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Jazz Composition will guide you through a carefully chosen set of concepts that inform mainstream jazz songwriting. You 'll learn variations of form, building from the blues structure, creating a compelling chord progression, and melodic development, as well as working with motives, different meters, and modes.
This book presents an in-depth analysis of the vocabulary, methods, and tools of jazz composition. Written from the perspective of the composer, it explores the ways in which the jazz greats wrote the music that has become the standard repertoire.
- Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Fitzgerald Sings The Duke Ellington Songbook
- Jaco Pastorius: Jaco Pastorius
- Charlie Christian: Solo Flight, The Genius of Charlie Christian
- Louis Armstrong:Satchmo at Symphony Hall
- Wes Montgomery: Smokin’ at The Half Note
- Dizzy Gillespie: Afro
- Mccoy Tyner: The Real Mccoy
- Kurt Rosenwinkel: The Next Step
- Herbie Hancock:Maiden Voyage
- Art Tatum: Piano Starts Here
Legendary jazz singer Ella Fitzgeraldwas one of the most influential artists of the 20th Century, providing many of the definitive versions of classic jazz songs. Many of these came from her ‘Songbook’ series, a collection of 8 albums released between 1956 & 1964 which saw her team up with songwriting greats of the day. Whilst each of these (plus a...
Every facet of electric bass player Jaco Pastorius’s abilityis on kaleidoscopic display in this wildly ambitious debut album. Pastorius starts off with a jaw-dropping version of Miles Davis’s “Donna Lee” (all via a single bass part accompanied by congas!) and goes on to showcase a collection of jazz fusion royalty, from Lenny White and Herbie Hanco...
Unlike almost every other musician on this list, jazz guitarist Christian barely recorded as a bandleader. He was, though, one of the most influential early musicians on his instrument and deserves a place in every jazz fan’s collection. This compilation is an excellent choice, as it brings together some of his most notable work with Benny Goodman ...
It’s hard to talk about the history of jazz without noting the original superstar of the music, Louis Armstrong. He might be known by the wider world as a gravely voiced entertainer, but “Satchmo”, or “Pops”, as he was sometimes known, was first and foremost a virtuoso jazz trumpeter. This 1947 live recording sees him return to a classic Dixieland ...
A jazz guitar favourite, Wes Montgomerydeveloped an unconventional playing style with a frequent use of octaves, producing a highly distinctive sound that was always joyous, soulful and swinging. This 1965 recording, recorded liveat the Half Note jazz club in New York, sees Wes accompanied by Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers and Jimmy Cobb. Backed by th...
Many of the best jazz albums in history transcend music and actually document the evolution of the genre. This is certainly the case with this 1954 big band album from trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, which showcases the major role he played in bringing Afro-Cuban music into the jazz arena. Legendary arranger Chico O’Farrill provided the charts for the s...
Described by producer Alfred Lion as “a pure jazz session”, this 1967 album was recorded after the pianist’s departure from the John Coltrane quartet. It does, however, retain much of the power, enlisting bandmates Ron Carter on bassand Elvin Jones alongside tenor sax player Joe Henderson. ‘Passion Dance’is a modal jazz classic, and McCoy Tyner’s s...
Perhaps due to the increasing affordability of recording music in the latter part of the 20th Century, the choice of jazz records became exponentially bigger. Few, however, had the impact of the Kurt Rosenwinkel album, The Next Step, released in 2001. Developed over the course of a long residency at New York jazz club Smalls, Rosenwinkel brings tog...
Herbie Hancockmay be better known as a pioneering fusion musician, experimenting with electro, funk, and pop sounds. But the pianist first appeared on the scene in the early 1960s as a hugely exciting talent in acoustic jazz, before helping redefine the role of the rhythm section with Miles Davis’ Second Great Quintet. His 1964 album Maiden Voyagei...
Most of Art Tatum’s classic work was recorded before the LP era, but it didn’t seem fair to exclude the piano legend from this list of the greatest jazz albums just because of that. The Piano Starts Here compilation, released in 1968, includes classic 1933 solo takes like ‘Tea For Two‘, ‘Sophisticated Lady‘ and the famous ‘Tiger Rag‘, as well as so...
- How To Place Your Chords Properly. The first aspect you want to consider is harmonic rhythm. Harmonic rhythm simply talks about when and how long are the chords being played out.
- Why Melodic Rhythm Matters. The second thing you need to look at is melodic rhythm. You want the rhythms of the melody of each section to be distinct. For instance, the A section of Green Dolphin Street uses long rhythms.
- How To Give Your Song Sections More Identity. The sequence of pitches you use to build your melody matters a lot. This is what makes a melody recognizable.
- How Different Registers Create Variety. The next thing to consider is playing your different sections in different registers. For instance, when we go to Green Dolphin Street, the A section is somewhat in a middle register.
Dec 19, 2018 · Now, we’ll take a deeper look into improvisation, and explore its role in jazz. We’ll also discuss the differences and similarities between it and composition and arranging. Improvisation. The art of improvisation has long been associated with jazz music, and jazz musicians.
Learn more about the history and tradition of hundreds of jazz compositions with countless free resources such as analysis, transcriptions, backing tracks, and much more! The most thorough and diverse database of jazz standards in the world.
Jeremy Siskind • Jeremy, author of Playing Solo Jazz Piano, walks you through basic theory, arrangements, and exercises, and gives… Soloing For Guitar Chris Parks • This session consists of Barry Harris’s unique approach to practicing scales.
