Evolving Bassist [Plastic Comb] Review

"The Evolving Bassist" has come to be the standard bass method book in the world of jazz.In it, Rufus Reid explains his "concept" of playing bass, moving beyond merely playing quarter notes to progressive and thoughtful bass lines.
As the title of the book indicates, this is a process.The book is designed for players of any level to develop a well-rounded approach to the bass.
The main portion of the method includes etudes, scales, and standard patterns for Latin bass lines, Rock bass lines, etc.Also included are many practical hints, answers to frequently asked questions, discography, and transcriptions of a number of Mr. Reid's compositions.
"The Evolving Bassist" is all around an excellent aid for the growing jazz bass player.

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Product Description:
A comprehensive new edition based on major revisions to Reid's The Evolving Bassist and Evolving Upward. Contains more transcriptions of Reid's recorded solos, original compositions arranged as duets, new etudes, and additional ways to learn tunes and conceive better bass lines. The Evolving Bassist will continue to be an all-inclusive bass player's reference book as well as a classic method book.

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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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The Jazz Bass Book - Technique and Tradition Book/CD (Softcover) (Bass Player Musician's Library) [Paperback] Review

This book is essentially an annotated and expanded collection of columns originally published in Bass Player magazine. As such, it's more of a disconnected set of essays than a narrative; the discussion of significant bass players is somewhat spotty, and doesn't go into great detail on their music and style in the way that (for example" Todd Coolman's "The Bass Tradition" does. But it's still both entertaining and educational. The chapters, being mostly self-contained, can be read at random as the reader's interest dictates.
The first section of the book is primarily short snapshots of significant bassists, each being composed of a short biography accompanied by brief musical examples. The latter section- almost an appendix- consists of longer examples of styles and techniques. It's not really a method book, but it does offer some insight into styles and harmonic and rhythmic concepts for the beginning or intermediate jazz bassists. The accompanying CD helps illustrate the musical examples for those whose reading and playing techniqueare at a more basic stage.
All in all, a very entertaining and useful book for jazz bassists of all abilities, and an excellent choice for bedside reading.

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Product Description:
More than a playerÃ-s manual, this book portrays jazz bass as a vital element of 20th century American music. Citing examples from key recordings in the jazz canon, the book defines the essence of the musical contributions made by more than 70 important jazz bassists, including Ray Brown, Eddie Gomez, Charles Mingus, Milt Hinton and many others. Bassists get expert guidance on mastering proper technique, practice methods and improvisation, plus new insight into the theoretical and conceptual aspects of jazz. The companion CD featuring bass plus rhythm section allows readers to hear technical examples from the book, presented in slow and fast versions. It also offers play-along tracks of typical chord progressions and song forms.

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Jade Visions: The Life and Music of Scott LaFaro (North Texas Lives of Musician Series) [Hardcover] Review

Jade Visions is the first and only biography devoted to the too-brief life and meteoric career of jazz bassist Scott LaFaro. Known best as a member of pianist Bill Evans' dream trio, which included the still-vital drummer Paul Motian, LaFaro also performed across the entire spectrum of jazz in the '50s and early '60s, from the big bands of Benny Goodman and Stan Kenton, to romantic balladeer-trumpeter Chet Baker, to the free jazz adventures of Ornette Coleman and Gunther Schuller.

Little has been known about LaFaro's life off-stage until now. A private person, judged as aloof and even unlikeable by some who encountered him casually, he was already obsessed by music and the uncompromising pursuit of excellence by the time he reached high school. Jade Visions, written by his sister Helene LaFaro Fernandez, tells an engaging tale of their unconventional upbringing, along with their three younger sisters, by rather free-thinking parents in a large and affectionate Italian-American family.

LaFaro's short life was not dramatic compared to the well-chronicled meltdowns and often self-inflicted health problems of similarly gifted artists. He did not face racial discrimination, as did so many jazz stars of the era. He helped watch over his four sisters and mother after the premature death of his father. He sent playful postcards to his family from the road, and checked out his kid sister Helene's dates to make sure they measured up to his expectations. But on stage and in the practice room, he was, to sum up in a single word, intense.

Passages by the author describing their family life alternate with insights into LaFaro's prodigious musical gifts by Gene Lees, Eddie Gomez, Gary Peacock, Marc Johnson, Rufus Reid, Stanley Clarke, Herb Mickman, Jeff Campbell, Phil Palombi and dozens of others. The great classical soloist Gary Karr was also aware of LaFaro as he was launching his own fabled career, and relates how he was inspired to continue pushing the boundaries of what was considered possible on the double bass in part due to the example of LaFaro's innovations.

The book is written in an enjoyable, conversational style, and a number of never before published photos are included, as well as a complete discography, bibliography and archival magazine articles. Jade Visions is not only a snapshot of life as a working musician in the late 1950s and early 1960s, but also the intimate story of a single-minded young musician who transformed himself in seven short years from high school band student to DownBeat magazine rising star.

History has already passed judgment on his accomplishments and declared him a superstar for the ages. Christian McBride observes, "Scotty's playing was the bible for bass players...Jimmy Blanton the old testament, Scotty, the new." Almost a half century after his death, LaFaro's photo recently graced the cover of Bass Player magazine, along with a feature length essay on LaFaro's continuing relevance today by jazz historian and bassist John Goldsby. By the time you read this review, Jade Visions will be back on the presses for a second printing, less than six months after its release. Read it to the soundtrack of Pieces of Jade, a companion CD that includes rehearsal tape of Evans and LaFaro working out the changes to My Foolish Heart.

Jazz fans around the world owe Helene LaFaro Fernandez a huge debt of gratitude for sharing the personal story of her brother Scotty, whose artistry remains timeless.

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