Ragtime, Vocal Selections [Paperback] Review

I had an urge to play some Ragtime tunes on my piano, so I bought thisbook and began to play.It has the vocal selections along with the sheetmusic.I find that the sheet music consists of many many chords, making itmore difficult, but it's still great fun to play and sing!Great forauditions!
Ragtime has awesome music, and though not all of the bestsongs are in this, most of them are.My favorite song from Ragtime isWheels of a Dream, and I was SO happy to see it in here.
One thing Ienjoyed about the Ragtime music book was that it wasn't chopped up.When Isay that, I mean from experience with other piano books.Many books withchop up the song like from movies for instance.The songs are translatedand arranged horribly, but I loved that since a lot of the music from themusical was in piano solo, the music plays EXACTLY the same as you would'veheard on Broadway!
Overall, each song is wonderful and this music is anabsolute delight to play!Enjoy!

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Product Description:
Titles are: Back to Before * Buffalo Nickel Photoplay, Inc. * Gliding * Goodbye, My Love * Make Them Hear You * New Music * Our Children * Ragtime * Sarah Brown Eyes * Till We Reach That Day * Wheels of a Dream * Your Daddy's Son.

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The Artistry of Bill Evans Vol.2 [Paperback] Review

This is actually Volume 2 (1995), and contains EIGHT (not eighty) transcriptions of Bill Evans piano parts off the recordings. This collection is better than Vol. 1.First, vol. 1 did not transcribe thecomping behind the bass solos.Second, vol. 1 focused on the late Fantasy& early Warner Bros. recordings (1970s), while this collection rangesfrom the first trio on Riverside, some Verve solo and trio sides, and solosides from Fantasy. Gripe: when transcribing trio recordings, is it toomuch to ask that the bass part also be transcribed? Songs: "AutumnLeaves" (mono version), "Spring is Here," and "What isThis Thing Called Love" from PORTRAIT IN JAZZ; "Here's That RainyDay" from ALONE; "I Should Care" and "Make SomeoneHappy" from TOWN HALL; "The Touch of Your Lips" and"What Kind of Fool am I" from ALONE (AGAIN). No extras (vol. 1had a short essay and photos).

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Product Description:
Eighty transcriptions from the late, great jazz master Bill Evans. Titles are: Autumn LeavesHere's That Rainy DayI Should CareMake Someone HappySpring is HereThe Touch of Your LipsWhat Is This Thing Called Love?What Kind of Fool Am I?

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The Harmony of Bill Evans (keyboard instruction) [Paperback] Review

This book is unique in a couple of ways.It is a compilation of articles on how Bill Evans used harmony.Obviously, Evans' extensive studies in college and beyond went far beyond what one thin book can cover, but it does what it does efficiently and well.The author is an unabashedly effusive fan of Evans and throws this energy into the work to make it as clear and understandable as possible.

Articles include:
Peri's Scope-Harmonic Analysis (includes Evans' intensive regimen for learning new songs)
Peri's Scope-Thematic Analysis (good discussion of developing a musical theme)
Times Remembered-Harmonic Analysis
Times Remembered-Modal Analysis
Times Remembered-Intervalic Analysis
"Funny Man" and "I Should Care" (lots of practical discussion of reharmonization techniques
I Fall in Love Too Easily (more reharmonization)
Twelve Tone Tune (probably of more academic than practical interest)
How Deep is the Ocean (advanced reharmonization)
B Minor Waltz (more advanced reharmonization)

For instant gratification, the book provides a rigorous method for learning new songs.For reassurance, it reminds the reader of how much Bill Evans worked on songs before they were "battle ready" and how long the author took to work out fingerings to one Evans song (eight months).It is amazing that jazz musicians have any time to perform at all, given all the techniques they have to learn.For future reference, the book constantly trumpets the virtue of Arnold Schoenberg's 1911 Theory of Harmony, the influence of which is pointed out periodically in Evans' work.

The book presents articles in a fairly logical order of increasing difficulty.It is presented in a fashion easily understandable to me, who knows a good deal of theory, but has no degree in music.

The bad news is, this book will not have an instant and noticeable effect on your piano playing.The good news is, this book is by a highly skilled, true blue Evans fan, who provides enough material to keep most musicians of above-average skill very busy for a long time.Plus, with careful reading and intensive practice, the book should eventually move the dedicated Evans fan a few steps closer to understanding how to play a bit more like him.

I may be a little hard giving this bargain of a music book only four stars.Except for the author's "groupie" tone, the lack of instant magic for my piano playing, and lack of chapters on my favorite tunes, this book would rate five stars from me.It definitely gets my recommendation for people seeking what it offers.

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Product Description:
Bill Evans, the pianist, is a towering figure acknowledged by the jazz world, fans, musicians and critics. However Bill Evans, the composer, has yet to take his place alongside the great masters of composition. Therein lies the sole purpose of this book. A compilation of articles - now revised and expanded - that originally appeared in the quarterly newsletter Letter from Evans, this unique folio features extensive analysis of Evans' work. Pieces examined include: B Minor Waltz * Funny Man * How Deep Is the Ocean * I Fall in Love Too Easily * I Should Care * Peri's Scope * Time Remembered * and Twelve Tone Tune.Author Jack Reilly is a pianist, composer and educator in both the jazz and classical genres. He has chaired the Jazz Studies departments of the New England Conservatory of Music, Mannes College of Music, and The New School. He is presently Jazz Piano Professor at Rowan College in New Jersey.

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The Vince Guaraldi Collection: Piano (Artist Transcriptions) [Paperback] Review

I bought this together with Vince Guaraldi - Greatest Hits, both containing a lot of songs I really wanted to play on the piano myself. That combination has allowed me to hear what Vince played while also reading through the music to see just what it is he played. Without exception, I've found the written music exactly true to what Vince recorded, including pick up notes, tricky min-maj-min progressions, arpeggios, diminished 9th chords, and what-not, and it has made some previously unapproachable passages much easier to understand. I've also been able to use the book as a sort of learning tool, getting a feel for what a jazz musician really tries to accomplish when he sits down and plays a piece. I would like to have seen some fingering indications included, and without those, I think some beginners will not be able to do much with this work. And personally, I didn't find the performance notations particularly useful ("laid back" doesn't really convey much to me), but like I said, I also purchased a CD of Vince's music, so I already have an idea of what sort of sound I want to achieve. Other than those two minor points, I can't find anything wrong with this edition. The binding is "lay flat" perfect bound, so the pages stay glued together but pull away from the spine, allowing this book to retain a crisp appearance and feel even after the pages are pulled open on a music stand. Guaraldi fans and aspiring jazz pianists will gain a lot from this work.

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Product Description:
Along with Dave Brubeck, Vince Guaraldi was one of the leading pianists to rise to prominence from the California Bay Area scene. Originally a Latin jazz musician, his recording of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" is one of the best-selling jazz records of all time. Guaraldi later composed the beloved and timeless music for the Peanuts television specials. This folio spans Guaraldi's multi-faceted career, with note-for-note transcriptions of 9 terrific songs: Cast Your Fate to the Wind * Christmas Time Is Here * Greensleeves * Linus and Lucy * Manha De Carnaval * O Tannenbaum * Outra Vez * Samba De Orfeu * Star Song. Includes a biography and a discography.

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Piano Stylings of Classic Christmas Carols (The Steinway Library of Piano Music) [Sheet music] Review

For those of you that wondered, as I did, what songs were in this book, I'm listing them:
Angels We Have Heard On High
Away In a Manger
Bring A Torch, Jeannette Isabella (??)
Carol Of The Bells
Deck The Halls
The First Noel
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Good King Wenceslas
The Holly & The Ivy
I Heard The Bells
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
Joy To The World
O Christmas Tree
O Come, All Ye Faithful
O Holy Night
O Little Town Of Bethlehem
Silent Night
We Three Kings
We Wish You A Merry Christmas
What Child Is This
That would be 20 songs for around 50 cents a song when the book is on sale; not bad.I tried out about four of them to give an idea of difficulty and harmonics.The level is most close to intermediate; advanced players may find these too easy technically.However, there is a level of difficulty for the player to make the piano sing the melody in a pleasing and/or moving fashion.Silent Night is an acid test because there isn't much harmonic variety in the song as written.The arrangement here adds a little color without straying too far from the familiar.In some arrangements, however, the harmonic resolutions were not as good as they should be; there are obvious attempts to surprise the ear by adding unexpected chords that then do not fold back in very smoothly.In such instances I'm not afraid to alter the chord progression to a more pleasing result.

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Product Description:
Twenty of the most beloved Christmas carols of all time. As in all the volumes of this superb series, each setting has been crafted by top arrangers to sound gorgeous and professionally polished, yet all the music is quite playable. Also included are arranger profiles and complete lyrics of the carols. As with all books in this series, it includes a unique lay-flat binding to help keep the music open on the music stand.

Titles include: Away in a Manger
* Carol of the Bells
* The First Noel
* The Holly and the Ivy
* It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
* Joy to the World
* O Come, All Ye Faithful
* O Little Town of Bethlehem
* Silent Night
* We Wish You a Merry Christmas and more.

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Yuletide Jazz: 20 Christmas Favorites (The Phillip Keveren Series) [Paperback] Review

I only discovered Phillip Keveren within the last year and a half, when I purchased another book by him: Hymns with a Touch of Jazz: 15 Traditional Hymns Arranged in Jazz Style (The Phillip Keveren Series).I initially only played a few songs out of it, but eventually pulled it out and spent some time learning all of them.I loved it so much and got so many positive comments from the congregation that I decided I should buy another book of his.Being the holiday season I purchased this one and can't say enough.The songs are each arranged beautifully.There are so many of those "Ah" moments.I am actually using this book in service this Sunday.

To those who are wondering if it is appropriate for your skill level, know that most, if not all, of his books are arranged for late intermediate/ early advanced players.There are some tricky rhythms (especially syncopation), accidentals, fingerings and the like, but it's well worth the time and effort needed to perfect these pieces and bring them up to a performance standard.

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Product Description:
Jazz up your Christmas festivities with over 20 songs masterfully arranged by Phillip Keveren for solo piano. For the first time in his series, a CD is included with stunning recordings of Phillip performing each selection! Includes: Angels We Have Heard on High * Carol of the Bells * Deck the Hall * The First Noel * Here We Come A-Wassailing * The Holly and the Ivy * In the Bleak Midwinter * O Christmas Tree * Up on the Housetop * and more.

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The Big Book of Torch Songs 2nd Ed. (Piano/Vocal/Guitar Songbook) [Paperback] Review

I have a wide range... can sing soprano and alto quite easily, but when I sing torch songs or other jazz/blues standards, I prefer to sing them in my lower register. This book is great with offering these types of songs, but the keys they are in are HORRIBLE! They must be transposed down to even be comfortable for a woman to sing them in that "sulty-torch-song" style. I wouldn'trecommend it at all... instead, I found a book called "Belter's Hot Standards." This has been my Bible of music! Go find that book if you're a woman looking for low jazz songs.

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Product Description:
Features 75 heart-on-the-sleeve standards, such as: Angel Eyes * As Long as He Needs Me * Bewitched * Black Coffee * Crazy * Cry Me a River * Glad to Be Unhappy * Good Morning Heartache * Here's That Rainy Day * I'll Be Seeing You * Misty * Mood Indigo * My Man * My Old Flame * The Party's Over * Skylark * So in Love * Stormy Weather * When Sunny Gets Blue * and more.

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The Great Family Songbook: A Treasury of Favorite Show Tunes, Sing Alongs, Popular Songs, Jazz & Blues, Children's Melodies, International Ballads, Fplk ... Jingles, and More for Piano and Guitar [Spiral-bound] Review

This book has an excellent selection of songs for families to play and sing together, everything from "Hava Nagila" to "Look for the Silver Lining" to "If You're Happy and You Know It." You can argue with their song choice, of course. Everyone will find gaps, but that would be true of any book like this. Personally, I'd recommend "Keep on the Sunny Side," for their second edition. Pros: great songs in good keys, chords and piano arrangements,beautiful illustrations, etc. It came in handy last night when I looked up "Auld Lang Syne." However there are some easy ways it could be improved in the next edition: give it a metal spiral binding, simplify the chords a little bit, make the lyrics stand out a little more from the page (better typeface? different color?), and include more the lyrics (Erie Canal only has one of the three verses). That's nitpicking however, this book is a very good deal, particularly for $13.00.

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Product Description:
A one-of-a-kind collection of the songs you love to play and sing, including music and chords for piano and guitar. Now in a new paperback format with a lay-flat, wire-o binding

Hours of family fun and entertainment featuring 100 carefully selected songs from every era and for every occasion, from "She'll Be Comin' Round the Mountain" and "Clementine," to "Amazing Grace" and "Simple Gifts." Charmingly illustrated with four-color drawings throughout


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Improvising Blues Piano [Paperback] Review

This is a great book! I'm a beginning/intermediate piano player, I went through the first two Alfred's All-in-One Adult piano books and really enjoyed them (and recommend them!). But I found myself at a fork in the road: I was happy to continue memorizing "pieces", and practicing "technique", but I found myself wanting to know more about improvising. I play drums in a blues band, and I've had some music theory for keyboard percussion, so I'm not a total musical-novice. I tried out some other books (Mark Harrison's "Blues Piano: Hal Leonard Keyboard Style Series", but it's still a little over my head, perhaps in a year or so it'll be good for me. Also "David Bennett Cohen Teaches Blues Piano: A Hands-On Course in Traditional Blues Piano", but it really didn't light my fire either, and if I recall correctly, didn't have finger markings which I still find helpful.)This book pulls it all together for me: some blues music theory, some blues history, clearly-marked "assignments", a CD included, (a spiral binding that lays flat on the stand!) ... I'm hooked!

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Product Description:
The basic principles of blues piano explained for the intermediate-level pianist in an easy-to-grasp fashion.

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The Definitive Jazz Collection (Definitive Collections) [Paperback] Review

No "fake book", or "real book" this.You get full, well-thought-out harmonizations.This isn't how Jazz pianists acquire their numbers, but hey, this graduate of the weekly visit to the traditional read-the-music-and-play-it-exactly-as-written piano teacher likes it just fine this way.Having played through about 25% of the songs, I'll say there are no really bad arrangements, and quite a few very good ones.The technical difficulty is toward the higher end of the non-classical stuff you find in the music stores -- the average song is about as hard (if you want to play all the notes) as a Chopin Waltz or a Clementi Sonatina.

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Product Description:
A once-in-a-lifetime collection of 90 of the greatest jazz songs ever compiled into one volume. Includes: Ain't Misbehavin' * All the Things You Are * Birdland * Body and Soul * A Foggy Day * Girl From Ipanema * Here's That Rainy Day * The Lady Is a Tramp * Love for Sale * Mercy, Mercy, Mercy * Midnight Sun * Moonlight in Vermont * Night and Day * Skylark * Stormy Weather * Sweet Georgia Brown.

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Bill Evans: How My Heart Sings [Paperback] Review

As a jazz pianist who has studied Evans' music for nearly 40 years, it always struck me how Bill Evans could start out his career with such musical curiosity, adventure and brilliance, only to settle into a longperiod of simply going through the motions. And while Bill Evans goingthrough the motions is still a beautiful thing, now I know why. We all knewBill Evans was a junkie, but somehow dealing with it on an everyday basisin this book puts it all into perspective. Bill Evans started out straight,so straight that he didn't turn to drugs until he was already in thespotlight in Miles Davis' group (in contrast to someone like Stan Getz whowas into it from his earliest gigs). But unlike Davis and Getz, who hadlonger periods of sobriety to clean up their act and renew their approachto their craft, Bill Evans did not.
The result is a flash of light thatglows into the mid sixties, but then dies out in a sea of repetition,hemming in his style into a smaller and smaller box as he went along. Wesee the mind of an intelligent, educated man, drawing on his classicalinfluences to create a unique voice; we see perhaps his initial exposure todrugs producing a shimmering impressionistic sound that is foreverrecognizable, and then we see it all wear off into a self imposed lifesentence, cutting off his imagination, if not all of his feelings. BillEvans did not take care of himself, and for that we are all worse off. Thathe could die partially of malnutrition just underscores the very sadpoint.
One does see a curiously ascetic individual-drug abusenotwithstanding-who simply doesn't seem to care about much other than hisart (as he states in his video, The Universal Mind of Bill Evans). Someonealmost religiously wedded to this calling, who cares only about hisrelationship with his craft, and let the chips fall where they may. Thisdedication in jazz musicians, often with scant financial reward, is alwaysfascinating, and gives us all an understanding of what their commitmentmeans.
Pettinger does us all a great favor by chronicling his life, andhis knowledge of classical music is of great assistance as he traces Evans'influences among European composers. But his lack of knowledge of jazzalmost cancels that out, as he seems unable to interpret Evans' jazztechnique at all. The fact that he never states that Evans key innovationwas to introduce the interval of the second (major and minor) into the jazzharmonic repertory-devising a new system of voicing with a unique sound-isa major omission. He refers to this throughout as the "scrunch"sound. The "scrunch" is a minor second, folks.
To really tellthe story of Bill Evans, you need to understand the influence of drugs onthe artist's work; but here Pettinger has no clue. For instance, one can"hear" the heroin affecting his sound in the classic Sundayafternoon recordings: soft touch, liquid sound, fluid legato approach, evenup tempo numbers have a delicate swing. Toward the end of his life, we"hear" cocaine-hard driving, more rhythmic, more aggressive. Forsomeone like Evans, who it seems hardly ate at all, drugs had an importantphysical impact on his life, and certainly affected the direction of hisart. But this is a blind spot for the classically oriented Pettinger.
Healso seems unable to distinguish between truly important and pedestrianperformances; he's a bit too star struck for my taste. He also totallymisreads the Gary Peacock trio (Trio `64) which, while very different fromhis others, is his best after the classic trio with Scott LaFaro. I canattest to this from two tables away from the piano at the Village Vanguardback in 1964. Peacock, with his prodigious imagination, technique andsound, was giving Evans exactly the creative impetus he needed as Evansreeled from depression after Scott LaFaro's tragic death. Peacock, had henot gone for a "diet and meditation trip" could have pushed thepianist into a new creative mode. But that was not to be, and Evans settledinto comfortable repertory. Pettinger doesn't grasp thesignificance.
Other works that don't get their due: The Bill Evans andSymphony Orchestra album, easily the best I've ever heard of the genre. Butit's great not because Ogerman and Evans "do" the classics;rather it's great because they capture the feeling of these classics,something that serious musicians seldom do. And Evans is improvising on thechanges, the way the great masters once did, in a truly inspired fashion.In this book, it's just another album. Similarly, the Symbiosis album isglossed over. Another Ogerman work, this time covering challengingmodernistic terrain while still maintaining a high level of feeling,balancing Appolonian and Dionysian extremes brilliantly. The extended reedstatement in the second movement, with complex, long lines that flirt inand out of tonality; the following improvisation using the most complexseries of chords I've ever heard in a jazz piece, many with roots a minorsecond above or below the fundamental chord. It's breakthrough stuff, butonly gets a quick take from Pettinger.
We could have used some straighttalk about the trios. Evans almost lost it after LaFaro's death, and hisnext trio was an effort at survival. But you have to admit that ChuckIsraels left a lot to be desired in the early going, all the morenoticeable in contrast to LaFaro. On How My Heart Sings, he just doesn'tmake the changes. He grew considerably over the years, and got to be asolid compliment to Evans. But we do see after LaFaro and Peacock aconscious shift toward a more dependable type of music, and a moredependable bass player. Eddie Gomez, viewed against LaFaro or Peacock issimply dependable. Talented? Yes. But dependable¾not inspired.
So Evans,hobbled by drugs, chooses to work his craft, dependably, for the rest ofhis career. And indeed, he produces many great moments. But we can't helpbut wonder whether he spent the rest of his life mourning that first,wonderful trio. And who could blame him? But we wish he could have gottenover it, that he could have had the courage to take some risks. Perhaps hewould have found something that place again. We'll never know. But I'd liketo have known a bit more about what Evans' choice of partners, andrepertory meant.
I'm also not a great fan of books that attempt tocharacterize endless discography in layman's terms. After a while, we needto know more than the fact that a solo was "shimmering" or"beautiful". Trudging through the discography, however, we seeclumps of albums that Evans did just to support his habit, and the unevenresults become more clear, as does the sometimes endless repetition ofmaterial. He did find new ways to do all those tunes; but he did stretchhis repertory quite thin; and now we understand why.
For all hisproblems with drugs, we see relatively little of the first hand impact ofhis dependence. This is very unlike "Stan Getz: A Life in Jazz"which chronicles Getz' frequent personal and emotional problems. Theseproblems do illuminate the artist's approach to his craft, andunfortunately they are mostly missing here.
In the end, Bill Evans is theguiding light of modern jazz piano, whose legacy extends to practicallyeveryone who has played from 1960 on. But his output and life were quiteuneven; a more realistic appraisal would have been helpful withoutdetracting a bit from his legendary contributions.
But with itsshortcomings, the book is still an essential read for anyone interested inEvans, jazz piano, or modern jazz history. There ain't nothin' else on thesubject as of yet, but hopefully with this, there will eventually bemore.
Finally, books like this bring us to the influence of drugs onjazz-the music and musicians. We'd like to say now that jazz is free of thetyranny of drugs, but where does that leave us? We have a major star thatis a Harvard MBA, we have commercial success at Lincoln Center, but whereis the inspiration? Where is the innovation? Certainly an acceptableinterval has passed since Miles, Bill Evans and John Coltrane were on thescene, but the torch has not been passed. Jazz, if free from the tyranny ofdrugs, needs to move to the next level-innovation and inspiration withoutdrugs. Having mastered career and made inroads in the market, maybe now wecan step back and focus on the music again,. the way masters like BillEvans, Miles and Coltrane did. When we get there, we'll look back at thesefallen idols and thank them for their inspiration, and for the bitterlessons that they taught us.

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Jamie Cullum - Twentysomething (Piano/Vocal/Guitar Artist Songbook) [Paperback] Review

If you are looking for a faithful transcription of Jamie's album, this is not it. If you are looking for a slightly challenging book of fun tunes to play, this might be for you. Jamie's vocals are written in as the primary portion of the right hand part. This is a good start, however, for those that are looking to play his wonderful album. It will take a little work on your part to be able to play exactly what Jamie does, but more work to improve is what I need. That's why this gets 3.5 stars.

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Product Description:
Matching folio to the album from the British piano-playing vocalist sensation who mixes jazz and modern pop into his own unique blend. 14 songs, including: Blame It on My Youth * But for Now * I Could Have Danced All Night * I Get a Kick Out of You * Lover, You Should've Come Over * These Are the Days * Twentysomething * What a Diff'rence a Day Made * The Wind Cries Mary * and more.

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Torch Songs: A Collection of Sultry Jazz and Big Band Standards [Paperback] Review

I am usually very disappointed with a lot of music books but this one was just great.Apart from including songs that I couldn't find anywhere else (Guess who I saw today? and Mad About the Boy) I found the keys perfect. Although I am a soprano and can easily reach high B, far too many songs these days are published in high key which just doesn't suit the style at all. I have been told that most songs today are written in the male tenor range, I don't know how true this is.I like to sing torch and jazz in my lower register and this book allows for that.I also bought The Best Jazz Standards Ever and am very happy with that too.On another point I really like being able to view the list of contents and excerpt pages before ordering.One small complaint is your shipping costs to Australia - the shipping actually cost me more than both books!

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Product Description:
Sing your heart out with this collection of 59 sultry jazz and big band melancholy masterpieces, including: Angel Eyes * Cry Me A River * I Can't Get Started * I Got It Bad And That Ain't Good * I'm Glad There Is You * Lover Man (Oh, Where Can You Be?) * Misty * My Funny Valentine * Stormy Weather * and many more! 224 pages.

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How To Play Chord Symbols In Jazz And Popular Music [Plastic Comb] Review

When you read and play the chords described throughout this beautiful, spiral bound (!) book, a world of expressive and gorgeous chords will be heard. Incredible harmonic and jazzy sounds that are easy to play are covered. These are the meat and potatoes of all fake (improvisation) books. This is how those musicians create such wonderful expressive chords and tones in gigs. Everything is clearly written, absolutely clearly illustrated, and comprehensive in description. I am amazed that for under $12. I found such a music book treasure. Go ahead, become a much better piano/keyboard player with this easy to afford and learn book. Amaze yourself!

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Product Description:
The purpose of this book is to develop facility in reading alphabetical chord symbols at the keyboard, with the ultimate goals being the ability to play fakebook leadsheets and understand popular sheet music chord symbols.

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Cats of Any Color: Jazz, Black and White [Paperback] Review

Gene Lees strikes me as one of the more level-headed individuals in jazz. Like it or not, the hard-core jazzword is these days filled with elitists, racists (mostly reverse thesedays), and people protecting their "territory."When I see the doings andhear the rantings of the likes of Stanley Crouch and other pretentious writers and "social critics," I am reminded of the character ofMax Mercy from Bernard Malamud's novel (and the movie) The Natural...Mercyisn't interested in baseball and has never played a game, but stirring upcontroversy using baseball as his medium keeps him in the spotlight andmakes him rich.Crouch is much the same way--would any of us have heard ofhim, would he have a tenth of his current income and notoriety were he notclutching the coattails of a currently well-known jazz musician?Lees'discussion of Crouch, of other figures in jazz history, and his inside stories about the jazz world and the psyches within it are like a bucket of cold water to most of what passes for jazz scholarship today.But don't get the impression this is a kiss-and-tell book, or something scandalous.Mr. Lees is actually a rather level headedindividual.A must read for anyone not in any "camp" ordefending any "turf" but who just loves music and musicians and realizes that jazz, like any art, is a mixture and mixing that quickly becomes so intricate it's impossible for any one group to claim they "own" it.Too bad there are only two other reviews of this book on Amazon's page as of this writing.I can see people would rather believe the hypola histories instead.Too bad...

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The Very Best of Diana Krall: Piano/Vocal/Chords [Paperback] Review

So...I'm not the worst piano player on the block but a lot of arrangement books I've bought were extremely difficult for me to play.This book is great.Of course I'm a big Krall fan but the way this is put together works for me.I like a moderate to difficult piano score with melody line and accurate cords then I mix and match as I play.These arrangement allow me to do that. You can start out simple and increase the difficultly as you learn the arrangement.

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Product Description:
Titles: S Wonderful
* All or Nothing at All
* East of the Sun (And West of the Moon)
* Fly Me to the Moon
* Ive Got You Under My Skin
* Lets Face the Music and Dance
* Lets Fall in Love
* Little Girl Blue
* Only the Lonely
* Peel Me a Grape
* Pick Yourself Up
* The Frim Fram Sauce
* The Heart of Saturday Night
* The Look of Love
* You Go to My Head.

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Piano Stylings of the Great Standards, Vol. III (The Steinway Library of Piano Music) [Paperback] Review

I ownthe first three of the books in the Steinway Jazz Standards series and all are excellent. Arrangement are from intermediate to advanced and because they have different arrangers the pieces don't sound stale as you progress through them. You might even pick up a few ideas for your own arrangements and improvisations. The font was well chosen making the music easy to read. The binding is a bit stiff causing the pages to annoying flip back in mid play - but what music book isn't like that?

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Product Description:
Arranged for Piano. 10 of America's most treasured songs. Including: 'S Wonderful, The More I See You, While We're Young, Honeysuckyle Rose, The Days Of Wine And Roses, I'll Get By, Love Is Here To Stay, Dancing On The Ceiling, Smoke Gets In Your Eyes and Skylark.

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Movie Songs by Special Arrangement (Jazz-Style Arrangements with a ""Variation""): Piano Acc. [Paperback] Review

This book is markedly better than many of the "play along" books I have purchased for alto sax.
First, the books are aimed only at alto sax--not at a hodge-podge collection of instruments.This means every page of the book is useful to the alto sax player, unlike some books where music for other instruments takes up large portions of the book.
Second, Strommen has created arrangements that have the "basic" melody in the first half of the song followed by melodic riffs/alto sax solos in the second half.The arrangements are targeted for alto sax and are put together to get a full and interesting sound.This allows a novice or intermediate player to sound like a "real" saxophonist instead of someone who is stuggling through a barren and uninteresting melodic line.
Third, the accompanying CD is excellent.Even numbered tracks have a trio made up of percussion, piano and a REAL alto sax.(This is compared to many other CDs which have the piano or bells playing the sax part.) Odd numbered tracks leave out the sax so you can play along.In all tracks the piano and the percussion are arranged to support the sax so again you really feel and sound like a saxophonist.
Strommen has three books that I know of that are all produced in the same style--a movies book, a Gershwin book and a Christmas book.They are all excellent in my humble opinion. If you are looking for an alto sax book that has sound musical values, is playable by a novice/intermediate player, and will make you sound AWESOME then these are the books for you!

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Product Description:
Each collection contains 11 songs arranged for the instrumentalist wanting to play in a jazz style -- without the need to learn to improvise. All of the books are compatible, with only minimal changes in the ""variation"" section to accommodate the ranges and unique characteristics of the instruments.

The immortal and memorable motion picture titles are: Sweet Georgia Brown
* Over the Rainbow
* A Day in the Life of a Fool
* Bye, Bye, Blackbird
* As Time Goes By
* Days of Wine and Roses
* Emily
* The Way You Look Tonight
* Misty
* On Green Dolphin Street
* Almost Like Being in Love.

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Jazz Piano Voicings Skill [Paperback] Review

When my teacher recommended I buy this book, I found not too many people know about it. It was hard to find. That's too bad, this is really a great book.

This book is basically a collection of piano voicings for many different types of chords, in all keys. There's not too much explanation, just the guidelines so we can use the exercises properly and learn how to voice open chords. This is not a Chord Dictionary, it's about how to voice chords. You must know how to read music to benefit from this.

If you are a beginner at jazz piano, this is a great tool to learn open chords.

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Product Description:
Jazz Piano Voicing Skills by Dan Haerle. APPLICABLE FOR ALL INSTRUMENTS. A graded course on piano voicing skills, starting with simple block chords over Major and Minor and logically and methodically progressing into more exotic and advanced polychords and substitutions. Includes 123 skills in all twelve keys, designed to initiate a feel and understanding of piano voicings and how they work. Each new chapter includes a page of concise instructions for the teacher or the student. Works well for both classroom or individual study. The 156 spiral bound pages allow the book to open fully and easily on your keyboard music rack

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Jazz Classics: Jazz Piano Solos Series Volume 14 [Paperback] Review

Somehow they managed to simplify the arrangements so that they still sound professional, but not so tricky that onlya gifted few can play them. I have many sheet music transcriptions of Bill Evan, Chick Corea, Mehegan jazz studies, etc that I purchased over the years, but most are so technically challenging that you can forget about getting in a relaxed groove, so I ended up just playing some playable classical sheet music from time to time to keep in practice. But this jazz piano series of Hal Leonard has really filled a need, in my opinion.

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Product Description:
Rich piano solo arrangements of 21 of the best jazz gems of all time: Bernie's Tune * Birdland * Donna Lee * Footprints * Impressions * On Green Dolphin Street * Red Clay * Robbin's Nest * St. Thomas * Turn Out the Stars * Windows * Yardbird Suite * and more.

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