Mel Bay's Essential Jazz Lines: Piano Style of Bill Evans [Paperback] Review

What's satisfying about this slim volume is the number of practice sequences it contains in its play-along CD. With the ii-V cadences, cycles, and turnarounds in all keys, there is plenty of valuable background for comping and practicing voicings, employing the many suggested patterns, and improvising your own lines.
The introduction explains some of the approaches of Bill Evans, particularly the scales he might have employed in certain situations. It's not an exhaustive analysis of his style; no one book can really do that. What follows, however, is important material for any student of jazz in general--not just individuals seeking to learn the nuances of Evans.
The tracks are separated into major, minor, and dominant cycles followed by ii-V cadences resolving to major and minor. Each chapter has patterns of varying complexity; these can beassimilated and modified to taste. Most importantly, you'll have a context wherein to practice them.
The book concludes with a sample improvisation piece inspired by the presented patterns and two critical progressions in the jazz canon--"Confirmation" and "Pent-up House," also included on the CD.
I've had it for over a year now, and I continue to use it, since it's flexible enough to tie into any part of a jazz practice regimen. Many other books have play-along tracks, but none are as complete as this one, covering all keys and offering tempo variations--all in an unpretentious and easy-to-use format. This is well worth the time and money.

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Product Description:
Bill Evans (1929-1980) is one of the highest regardedjazz pianists in the history of jazz. His harmonic and rhythmiclanguage in combination with superb taste and technical perfectionplaces him in a category by himself. His style of harmonization andimprovisation has been an inspiration to countless pianists as well asother instrumentalists in the field of jazz.This book of originalmusical studies and analyses by Corey Christiansen and Per Danielssonis designed to help you develop your own personal improvisingstyle. It presents numerous musical lines in the style of Bill Evans,grouped by the harmony they can be used against. The accompanyingplay-along CD provides a rhythm section backup for each of theexercises. To help the player master all keys, each section also has aplay-along on the CD that modulates around the circle of fourths.Some of the techniques used in the style of Bill Evans are discussedand examples shown, helping musiciansanalyze each of the ideaspresented, further insuring mastery of these ideas. When assimilatedinto the student's musical vocabulary, these ideas will help studentscreate their own original jazz solos.

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