GarageBand '09 Power! (Artistpro) [Paperback] Review

"The simplification of anything is always sensational," noted G.K. Chesterton. Apple has continually simplified everything: made it easier, not harder, smaller, not bigger, cleaner, not more cluttered, more, not less accessible. Snow Leopard, for instance, has half the footprint of the previous operating system version. Everything in iLife '09, including Garage Band, is sensationally simple.

So why do you need this book? Maybe you don't. I went to a free Garage Band seminar at the Apple Store. There were two of us. One of us was familiar with Logic Pro, and asked very technical questions. The other wasn't familiar at all, and asked how to plug in a keyboard. While it's not obvious, I was the second guy. It was all so amazingly simple, until I got home. And there's an on-screen tutorial. But I'm a book guy. Isn't there a book? I asked. There was. Not at the Apple Store. At Amazon. This is it.

You don't need this book if you want to just dive in and play with Garage Band. But this book, which starts very simply, also answers all the questions of the tech guy who knows Logic Pro. I asked a lot of questions at the Genius Bar at the Apple Store which are answered in this book. Like, can I upgrade my G4 Macs to run OS 10 Leopard, iLife '09 and iWork '09? The answer is yes, and I did. The only parts it won't run is part of Garage Band called "Learn to Play" and iMovie, which need the new Intel processor in a G5. The latter is a great loss, as Garage Band and iMovie on a G5 work seamlessly together, but it's amazing a G4 could even run Leopard by simply adding more memory (Snow Leopard is designed especially for the G5). New Macs (G5s) come with iLife '09 (which has Garage Band) already included.

This book is really a workbook, a big, 400 plus page, oversize paperback with large print and lots of graphics and screen shots. The author answered my questions about what kind of keyboard and mike to buy, the different sorts of hookups like USB and firewire, and the simplest way to get started playing (you don't need to plug anything in if you want to play all virtual instruments). The author shows how Apple has updated GB from the first version (which I had on my G4s), and their genius for simplifying things: when you click on a tab, instead of more options engulfing the screen, you only get a few, the optimum ones for your instrument or settings. If you want others, they're all really still there, merely hidden, which makes it easy, clean, and classy.

The author continually explains Apple terminology, which makes the book redundant, but that's what you want. It increases the chances of leafing through it and finding the parts you want. There's a great index in the back, and a list of everything included in the various, optional, royalty-free Garage Band jam packs. There's also a list of keyboard shortcuts, a feature I liked so much in the Dummy and Idiot books for PCs and Macs.

Beginners can learn to play guitar or piano on Garage Band. Guys like me can plug in and play, add virtual instruments, mix, morph, and mess with the whole thing. My friends Matt and Dave, who are audio geniuses, could record their bands, and make entire studio albums and podcasts. This book will help music lovers at any level to experience and enjoy the simplicity and power of Garage Band.

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Product Description:
Ready to explore music composition, recording, podcasting, audio/video blogging, remixing/mashing, and sound design for video editing or DVD creation with GarageBand? Great! This book will show you how. GarageBand is one of the most powerful and user-friendly tools available for capturing and manipulating sound, and the best part is, it comes free with your Mac! Although GarageBand has always been easy to use, it provides an amazing amount of power and sophistication to users who really want to dig in and get the most out of it. GarageBand ?09 Power! provides an easy-to-understand, detailed guide for how to make professional-sounding music, podcasts, soundtracks, mixes, mashups, and much more with the newest version of GarageBand. Through the use of screenshots, tutorials, creative jumping-off points, real-world examples, and a conversational, personal tone, this book will teach you how to use GarageBand to create music, record and publish podcasts, or even score your own movie. Whether you?re just starting out with audio creation, or you are already familiar with GarageBand and simply want to take your skills to the next level, GarageBand ?09 Power! is for you..

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Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta [Paperback] Review

Palmer's love of the blues shines through in this exceptional book. He's not interested in showing off his knowledge of the form (although that knowledge is exceptional); he's interested in illuminating for the readerthe roots of a great indigenous art form and how that form developed in the20th century. In that effort, he succeeds masterfully.
A fine earlysection explores how the music that we call the blues was seeded in N.America by African music. That chapter is a mini-history lesson in itself;Palmer shows how the music of slaves from W. Africa was viewed assubversive and dangerous by whites in the new land.
The remainder of thebook is chock full of portraits of the heroes of early blues in theMississippi Delta, from Charley Patton to Son House to Robert Johnson toLittle Walter to Muddy Waters and beyond. Palmer shows how these mendeveloped a music that grew directly out of the soil of the Delta, makingdo with the instruments they had and often living itinerant lives, movingfrom tiny town to tiny town to play dances and juke joints to keep themusic alive.
The book also describes the historic migration ofAfrican-Americans from the Deep South to the industrial cities of theNorth, most importantly, of course, Chicago, where the musicianstransformed the blues again, creating the electrified sounds that exertedsuch a powerful influence on white rock musicians from London to Liverpoolto La Jolla, California.
Palmer has given us a great work with "DeepBlues," one that should be read by students of music and socialhistory alike. It deserves a prominent place on the bookshelf of anyserious lover of music.

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Keyboard Runs for the Pop & Jazz Stylist [Paperback] Review

This is my first review for Amazon. I wish someone had warned me before buying this book.

On the plus side this book gives you loads of runs that are mostly practical. They're offered in three (good) keys and give you fingering suggestions. The author is a gifted pianist who really knows her stuff. You get the feeling she's giving you the runs that really helped her as she was learning her craft. That's it for the positive comments.

On the downside:
1-I don't know why the title includes the word Pop. All the runs are blues/jazz.
I was hoping there would be some ideas to throw in to a real pop tune.
2-Many of the runs are great but about half seem like filler.
3- Too many jazz and bebop runs. There fine I guess but if you're going through the trouble of learning someone else's bebop runs why not just get a Charlie Parker book and steal from a master.
4- This is the biggie.... This is the reason I can't recomend this book and want my money back for it:
The CD.
4a-it sounds like it was recorded in a bedroom on an answering machine.
4b-The piano she plays is so out of tune that you can't even transpose your keyboard to match it.
4c-All the runs in each style (that's four) Are included on 1 CD track.
That means Blues run 27 is 5 minutes into track 2. That makes it very inconvenient to audition,play along with, or learn any of the runs.
4d-Not all the runs are on the cd. She jumps around and doesn't always play each run in all keys. This makes it difficult to even know what you're hearing. Doesn't help that piano is out of tune.

Anyway. If you're a good reader you could probably go through all the runs quickly, pick out the ones that work best for you and get a huge value out of this book.
If you're like me, and like to hear what the riffs/runs sound like you're out of luck.

Sorry my first review was such a downer.

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Product Description:
Dozens upon dozens of runs and fills professional pianists use to add style to their performance. Includes various styles of runs such as: swing and society, blues, jazzy bebop, and contemporary. In addition, Noreen Grey Lienhard, one of today's pop pianists and arrangers, has demonstrated many of them on the enclosed CD in a special note-by-note slow versions, and at full tempo.

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Swing! Here and Now: Piano [Paperback] Review

I have a full big band that meets at my home once a week to rehearse and occassionally performs in the LA area.We are always looking for material to perform.I bought this entire set of books.

On the whole the arrangements are very good.They have lots of counterparts, and are more modern than much of the traditional swing band repertoire that we play (Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw, Glenn Miller, Harry James, Tommy Dorsey, Duke Ellington, Count Basie type arrangements).Our favorites in this collection are I Had the Craziest Dream which has a great trumpet solo, Forty-Second Street, We're in the Money and Jeepers Creepers.Not every arrangement is that much fun to play though, for instance I don't care for the arrangement of "At Last."

This book, which is the score, comes with a CD with the George Roumanis Big Band.Our band has found the CD useful to hear how the songs should be played.However, we are split about the quality of the CD.I feel that the playing on the CD is lackluster and a bit sloppy, but other members of the band think it is great.

I would not recommend this collection for the CD (which is out of print as a standalone product), but I would definitely recommend this set of charts if you are looking for a repertoire for a swing band.

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Product Description:
Twelve fantastic swing dance charts composed by the great American songwriter Harry Warren and superbly arranged by master musician George Roumanis. Each song is recognized as a well-known standard featured in Hollywood musicals and all of the songs were recorded by famous big bands. Included with the conductor's book is a recording of the songs performed by the George Roumanis Big Band. Titles are: Chattanooga Choo Choo * I Had the Craziest Dream * Forty Second Street * The More I See You * Lulu's Back in Town * You'll Never Know * Jeepers Creepers * At Last * September in the Rain * Serenade in Blue * I've Got a Gal in Kalamazoo * We're in the Money.

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American Popular Music: From Minstrelsy to MTV Text & Audio CDs [Paperback] Review

This book is designed to be an introductory college-level text for courses about Popular Music in America.It's good overall, but not great.

The book begins with the initial "split" in America between "Classical" and "Popular" music in the nineteenth century, with minstrel shows and brass band music.The following chapters cover social dance and jazz, Tin Pan Alley, "race" records and "hillbilly" music, swing, postwar era music, Rock `n' Roll, the British Invasion, the 1960s, the 1970s, outside influences on 70s music (reggae, punk, funk, progressive country, etc.), the 1980s and MTV, and the rise of "alternative" music.

There are some great aspects about this textbook.First the prose is well-written, informative, entertaining, and thorough from a social/cultural standpoint.The book does not make any significant omissions, which is not easy considering all the subject matter which must be covered.Also, with two CDs included with the book price, the textbook does provide a good value.This is a nice feature.

I was able to find some serious drawbacks to the book, however.The book seems to focus more on the cultural aspects and less on the musical aspects of each section.The analyses of the musical tracks on the included CDs are too fluffy.It is likely that students will not get enough from the book to understand why the music is so special.Also, while 2 CDs may seem like a lot of music, it is really inadequate to chronicle the history of jazz, blues, musical theater, rock `n' roll, alternative rock, and so on.

There was one minor aspect of the book which also cropped up repeatedly.The authors seemed a little too eager to inject race into every nook and cranny.Obviously, racism is a central issue American popular music and deserves a healthy focus.The book, however, includes racism related not just to singers and performers, but record companies, disc jockeys, and more.I found it extraneous in some parts.

This textbook is very strong, but I would probably recommend And the Beat Goes On by Michael Campbell.With that series, one can order a 5-CD set, and the textbook, while shorter, has more in-depth musical analysis.This textbook is very close in quality overall, and is more up-to-date.

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Product Description:
Coauthored by a music historian and an ethnomusicologist, American Popular Music provides an overview of the major styles of popular music and the evolving relationship between music and American culture from the late 19th century to the early 1990s. Organized historically, the book is unified by several recurrent themes: the development of critical listening skills; the multicultural roots of popular styles; the relationship between music and social identity; the influence of technology on music; and the structure and function of the music industry. Combining a graceful and accessible style with sound research and cultural awareness, American Popular Music identifies, through historical narrative and musical examples, the broad themes and on-going issues in the development of popular style and culture. Lavishly produced and stunningly designed with over 100 illustrations, the book includes numerous boxed inserts and sidebars, biographical sketches, and listening charts and lyrics.

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Call Me Irresponsible (Vocal/Piano) (Vocal Piano) [Paperback] Review

I have in the past purchased the Piano/Vocal Books for the self titled Michael Buble album, and for the It's Time album, and each book is better than the one before.As a pianist, I am overjoyed to find every small detail of the songs written in the accompaniment, not to mention this book does not do what so many others do and write the melody in the piano part.I wish all Vocal/Piano books were written in this style!

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Product Description:
The All Music Guide calls the '07 release from this dreamy crooner "a breezy, stylish good time." Our folio features vocal/piano arrangements (no melody in the piano part) with chord names for all 13 songs: Always on My Mind * The Best Is Yet to Come * Everything * I've Got the World on a String * That's Life * Wonderful Tonight * more.

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Live At The Village Vanguard (Da Capo Paperback) [Paperback] Review

Max Gordon is a name that will be familiar to lovers of jazz.Anyone who goes to New York City and loves jazz will almost inevitably wind up seeing someone perform live at the Village Vanguard.Many great artists like John Coltrane have recorded live performances there.
Gordon was the founder of this legendary club.He found a little basement in Greenwich Village and then proceeded to make jazz history.All the greats like Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker et al played there at one time or another.Lenny Bruce and Woody Allen also performed comedy at the Vanguard.
Max Gordon proves to be a very competent author in this book that recounts the history of the club.Gordon discusses the early struggles with getting liquor licenses or dealing with racial segregation.He includes a lot of great antecdotes of his meetings with many of these legends.
This book is surprisingly well written and entertaining.This chronicle of his life will be inspiring and educational.Max Gordon has an important story to tell.Jazz is one of America's greatest exports.Max Gordon played a major role in its development.I strongly recommend this book for any fan of jazz.(It is out of print but there are a few copies still being sold at the club itself.If you live in or close to New York City, it would be worth the effort.)

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Product Description:
Since 1934, the Village Vanguard in New York's Greenwich Village has hosted the foremost in live jazz, folk music, and comedy. Its owner, Max Gordon, has now written a personal history of his club and the hundreds of entertainment legends who have played there. Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins, Lenny Bruce, Woody Allen, Woodie Guthrie, Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Josh White, Pete Seeger-Max has stories about all of them. And what stories! As Nat Hentoff says in his introduction, "A good many so-called professional writers have not done nearly so well."

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A New History of Jazz, Second Edition [Hardcover] Review

a new history of JAZZ - Alyn Shipton
Continuum - London - New York
Let me put it straight right away : this is a great book and should be in every true jazz lover's library. This book tells you so much about our music that it leaves nearly every history on jazz ever written far behind. Not only it contains a lot of details on the musicians and the music, it is written in such a way it makes you eager to go out looking for the music it talks about. By the way there is a doubble CD that goes with this book containing examples of the music described in the book.
The man behind this book is bass player, researcher, writer, radio man, etc Alyn Shipton. Alyn played bass with a lot of well known English bands over the years. He recorded a.o. with Butch Thompson's King Oliver Centennial Band, was a member of The London Ragtime Orchestra, appeared many times at the Ascona Festival a.o. with Dan Pawson's band, King Oliver Centennial, Bob Wilber and Friends, etc. During the Ascona festivals, Alyn led many symposia on all aspects of jazz.and he also talked to many of the old time musicians he played with and he visited. So Alyn knows what he is talking about.
The "new history of jazz" starts way back before even the word jazz was invented. Alyn goes back to the plantation and slavery days, and he tries to reconstruct the musical live in those days, based on original documents and scientific studies, which where published over the years. There was a rich musical tradition of string bands in many parts of the Southern states. Like many authors, Alyn sees the birth of jazz in and around New Orleans, a city with a very rich musical tradition and past, and most of all a rich social live. You can follow the evolution of and sometimes revolution in the music from there on to the present funk, fusion and otherwhat else. Alyn also takes the time to stand still at the development of jazz music in other countries than the US. I was happily surprised to read his instalment on jazz in Belgium during the twenties and thirties.
Scholars should use Alyn's book to explain their pupils the evolution of music, starting from the present day and go back to the origins of popular music. This way they might give the youngsters a clear view on the origins of the music. This book explains in clear and simple terms the links that exsist between the different styles of jazz, links one has not always seen nor thought off. Chapter after chapter Alyn strips the music from its romantic and sometimes false myths. Each step he makes, he uses sources, both old and so far undiscovered, or overlooked, to make his point. He not only talked to numerous musicians, but he also consulted a lot of books and articles, not only in relation with jazz, but also with the history of the South and the Afro-American community and American history in general. He also uses his background as an accomplished musician to describe in a clear and comprehensive language the changes in the music, the playing of the musicians,etc
Alyn Shipton's book, "a new history of Jazz" is by far the best book I ever read about jazz and it brings a refreshing and new view on this American art form.
Jempi De Donder

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Chet Baker: His Life and Music [Paperback] Review

Chet Baker: his life and times. J. de Valk
De Valk's new book on ChetBaker is both an excellent introduction to this musician for the neophyteand an invaluable overview of his music and life for the more experiencedfan.
Baker's life, in its broader outlines, reads almost like a romanticHollywood portrayal of a jazz musician.Highly photogenic, addicted toheroin and cocaine, purveyor of a dreamy, lyrical sound, yet largelyself-taught, Baker lived what the general public may think of as thestereotypical jazz life of the 1950's.His highly lyrical sound grabbedmany, reaching out and converting listeners on a first hearing. Fame cameall too quickly, but then vanished with even greater rapidity.De Valktreats his subject with great objectivity, surveying the harrowing ups anddowns, and quashing a few of the legends that sprang up around such afigure, especially the circumstances of his death.
Essential is thetwo-part discography in which de Valk overviews most, if not all of Baker'sknown recordings.The first part, "a selective discography" willprove the most important part of the book for younger fans as de Valkdetails and offers comment on many of Baker's most essential recordings. The second part, a full discography, lists all recordings and dates,subjected to a five-star rating system.
A choice selection of photos,including reproductions of many album covers, furthers the book's coverage. See in particular the eerily prescient shot of Baker practicing in awindow ledge on p. 195.

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Latin Jazz: The Perfect Combination/La Combinacion Perfecta (Text) [Paperback] Review

This book was produced as a companion to a traveling exhibition by the Smithsonian Institute about
American music. It is bilingual, with English and Spanish text on opposing pages. This is appropriate for the subject matter, which is the fusing of two branches of the African diaspora and their respective European influences. American Jazz absorbed the harmonic complexity of European music, but lost some of the rhythmic complexity of African music. Latin music retained the rhythmic complexity, but was more harmonically simple, albeit influenced by the rich Spanish folk tradition and it's Moorish influence. The blending of these 2 branches enriched both genres, and strengthened their respective weaknesses. It is a good overview of the history of Latin Jazz, and all of the major musicians are spotlighted. I wish that there was an accompanying CD with the book to hear a sample of the many artists profiled within. I guess I'll have to spend more money on Amazon to purchase some of these records!

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Product Description:
Latin jazz-the perfect combination of Latin rhythms and hot jazz phrasing-energizes audiences like no other music.. As part of the Smithsonian Institution's series of major exhibitions on jazz music, Latin Jazz traces the music's roots and routes, from the Caribbean to New Orleans and the clubs of New York City to its booming international popularity today. More than 100 rare photos from the '20s, '30s, '40s, and '50s show musicians and audiences in full swing, along with dozens of album covers and posters from the heyday. Stories told by the greats who were there, such as Mario Bauzá and Cal Tjader, convey all the zest for life that has made the music so exciting, and contributions by renowned musicians Andy González and Al McKibbon attest to its legacy. With all text in both English and Spanish, Latin Jazz is a spectacular and fitting tribute to this exciting musical fusion.

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Top 10 Jazz Standards [Paperback] Review

All of these are at least okay and some are "Oh, wow!"; most require minimal practice for an advanced student and will introduce an intermediate pianist to some really cool chords. They are a huge improvement on the usual arrangements, and with the addition of a repeat or two can be used by professionals. I bought this book and immediately went looking for more arrangements by Ms. Aaronson.

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Product Description:
Included are familiar songs from Broadway and the movies as well as popular songs of the day such as ""Fascinating Rhythm,""""Nice Work If You Can Get It,""""That's All"" and ""Summer Wind."" Some of the outstanding composers and lyricists whose music is featured in this collection include George and Ira Gershwin, Cole Porter and Johnny Mercer. Aaronson's arrangements are rich, musically satisfying and remain true to the original scores.

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Black Pearls: Blues Queens of the 1920s [Paperback] Review

Did you know that women were the first popular blues singers? Black Pearls explores the pioneering women who in the 20's changed the record instustry and music as we know it. Having read a few blues books by now, I found that portions in the introductory sections lacked the sort of awe-inspiring insight that makes for an excellent blues book. And my attention span had me skipping half-way through the chapter on lyrical analysis. Howvever, once I got to the sections that focus on the individual performers, this book excelled. There are many who seem hellbent on denying these particular women a hallowed place in the history of popular music (read Alan Lomax's brief dismissal of the classic blues era in his "The Land Where the Blues Began"), but Harrison's prodigious biographical and musical insights really open the door to a greater appreciation of the women she features. As a companion, I might suggest the cd "Classic Blues Women" by Rhino Records.

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GREAT JAZZ STANDARDS VOLUME 1 BK/CD EASY PIANO CD PLAY-ALONG (Easy Piano CD Play-Along (Hal Leonard)) [Paperback] Review

Two major issue with this book/cd

1. Most versions of these cds have two versions of every song, one with and one without the piano.This doesnt include the songs without the piano accompanyment, only with the the accompanyment.

2) All the tracks on the songs sound like they were recorded from a cheap $200 synthesizer.Something you would expect to hear an 80 yr old playing in a nursing home.It could not have sounded worse.

I am returning it to Amazon immediately.

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Product Description:
Each volume in the Easy Piano CD Play-Along series comes with a CD of orchestrated arrangements, and includes matching custom arrangements in easy piano format. With these book/CD packs you can:* Play the easy piano arrangements along with the orchestrations* Play the easy piano arrangements as solos, without the CD* Listen to complete performances of each song* Sing along with the recordingsThis pack features 10 beloved jazz tunes: Bewitched * Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me * Don't Get Around Much Anymore * How Deep Is the Ocean * I'm Beginning to See the Light * It Might as Well Be Spring * My Funny Valentine * Satin Doll * Stardust * That Old Black Magic.

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The House That George Built: With a Little Help from Irving, Cole, and a Crew of About Fifty [Paperback] Review

This is a book about the composers of America's most popular popular music, the music that came into being from roughly 1920 to 1950. It is not a formal treatise or scholarly study but rather a kind of fan's notes ramble, an enthusiastic exuberant high- spirited riff. English- born novelist, essayist Sheed shows great love for , and tremendous knowledge of American popular song. He writes with worshipful insight of the two greatest of the founding fathers of this particular American genre, George Gershwin and Irving Berlin. Both of these children of Russian Jewish parents found in black Blues and American jazz a fundamental inspiration. Both inspired many others and Gershwin particularly was a magnanimous helpful friend to other composers. Sheed cares for the Music above all and gives preeminence to those who create it - the lyrics are significant but secondary. Sheed writes not only about the major figures, Kern, Berlin, Gershwin, Cole Porter but also about fifty others. One special one for him is someone he knew personally , Harry Warren. Warren the composer of "I only have eyes for you' was a modest figure in the background but for Sheed a friend and great composer to whom he dedicates the book.
All the readers of this book I know of have spoken of whatgreat pleasure they had in reading it. The songs of these great composers entered Sheed's heart and his writing is his song of appreciation back to them.

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Horizons Touched: The Music of ECM [Hardcover] Review

It has been 35 years since Manfred Eicher's brilliant ECM label released Gary Burton's and Chick Corea's wonderful collaboration Crystal Silence.It is 38 years since the label was first launched..

Since then, ECM has created and released so vast and extraordinary a collection of music - path breaking improvisational music, often jazz that does not swing -- that adventurous jazz lovers have come to know the "ECM sound."Over its lifetime so far, it has released the work of a huge range of artists, including these extraordinary albums: Oregon,Dave Holland's Prime Directive, Keith Jarrett's The Köln Concert, John Abercrombie's Timeless, Kenny Wheeler's Angel Song, Trygve Seim's Different Rivers, Ralph Towner's and Gary Burton's Matchbook, and Art Lande & Mark Isham's Rubisa Patrol.

When the Portland Jazz Festival honored the anniversary of Crystal Silence's release in February, 2007, listeners, critics and ECM representatives spent hours in lively seminars seeking words to define this ECM Sound.For me, that sound is usually abstract, pristinely clear and spare in production, often with the disciplined ambiance of chamber music, and always original.ECM is deservedly an award winning label.The Jazz Journalists Association has voted ECM the 2007 "Record Label of the Year" in its 11th Annual Jazz Awards.The Association is an international group comprised of more than 450 writers, editors, photographers, broadcasters, filmmakers, educators and other media professionals.ECM Records was also voted "Label of the Year 2007" at the MIDEM Classical Awards in Cannes.As unique and compelling as the ECM Sound is, its cover art is equally identifiable and moving.

In Horizons Touched, Steve Lake and Paul Griffiths have collected many of these images, illuminated by many statements from artists and others associated with the label, as well as those of experts contributing essays to explore aspects of the label's wide-ranging catalog. Together with shorter contributions from more than 100 musicians, 20 essays and interviews explore the ECM ethos, be it in European or American jazz, folk, experimental fare or moving fusions of genres.Design, sound engineering, film and photography and other non-musical aspects of ECMare also explored. Some pieces are analytical or historical, others are anecdotal, philosophical, or jazzily idiosyncratic.Cover and other images are sprinkled generously throughout.

The book is stunning and enriching, and will be welcomed by fans and newbies alike.It is pricey, but handsome; for anyone interested, it lives up to its cost.

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Product Description:

In 1969 producer Manfred Eicher founded a new record label, Edition of Contemporary Music, in Munich. More than 1,000 albums later, after many landmark recordings and new discoveries-including Keith Jarrett's best-selling "Koln Concert," Jan Garbarek's saxophone improvisations, and Estonian composer Arvo Part's profoundly moving minimalism-ECM stands as a model of musical independence unique in the history of the record industry. This portrait of the label traces how ECM set new standards with meticulously realized productions of improvised and notated music, introduced hundreds of musicians to a wider public, and has changed the way music is played, recorded, and perceived. Much more than a conventional label history, this stunningly illustrated tome celebrates and reflects on the ways in which ECM has grown and changed from its origins in jazz to contemporary classical, and from medieval chant to free jazz and traditional folk music from around the world. It includes extensive interviews with Manfred Eicher, more than 20 specially commissioned essays by an international line-up of music journalists and writers, and more than 100 contributions from artists, composers, designers, and engineers who have worked with the label, and whose voices form an oral history in counterpoint.



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Conversations with Great Jazz and Studio Guitarists (Bill's Music Shelf) [Paperback] Review

Personal insights into the ordinary lives of these extraordinarily talented musicians told in a comfortably informative writing style.A must read for music lovers all over the globe.I'm quite sure that the late great jazz critic for The Los Angeles Times, Leonard Feather, would have enjoyed reading this book.

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Product Description:
"Jazz Guitar/Reference. Features in-depth interviews with 22 of the industry-s most notable guitar players. Jim Carlton-s candid conversations render astute insight into revered jazz guitarists, the history and development of jazz guitar and the studio scene that flourished during its Golden Era to the present day. It-s a book brimming with behind-the-scenes anecdotes, little-known vignettes and the stories behind many hit recordings. An often hilarious book that conveys the sense of humor and iconoclasm that-s so prevalent among great artists."

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The Power of Black Music: Interpreting Its History from Africa to the United States [Paperback] Review

This book is not an easy read, but it's worth it.It was written by a scholar for other scholars, but a lay person with patience will draw a great deal from the reading.It explains common threads -- basic components of African music-- in genres as diverse as blues,rock n' roll, be-bop, hip-hop, etc.What's nice is that the author, a noted scholar and head of Chicago's Collumbia College Center for Black Music Research, lends in his narration some playfulness, invoking elements of the music in the text, with lots of eye-witness discussions of African-American musical events that allow the reader to feel like an observer.You'll emerge from the reading a little exhausted, but with a greater appreciation of black music in the U.S., and a better understanding of how your favorite type of black music, or in the case of rock fans, black music derivative, came into being.(Note: For those lucky enough to live in the handful of cities where Dance Africa is performed each year, reading this book would be a great idea before you attend the next performance.)

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Straight, No Chaser: The Life and Genius of Thelonious Monk (Omnibus Press) [Paperback] Review

This book has gotten unjustified bad press.The author accurately captures the "real" T. Monk.She traces Monk's development and commitment to jazz over his career.The author had access to Monk's family(e.g., Toot his drummer son), friends, supporters, and the musicians thatknew him. What I particularly like about the book was her treatment ofMonk's mysterious pathology.Monk was a very strange guy.Variouspsychiatrists discounted him being schizophrenic and bipolar.Theconcensus was that he chemically ruined his brain over the years.He alsocultivated an image of eccentricity. During the last six years of his life,he got up, put on a suit and tie (he was always sartorially snappy) andthen laid in bed all day.This is a very good book and provided aninsightful picture of this eccentric musical genius.

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Acoustic and MIDI Orchestration for the Contemporary Composer: A Practical Guide to Writing and Sequencing for the Studio Orchestra [Paperback] Review

I wrote a detailed review a couple of weeks ago that gave this book a three star rating.It was not vulgar or inappropriate in any way, yet it was completely deleted.However, I just received an email from Amazon soliciting my opinion once again!

In short, the book has some decent information on sequencing techniques, though some of it just demonstrates a firm grasp of the obvious, i.e., "use controller messages to add expression" and other similar gems.

The orchestration part of the book covers the rhythm section (don't over quantize) as well as the various sections of the orchestra and how to sequence those instruments realistically.The book does not cover how to combine instruments from the various sections. Stings + woodwinds anyone?You will have to look elsewhere for that type of information.

Recommended for beginners.

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Product Description:
Get complete guidance on both traditional orchestration and modern production techniques with this unique book. With effective explanations and clear illustrations, you will learn how to integrate the traditional approach to orchestration with the modern sequencing techniques and tools available. You will discover how to bridge the two approaches in order to enhance your final production.

The accompanying CD includes a comprehensive and wide selection of examples, templates and sounds to allow you to hear the techniques within the book.

By covering both approaches, this book provides a comprehensive and solid learning experience that will develop your skills and prove extremely competitive in the music production business.

* Complete orchestration manual covering both traditional and modern techniques
* Versatile, non-software specific, perfect choice for professionals and colleges
* Accompanying DVD with examples, templates and sounds brings techniques to life

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Barrelhouse and Boogie Piano (Music Sales America) [Paperback] Review

The transcriptions of some of the greatest barrelhouse and blues pianists such as Jelly Roll Morton, Meade Lux Lewis, Memphis Slim, along with their history are in this music book.
There is also a tantalizing CD of samples of the pieces in the book as played by the great blues pianists. This gives essential information as to how the syncopation and rubato sounds in the hands of the masters. The only problem is that as the snippet gets going, you really want to hear the entire piece and whammo! It's only a few seconds per piece, 12 minutes in all. Why oh why couldn't they put at least a few complete works on the CD?
Other than that quibble, this is a great book for blues piano, though greats such as Roosevelt Sykes are to be found in a companion volume, not in this one.
A must for blues lovers who play keyboard.

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Product Description:
An important instruction guide to the blues-style piano by the author of Six Blues Roots Pianists. Complete with music transcriptions and excerpts from the original recordings of 22 piano greats.

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The Drummer's Bible: How to Play Every Drum Style from Afro-Cuban to Zydeco [Paperback] Review

Since I started playing the drumset I've been waiting for someone to complete the monumental task of compiling every known style of set playing in one book.But Mick Berry and Jason Gianni have gone far beyond simply transcribing over 160 styles (about 400 including variations):
They have included historical perspectives, background information, recorded examples (with and without click tracks), and put together a listening list with suggested albums and artists for every style.
There is a very helpful chapter on types of fills and appropriate use of them in each style, including references to famous recordings.There is even a section explaining appropriate tuning and muffling for a drummer playing in a given style.
I really can't stress enough how much detail is contained in this book.I'm a junior high and high school percussion teacher and this is a great reference tool for understanding and explaining different grooves, and I'll be sure to keep it handy when gigging.
Highest recommendation!

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Product Description:
This guide to popular drum styles offers approximately 400 musical examples in standard drum notation showing grooves and practical variations, and provides overviews of the history and development of almost all popular music styles. Among the many styles and subsidiary styles covered are blues, rock, jazz, Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, klezmer, zydeco, funk, bossa nova, polka, Dixieland, surf, and disco. While this resource and two-CD set can serve as a simple encyclopedia for those who need to know how to play a particular style, suggestions on varying the beat patterns for those who want to explore further and create their own patterns are also included. In addition, the two CDs contain performances of the musical examples in the book, which is designed with a lay-flat binding for easy use.

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Sweet Swing Blues on the Road [Paperback] Review

The book "Sweet Swing Blues on the Road" is a fantastic view into the life of American jazz darling Wynton Marsalis.
It professes and appears at first glance to be about life touring on the road, but instead reveals itself as a collection of essays about subjects as diverse as bandmates, romance, and of course music.
The tone Marsalis takes is very reminiscent of his good friend, Stanley Crouch, who wrote most of the liner notes for Marsalis' albums.However, while Crouch can come off as losing a ferocious battle against the English language, Marsalis seems earthy, clever, and insightful.
Marsalis writes like a musician or every black preacher worth a drive.He has a cadence.A strong cadence. A cadence that finds resonation in the soul.He developes writing themes like any good improviser should.
It is clear that Marsalis has spent time with noted writer Albert Murray, whose book "Stomping the Blues" finds a kindred heart in "Swing Sweet . . ."
Readers receive a sneak peak at Marsalis' Pulitzer-prize winning epic "Blood on the Fields" as some of the sights of this book reappear in that work.Readers also find themselves agreeing with Marsalis' view of rap ("Rappers have funny haircuts") and misunderstandings of jazz.
Photographer Frank Stewart provides visual compliments to the text in fine black and white fashion.Perhaps the belle of this ball is the out of fucus shot of the late Dizzy Gillespie with an in-focus sillouette of Marsalis in the foreground.
"Swing Sweet home blues" is a great book that people who like jazz would love and those who don't understand jazz owe to themselves to check out.END

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American Big Bands (Book) [Paperback] Review

After a few pages of interesting quotes by the big names in big band (both conductors and singers,) Dr. Taylor commences with over 350 pages of biographies and timelines for each decade of big band, beginning with the early 1900s.This is a wonderful reference for any music lover.The timelines give the stories of the musicians a new dimension.With the decline of 'classic' big bands, the sections on the 60s through the 90s don't have as much information, but they do discuss 'ghost bands' and the future of big bands.

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Product Description:

This ultimate guide to big bands includes hundreds of entries spanning the history of this American musical style. Each entry contains the band name, its leader, essential personnel, the years it existed, tops hits, and a brief description of the band.



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Black Talk (Da Capo Paperback) [Paperback] Review

I strongly disagree with the reader from Kenosha, WI, who claims that this book is obvious and dated. When it was first published, nobody had ever attempted to take the oral tradition of black music seriously. Sidran'sbook was the first real go at such an approach, and for that alone, it'srequired reading for any musician with an interest in black music forms. Itis true that his thoughts are everywhere today, and that some of his ideashave become canon-like, but why should that stop us from reading them? Likethe reader from Kenosha, WI, we are all free to disagree with Mr.Sidran'sline of thought. Personally, I find the book a lot more interesting thanany of his recordings. It is well written, at at times even entertaining.

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Product Description:
Black Music-whether it be jazz, blues, r&b, gospel, or soul-has always expressed, consciously or not, its African "oral" heritage, reflecting the conditions of a minority culture in the midst of a white majority. Black Talk is one of those rare books since LeRoi Jones's Blues People to examine the social function of black music in the diaspora; it sounds the depths of experience and maps the history of a culture from the jazz age to the revolutionary outbursts of the 1960s. Ben Sidran finds radical challenges to the Western, white literary tradition in such varied music as Buddy Bolden's loud and hoarse cornet style, the call and response between brass and reeds in a swing band, the emotionalism of gospel, the primitivism of Ornette Coleman, and the cool ethic of bebop. "The musician is the document," says Sidran. "He is the information himself. The impact of stored information is transmitted not through records or archives, but through the human response to life."

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Jerry Coker's Jazz Keyboard [Paperback] Review

If you're a non-pianist musician looking to understand the basics of Jazz piano, like me, or a skilled pianist looking to quickly master the basics of modern Jazz piano- this is the book for you. Coker starts out showing you two simple voicings, and has you work though II-V-Is in all keys. Next, he works though other standard cadences, and some basic standards. He goes from there to develop explore different voicings and accompaniment styles, including blues, rootless voicings,and a range of modern Jazz styles, voicings and idioms.

Coker developed this book as the text for a basic one-semester course for music majors, and if you work at this book every day, within four months you'll be able to comp off a lead sheet with confidence.

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Product Description:
A new book from the man who has set the standard for jazz and improvisation learning materials. A compilation of 15 years of teaching jazz keyboard at several universities. The book also contains a Teacher's Supplement. Usable for classroom or individual study. If you are a pianist, or arrange, compose, accompany, play any instrument, read fake books, coach groups, teach or earn a living in the music field, you need this 64-page book.

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The Blue Moment: Miles Davis's Kind of Blue and the Remaking of Modern Music [Hardcover] Review

Hardcover-278 pages,not including references or index.There are no photographs in this work.It is NOT out of print,but it is limited in availability.Check for sellers on Amazon

This book is not totally about Miles Davis,the making of "Kind of Blue",or the era that spawned this great music.Instead Richard Williams' concern weaves a sometimes loose,sometimes more focused pattern of various musical genres,that were influenced by the music.The author tells the story of the making of this album quickly-actually informing the reader of other volumes that go into greater detail on this recording,and how it was seen at the time.But he lays enough of a foundation so the reader has a good grounding going into his premise.

This book is concerned with the albums effect on other musicians,and the culture in general,over the past fifty years or so.In this book you will find names such as THE WHO,SOFT MACHINE,John Cale,THE GRATEFUL DEAD,Terry Riley,and others.The author makes a pretty convincing case on how Davis' (and the groups') music influenced a lot of the compositions and,in some cases,the very playing style of other musicians,by showing how "Kind Of Blue" fit in (or not) the culture of the time.He also makes a case for the continuing influence of this album,that shows no let-up.

This book isn't just a general overview of influences.Williams goes into some detail in order to show how the influence of "the most popular jazz recording of all time",has been much more important in the recent past,the present,and its influence into the future.An early chapter even goes into some detail on the title of this album,"Kind Of Blue",telling how 'blue',in its many permutations,was important throughout history.Jazz readers (and listeners) might feel this particular chapter,and others,go to far afield-maybe so,but they do contain some interesting information.Williams has done a great deal of work,in depth,and its evident.He then describes a number of Davis' tracks and albums,setting things up for his major premise-its continuing influence.He also describes the era and the thinking of the time,when jazz such as this,using a modal foundation,was not the norm. Using the above mentioned musicians,and a number of others,(John Coltrane,any number of other then current jazz musicians) he states the sometimes obvious influences,but also places other styles of music (TALKING HEADS,several "minimalist" composers,U2,James Brown,the VELVET UNDERGROUND for example) under this heading most readers/listeners wouldn't immediately think of.Williams has done his research and,taken together,the author makes several valid points,and opens up the reader's mind as to how this great music was assimilated,and to other possible influences.

There is occasionally a bit of technical "music speak"-scales,notes,clustered tones,etc.,but don't let that deter you from picking up this book.Reading this book is a bit like having an intelligent conversation with the author.He continually shares his viewpoint-you can take it or leave it. Even though,at times,the author goes far afield in his thinking,this is a good overview of this album,its influences,and how it was perceived,and the points he makes are both valid and interesting.If you're a Miles Davis fan,a jazz listener,or a music listener in general,this book can (and should) be placed alongside other works concerning this history making recording.

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Product Description:
A brilliant, wide-ranging book on how the seminal album revolutionized music and culture in the twentieth century."It is the most singular of sounds, yet among the most ubiquitous. It is the sound of isolation that has sold itself to millions." Miles Davis's Kind of Blue is the best-selling piece of music in jazz history and, for many listeners, among the most haunting works of the twentieth century. It is also, notoriously, the only jazz album many people own. Recorded in 1959 (in nine miraculous hours), there has been nothing like it since. Richard Williams's "richly informative" (The Guardian) history considers the album within its wider cultural context, showing how the record influenced such diverse artists as Steve Reich and the Velvet Underground.

In the tradition of Alex Ross and Greil Marcus, the "effortlessly versatile" Williams (The Times) "connects these seemingly disparate phenomena with purpose, finesse and journalistic flair" (Financial Times), making masterly connections to painting, literature, philosophy, and poetry while identifying the qualities that make the album so uniquely appealing and surprisingly universal. .

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Classic Piano Rags [Paperback] Review

There are a fair number of books on the market with ragtime sheet music in them.This is the one I've used the most over the years, since despite its quirks it's the best way of getting a hold of a generous amount of period ragtime, in unedited form.
About that "unedited form".The book photographically reproduces the original sheet music verbatim.This has its downside: the original music companies printed things in a quick'n'dirty manner, & while the sheet music from Stark (Joplin, Lamb, Scott, &c) is usually well-presented & carefully set, some of the other music is sprinkled with errors & eccentricities, especially the tunes by Charles Hunter.However, I'd rather have the typos--easily fixed--than have some meddling editor tidy up the text.Editions of these tunes by people like Max Morath tend to have a fair bit of editorial interference, & I'd much rather see what the tunes looked like without that kind of filtering.
Dover also prides itself on historically accurate reprints.This means that you get the original cover art.....which is as you'd imagine often pretty offensive by modern standards in its depiction of African-Americans.Still, it's just as well to be reminded of the historical conditions of this music's creation and dissemination. -- What's more irritating & less justifiable about the decision to include cover art is that it completely throws off the pagination.Since each piece is typically 4 pages long, adding the cover art makes for 5 pages--so that every second piece has its page turns in exactly the wrong place.This isn't a minor quibble: often the page turns are as a result placed in the middle of repeats, at key moments in the score, &c.Dover ought to have added some blank pages to keep the rectos & versos in the right sequence.
Anyway, enough caviling.What you get is an enormous pile of Joplin--nice, but that's easily enough available elsewhere.But you get a huge selection of work by most of the other really interesting figures of the period.I think Blesh's concept of "Classic Ragtime" is a crock, an attempt to make polemical distinctions between high art & popular trash in a genre where such distinctions are hard to make.& what does the idiosyncratic, rather naive music of Charles Hunter have to do with the sophisticated creations of Joplin or Artie Matthews anyway?Anyway, it's great to have all this stuff here--pieces by Robert Hampson, Hunter, Charles L Johnson, Joplin, Joe Jordan, Joe Lamb, Arthur Marshall, Matthews, Scott, Charles Thompson, Tom Turpin, Percy Wenrich, Clarence Woods.I've spent years working through the book.
Fans of this book, by the way, should check out Trebor Tichenor's two volumes of ragtime rarities for Dover--these include some terribly obscure stuff along with lesser-known Scott & Lamb pieces, & is very much worth exploring if you're curious about the genre.

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Product Description:
Best ragtime music (1897-1922) by the greatest ragtime composers of the age: Scott Joplin, James Scott, Joseph Lamb, Tom Turpin, nine more. Definitive collection for lovers and performers of ragtime.


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Maran Illustrated Piano [Paperback] Review

For all the many self-help, how-to books published The Maran Family has polished the book-led guide to learning to a fare-thee-well. This well-conceived and very well written book is an excellent introduction to the joys of sitting down in front of a piano keyboard and actually creating music instead of fantasies.

As one of the maranGraphics books (others include such wide ranging topics as Weight Training, Computer Guides, Dog training, Guitar, Yoga, and Knitting and Crocheting!), this volume uses the technical consulting of Frank Horvat, a composer, performer and piano teacher, and then applies the approach to the keyboard in a highly visual series of photographs and schematics that begin a survey of the types of keyboard instruments, the history of the piano, and progress to the basics of what makes a piano make music and ultimately walks the willing student through a very sound technique of learning.

As a life-long pianist I am amazed at the facility developed in this beautifully designed book.For those who question learning to play the piano by a 'how to' book, just peruse the careful steps and clarity of instruction offered by this helpful guide.Much musicology is included and many examples of fine piano music are used in the lessons.Whether it is the classical route you wish or the popular medium of chord based music or the intricacies of blues and improvisation, the steps are here.At the end of the book is a fine discussion on how to choose your piano from the many types that exist and even a discussion on the various periods of piano music history (although brief these are succinctly to the point).

Terrific for the adults who moan 'if I'd only taken lessons as a child' as well for the young students who are willing to commit to the goal of learning to 'make their own music', this Illustrated Guide to the Piano is a solid source of didactics.And for those addicted to the computer, there are even "MP3 files available to listen to and play along with for all the chords, scales, exercises and practice pieces in this book."Truly a book for the 21st Century!Grady Harp, June 05

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Product Description:
Produced by the award-winning maranGraphics group, Maran's Illustrated Guide to Piano is a valuable resource to a wide range of readers-from people who want to play a few songs for their family in the living room to those who aspire to become serious musicians. Maran's Illustrated Guide to Piano shows the reader the best way to perform each task, while the full-color photographs, music examples and clear, step-by-step instructions walk the reader through each task from beginning to end. Thorough topic introductions and useful tips provide additional information and advice to help enhance the readers' piano experience. Maran's Illustrated Guide to Piano is packed with essential information for readers who are sitting down in front of a piano for the first time, and will provide more experienced players with a refresher course on the basics and the opportunity to add more advanced techniques to their repertoire. Maran's Illustrated Guide to Piano will cost less than the price of one private piano lesson and will be a permanent resource that will provide years of enjoyment.

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Beyond Category: The Life And Genius Of Duke Ellington [Paperback] Review

Beyond Category is the best introduction to Duke Ellington's life and music. It was created to coincide with a Smithsonian exhibit and it offers a quality professional biography of Ellington's life and times. The author considers Ellington's life a series of problems to solve for his mind. Some of these problems are how to learn piano, how to start a band, how to compose with a partner, how to react to the recording band, how to deal with the loss of key soloists, how to compose larger works and ends up hitting many of the high points of Ellington's life and works.
Most of the new research at the time came from Mercer Ellington's enormous donation of his warehouse of materials for the Duke Ellington collectionl. Yet as a book intended for a popular audience, the musical content of this trove was not really fully dealt with. Mercer's collection comes through in the fabulous photographs that are interspersed throughout the book. It may have been better to have all the photographs grouped in several sections as not everyone will have time to read the entire book I suppose.
One very helpful aspect to the book was that at the end of each chapter there was a guide to key recordings of Ellington's life. This type of material is very helpful to those new to Ellington's life.
I found the prose to be clear and adequate although not as lively as some of the other excellent jazz biographies I've read such as Chambers' Milestones.
This book gets a 4.5 star rating for anyone new to Ellington. It's accessible, readable, and gives you several ideas to approach the true gold mine of Ellington's music.
For jazz researchers and scholars, there's still room for a knockout biography of Ellington that adds the information from the Smithsonian collection to wide ranging interviews and even better prose. Researchers will want to read this, but I'm not sure how much of this material is groundbreaking.
4.5 stars for neophytes
3.5 stars for Ellington scholars
4 stars overall

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The Right Hand According to Tatum [Paperback] Review

I found this book to be pretty well written. the author gives an explanation of each phrase, some notes about it and possible variations, and also a brief discussion of the way tatum utilized all those phrases. the book also offers some transcriptions of tatum. But regardless of this, i felt this isnt the way to go: the best way to improve your playing is to transpose these solo's yourself and come up with your way of playing his phrases. Overall, very informative and interesting book about one of the greatest (jazz) musicians of all time

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Product Description:
In this book, Riccardo Scivales, author of Harlem Stride Pianos, has not only transcribed the right hand devices legendary jazz pianist Art Tatum used on his most famous recordings, but has broken them down, explained how they are formed, turned them into drills, and shown us the easiest fingerings for them. Titles: After You've Gone * Esquire Bounce * I Got Rhythm * Indiana * Knockin' Myself Out * Moonglow * Mop Mop * Rock Me Mamma * St. Louis Blues * Sweet Georgia Brown.

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Those Amazing Musical Instruments! with CD: Your Guide to the Orchestra Through Sounds and Stories [Hardcover] Review

This book/CD is REALLY AMAZING!I couldn't believe the information in this book and the accuracy.I teach music in a public school and ordered this for a unit I will be teaching on the orchestra.The interactive CD-ROM can be used with a projector so the entire class can view it.

The book is set up in sections:Introduction/Orchestra/Seating/Sound Waves; Strings; Woodwinds; Brass; Percussion; Keyboards; Voice; Electronic Instruments; Conductor; and even a Dictionary!An overview is given for each of the sections and each instrument has sound files on the CD-ROM. The photographs of each instrument are colorful, with the parts labeled. The descriptions include famous people who learned to play that instrument, how it is played, different genres where it is used; ranges of the instrument and it's relationship to the range of the entire orchestra.

This book not only includes orchestral instruments, but some folk instruments such as guitar (acoustic and electric) and mandolin.The Woodwind section includes 5 of the recorders, great bass, bass, tenor, alto, soprano, and sopranino!Awe shucks, they left out the little garklien!

I let children check out materials from my room and I want more copies of this book for them and one for myself!

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Product Description:
From the cello to the clarinet to the trumpet to the drums, Those Amazing Musical Instruments! takes readers on a musical tour, with notes on the history, construction and sounds of the instruments from each of the major instrument "families." They can see the parts of the violin working together, read about the flute in Mozart's "The Marriage of Figaro," or hear the different sounds of the tuba on the included CD-ROM. This interactive CD-ROM includes individual musical samples giving readers an audible taste of each instrument, as well as full orchestra pieces showing how they play together.

Those Amazing Musical Instruments! features noted conductor Marin Alsop as kids' guide to the instruments, offering helpful comments and tips throughout the book.

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To Be, or Not . . . to Bop [Paperback] Review

Jazz has been a lifelong love of mine, and Dizzy is at the top of the heap! Have always loved his music, and in this book,he gives us a generous lesson on jazz from beginning to end.He lets us in onhow he got the name "Dizzy", as well as other interesting peeks into his life- always with humour and an upbeat attitude.From Page 1 onward, you can visualize Mr. G.,----body keeping timeto the beat in his head, those rubber cheeks expanded, his admirers ... male and female, musicians and non-musicians... listening and swaying and tapping with admiration and awe.

This book is a lesson in music.I used to wonder why the drummers from America sounded so different from the drummers in other countries, say the Caribbean. Why is itthat acertain soundsets Americanmusicapart from all the music elsewhere in the world.Well, Dizzy explains all of this in his down-to-earth and charming manner.Reading this book is almost like getting a degree in musicology....except it's a lot more fun. He sugarcoats nothing, and puts everything out there for you to see.

Well written, informative, great fun, and a lot of history too.To repeat myself, I loved it!

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Three Chords for Beauty's Sake: The Life of Artie Shaw [Hardcover] Review

In 1985, in what I now view as a life event, my wife and I saw Artie Shaw perform at the Blue Note in New York. I passed the 75 year-old jazz star in the hallway, and I was about to approach him, but his manner said stay away. It wasn't personal. Shaw disliked fans; in fact, he said, "Keep `em all away from me," that very night. So I never talked to Artie Shaw. Still, I felt I knew him, having read his memoir, "The Trouble With Cinderella," several times. And now I know him even better, thanks to "Three Chords for Beauty's Sake,The Life of Artie Shaw," an excellent new book by Tom Nolan. It's the tale of how Arthur Arshawsky, a Jewish kid from the Lower East Side, became a popular band leader and great jazz clarinetist almost by force of will. Nolan has all: The childhood anti-Semitism; the long musical apprenticeship; the breakthrough to stardom in 1938 with "Begin the Beguine;" Shaw's walkout from the music business a year later; his return with the mega-hit, "Frenesi;" his breaking of the color line by hiring Billie Holiday, Roy Eldridge and Hot Lips Page; the exquisite tone he drew from the clarinet. The women are here (Lana Turner, Ava Gardner, Betty Grable, Lena Horne), and the war (fighting men cried when Navy Chief Shaw and his Rangers played in jungle outposts or on the decks of aircraft carriers). Here, too, are Shaw's postwar depression, his emergence with a new band, his appearance before the House Un-American Activities Committee and his struggle to write. The book is well-documented, for Shaw lived until 2004 and was always ready to talk about himself to journalists. And it's well-written. But there are two vast holes at the center of it, neither of them Nolan's fault. For one, we never find out why Shaw gave up the clarinet in 1954 after doing some of his best work with a small jazz combo. (He didn't play the night I saw him--he conducted, and shared memories in his gruff way). Shaw's own answers are unsatisfying. And how is it that a flawed human being like Shaw, who rejected his sons and was cruel to his wives, could produce some of the most romantic and lyrical recordings ever made, like "Star Dust," "Dancing in the Dark," "Alone Together" and "Summertime?" I've accepted the fact that I know very little about Artie Shaw.

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The Music of Conlon Nancarrow (Music in the Twentieth Century) [Paperback] Review

Conlon Nancarrow was a creative genious.Although quite possibly the most rhythmically complex and original music ever composed in its time, his music sounds pleasant enough to appeal to those who have no (vested)interest in the science of music.In addition to introducing the manbehind the music, this book provides a thorough and accurate analysis ofthe numerous rhythmic/melodic devices first used by Nancarrow.I believemany of the concepts (such as the hypermeasure) presented in this bookpoint toward the inevitable future of World Art Music.Reading this bookhas inspired numerous of my own compositions, as well as rhythm etudeswhich have liberated my sense of meter as a jazz improviser.This book isessential reading not only for Nancarrow enthusiasts, but also for thosesearching for new directions to explore, and those interested in theconvergence of Western Art Music and World Music (such as North Indianclassical).

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Conlon Nancarrow has written the most rhythmically complex music the world has ever known, so complex that it can only be realized on a mechanical player piano. Yet Nancarrow's whirlwinds of notes, sometimes as many as eighty per second, are jazzy and infectiously joyous. The music he composed in almost complete isolation from 1940 on has only recently achieved international fame, and this is the first book to cover in detail Nancarrow's life and compositional achievements. The book includes analysis of sixty-five works and previously unpublished biographical information.

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Blues People: Negro Music in White America [Paperback] Review

This book is probably the greatest ever written on the early history of black music in America. With rare clarity and glowing intensity, Baraka traces the evolution of black forms such as blues and jazz back to Africa,and presents the reader with genuine insight into the world of the creatorsof these important 20th century art forms. The book is as gripping as anynovel you will ever read, and also crammed with facts and mindbogglinglines of thought. Anybody with even the slightest interest in modern blackmusic needs to read this book, and consider its contents thoroughly.

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"The path the slave took to 'citizenship' is what I want to look at. And I make my analogy through the slave citizen's music -- through the music that is most closely associated with him: blues and a later, but parallel development, jazz... [If] the Negro represents, or is symbolic of, something in and about the nature of American culture, this certainly should be revealed by his characteristic music."
So says Amiri Baraka in the Introduction to Blues People, his classic work on the place of jazz and blues in American social, musical, economic, and cultural history. From the music of African slaves in the United States through the music scene of the 1960's, Baraka traces the influence of what he calls "negro music" on white America -- not only in the context of music and pop culture but also in terms of the values and perspectives passed on through the music. In tracing the music, he brilliantly illuminates the influence of African Americans on American culture and history.

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Ray Charles A Man and His Soul (Legendary Performers -- Volume 5) (Legendary Performance) [Paperback] Review

This book is, mostly, a collection of the original sheet music of songs Ray Charles performed and recorded. In other words, they are the original versions, NOT the versions that Ray recorded. For example, "Georgia On My Mind" is the original Hoagie Carmichael version from 1930, NOT the ultra-smooth version Brother Ray so cooly laid down. Some of the sheets are useable, like "Crying Time," and "Born to Lose," but almost all are NOT the Ray Charles version. You have been warned!

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(Legendary Performers Series #5) A choice collection of some of Ray Charles's most famous songs. Contents feature: Born to LoseGeorgia on My MindHit the Road JackI Can't Stop Loving YouRubySwanee River RockWhat'd I Say. A list of recommended reading on Charles is also included.

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