The Giants of Jazz Piano [Paperback] Review

First, meet the reviewer.I'm a proficient rocker that can read music with effort, but I prefer lead sheets.I'm learning jazz now for fun and profit.For me, this book was a real find, especially in the bargain bin.The following established giants are well represented:Bill Evans (my hero, includes A Time For Love, from his Grammy-winning Alone), Art Tatum (the original jazz piano monster), Dave Brubeck (includes famous hits Take Five and Blue Rondo), plus others better known to piano geeks, like George Shearing, Marian McPartland and Duke Ellington (better known as a band leader).The transcriptions appear as accurate as anything available, and most are solo arangements that won't suffer from lack of a bass player (though I spotted one Bill Evans number from a trio arrangement).The difficulty level veers toward intermediate, with some passages and selections that are quite advanced and require more time that I have to master.There are some spots that would probably challenge an accomplished player.I don't think that I'd play many of these arrangements note-for-note in public (the light's bad where I play and I don't plan to memorize them), but there's plenty to learn from here.Great stuff!

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Product Description:
Songs written by, piano arrangements of, or simply tunes made famous by some of the greatest jazz pianists the world has ever known are featured within this fantastic folio, including Dave Brubeck, Art Tatum, George Shearing, Duke Ellington, Marian McPartland, Matt Dennis, David Benoit and Bill Evans. The 38 titles include: Drop Me Off in Harlem
* Emily
* Fascinating Rhythm
* Get Happy
* MWA (Musicians with Attitude)
* On Green Dolphin Street
* Somebody Loves Me
*Spring Is Here
* Stompin' at the Savoy
* What is This Thing Called Love? and many more. Four selections from this book are on the Royal Conservatory of Music Popular Selection List (2007 Ed.): Blue Moon
* Blue Rondo A La Turk
* Lullaby of Birdland
* Take Five.Blue Rondo A La Turk is also listed in the Conservatory Canada Contemporary Syllabus (2006 Ed.)

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