style I happen to like. What you see on the cover is pretty much what you get inside, either you like it or not. However, even though they're not my taste, I can see why the illustrator chose to do it this way - the pictures almost seem to move with the rhythm of the music in the words. It works. (Even if it's not my favorite style ever.)
   
   All in all, I highly recommend this one.

1 comments about Engaging Music: Essays in Music Analysis.

1. Where do you go when you know first year theory, and most books are too smart or too dumb?
   
   Engaging Music does not suppose a large degree of knowledge on the part of its readers, though it does presume basic first year theory, which is what makes it great.
   
   Ostensibly about analysis the book contains a wealth of ideas in many areas. A broad range of genres are covered include the common practice period (classical), modernist, jazz, and rock. Topics covered include phrase rhythm, hypermeter, Schenkerian analysis, twelve-tone theory, form, and musical ambiguity. My favorite essays: "Form in Rock Music" and "Introduction to Musical Ambiguity".

5 comments about Guitar Chord Bible: Over 500 Illustrated Chords for Rock, Blues, Soul, Country, Jazz, and Classical.

1. I picked this book after looking through several at the bookstore. What I liked about it was that it had lots of chords and it gave you some of the "logic" behind the chord and why/where you might use them. Most other books just have lots of chord pictures laid out on the page which I did not find helpful.
   
   Also this book shows an actual photo of a hand playing the chord which I liked. The book's tablature (chord pictures) shows which note is the root in the chord which I also liked.
   
   Another cool thing is that the book is spiral bound so that it will lay open flat. This is really helpful when you're actually playing your guitar chords and not holding the book.
   
   So while this book doesn't have 1000's of chords like some do (it doesn't get into a lot of "fancy" chords--suspended, 11ths, 13ths, etc) it does give you 500 of the most useful ones. I also like the appendixes that have more blues, jazz, rock chords.
   
   It's a good book all in all.



2. Without going into a lot of detail...this is THE guitar chord book. Loaded with chords, explanations, fretting pictures, styles.
   
   ...if you looking for a thorough chord listing, this is definately it!



3. This was purchased as a gift and was appreciated by its content and quality. I am pleased with the service and response from the recipient.



4. This was a Christmas present for our son and he loves it! All the cords at his fingertips. Great for a self-taught guitarist.



5. This book is worth its weight in gold... It is an awesome resource for those who think they know it all and those who harly know anything at all, like myself.

1 comments about Experiencing Jazz, with CD-ROM.

1. I WAS VERY UNHAPPY WITH THIS PRODUCT! I RETURNED IT TWICE AND NEITHER TIME RECIEVED THE TWO VIDEO CD'S THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO COME WITH THE BOOK.
   BECAUSE I WAS ON A TIME LIMIT, I CHOSE TO CANCEL THE ORDER AND BOUGHT THE BOOK AND VIDEOS ELSEWHERE.

5 comments about The Ultimate Jazz Fake Book (Fake Books) C Edition.

1. These songs are ment to be memorized. Unlike the Real Book, the Ultimate Jazz Fake Book gives a clear and concise approach to playing many of the standards most know and love. There is some filler, but there is a lot of filler in the Real book, as well. I found this book very helpful while learning to play jazz -- in other words playing and then imrovising over the chord changes given to me in each song. I had a great time with most songs except The Peacocks (Lord, what were they thinking)and Cherokee. I ended up transcribing my own piece for Cherokee. All the others seem to be helpful. If you are a piano player or a guitarist, this book is for you!



2. This book crams a tremendous amount of music into one book. Is a great reference for anyone playing with a group or by themselves for that matter. I play with three others and they all have fake books similar to this one and we are constantly refering to them. A great source of music.



3. This product reached Golden Bay New Zealand in a few days-thanks AMAZON
   I ordered it for Duke Ellington's "Do nothing 'till you hear from me" and also have marked another 30 items that will suit our group[Violin-Guitar-Drums ] If you want to bring back swing, this is it! BUT-Why are they called 'Fake' books--this is the real thing. Alan S.



4. Very nice jazz book. Son really likes it. This WAS shipped to me, however, I'm VERY VERY disappointed in Amazon's lackluster, unreliable (lack of shipping) to military APO addresses. In general, they've shipped to my military APO address about 60% (if that) of the time - for very basic items. Many purchases were not made because items can't be shipped to me, other items I had to have shipped somewhere else and pay additional shipping to get item mailed to me. Shame on Amazon! Unfortunately I've received NO good answer from Amazon!



5. This book has an excellent selection of really great jazz tunes and standards. Like a lot of fake books and older sheet music, a few of the chords are either wrong or theoretically oriented in a rather bizarre context. Anyone who is trying to learn a song from this book should probably try to get a creditable recording of the song and double check the chords by ear. This is not an ideal collection, but in my opinion, worth the money.

5 comments about The Real Book (B Flat, Sixth edition).

1. I bought this book a while ago, and let me tell you, it has helped me with my practicing on many occasions. I play the clarinet and tenor sax, which are in the same key, thankfully, so I played the songs from the book which helps with sightreading and playing different rythms from the norm.



2. I ordered the Real Book (B Flat, Sixth Ed) for my son for his High School Jazz Combo assignments and practices. We were going to pay $40+ tax at the local music store in town. It came on time, nicely packaged and we are very, very happy with it...It was and is a 'real, sweet deal". We love Amazon!



3. This book is a must have for any Jazz musician. Songs like Anthropology and Cheroke are among the greats you'll find in here.



4. Well okay, not everything, but the very best pieces for a beginner (underline that) to start with a nice new trumpet. The book is comprehensive, well written (you DO know how to read notes, don't ya? otherwise you're gonna need some lessons, not that it's rocket science and all) and provides an adequate amount of songs. All of them are known and a must for any jazzy sassy player out there..



5. As a saxophonist and singer, I have found these real books an invaluable tool for performing the jazz standards. I am new to jazz, coming from a pop/rock/dance background, and found the books really easy to read and they've helped me to learn the tunes without a problem.
   For new musicians who need to get to know the standards and have a book or two on hand to play along with other jazz musicians, these are well worth the money.

1 comments about BERKLEE JAZZ GUITAR CHORD DICTIONARY.

1. No extra junk, just new interesting ways to voice chords. I love this book.