One of the thrills of listening to Sinatra is wondering how he did it—and this book explains it all, bringing the dedicated fan and the casual music lover alike into the recording studio to witness the fascinating working methods he introduced and mastered in his quest for recorded perfection. Revealed is how, in addition to introducing and perfecting a unique vocal style, Sinatra was also his own in-studio producer—personally supervising every aspect of his recordings, from choosing the songs and arrangers to making minute adjustments in microphone placement.

    Now guitarists can have all three volumes of this classic guitar method in one convenient book! Created by popular demand, this new edition of the method used as the basic text for the renowned Berklee College of Music guitar program is a complete compilation of the original Volumes 1, 2, and 3. Innovative solos, duets and exercises progressively teach melody, harmony and rhythm. Perfect for the serious guitar student and instructor alike.

    An incredible presentation of the most practical exercises an aspiring jazz student could want. All are logically interwoven with fine real world examples from jazz to classical. This book is an essential anthology of technical, compositional, and theoretical exercises, with lots of musical examples.

    Now, with Lost Chords, musician-historian Richard M. Sudhalter challenges this narrow view, with a book that pays definitive tribute to a generation of white jazz players, many unjustly forgotten--while never scanting the role of the great black pioneers. Greeted enthusiastically by the jazz community upon its original publication, this monumental volume offers an exhaustively documented, vividly narrated history of white jazz contribution in the vital years 1915 to 1945. Beginning in New Orleans, Sudhalter takes the reader on a fascinating multicultural odyssey through the hot jazz gestation centers of Chicago and New York, Indiana and Texas, examining such bands such as the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, the Original Memphis Five, and the Casa Loma Orchestra. Readers will find luminous accounts of many key soloists, including Bix Beiderbecke, Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden, Red Norvo, Bud Freeman, the Dorsey Brothers, Bunny Berigan, Pee Wee Russell, and Artie Shaw, among others. Sudhalter reinforces the reputations of these and many other major jazzmen, pleading their cases persuasively and eloquently, without ever descending to polemic. Along the way, he gives due credit to Louis Armstrong, Lester Young, Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, and countless other major black figures. Already hailed as a basic reference book on the subject--and now incorporating information that has come to light since its first publication--Lost Chords is a ground-breaking book that should significantly alter perceptions about jazz and its players, reminding readers of this great music's multicultural origins.

    Learn how, by manipulating the three major principles of music: rhythm, harmony and melody, music can effect the body in five basic ways, both physiological and psychological. This book illustrates what musical instruments are appropriate. You will learn how to assess the patients immediate needs and how to address them. For the more advanced, simple modal theory (to play contemplative chant) and nine examples from the three traditional music strains are included, plus much more.

    From bebop pioneers Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie to the groundbreaking modal experiments of Miles Davis and John Coltrane, Giant Steps traces the backbone of modern jazz, providing an entertaining and informative read for new fans and seasoned listeners alike.

    In 1920, Langston Hughes's poem The Negro Speaks of Rivers was published in The Crisis and W. E. B. Du Bois, the magazine's editor, wrote about the coming "renaissance of American Negro literature," beginning what is now known as the Harlem Renaissance. The Crisis Reader is a collection of poems, short stories, plays, and essays from this great literary period and includes, in addition to four previously unpublished poems by James Weldon Johnson, work by Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, Jessie Fauset, Charles Chesnutt, W. E. B. Du Bois, and Alain Locke.

    Music. African American Studies. A companion volume to the critically acclaimed READING JAZZ, WRITING JAZZ is the first comprehensive historical anthology of writings on jazz by African-American musicians, critics, writers, and poets. Arranged chronologically, with equal attention paid both to criticism and lyrical art, this collection encompasses voices from the Spirituals and the Blues to Free Jazz and the Black Arts Movement. It includes selections from Louis Armstrong, Amiri Baraka, Sidney Bechet, Miles Davis, Ralph Ellison, Dizzie Gillespie, Nikki Giovanni, Billie Holiday, Son House, Langston Hughes, Furry Lewis, Albert Murray, Ishmael Reed, Sonia Sanchez, Willie The Lion Smith, Wole Soyinka, Ethel Waters, Booker White, Richard Wright, and others.Editor David Meltzer adds his own breadth of knowledge on jazz to the brew with his Pre-text introduction and afterthought Sub-text discussion. Challenging and no doubt controversial, WRITING JAZZ, like its companion, is a valuable historical sourcebook and a provocative read.

    This distinctive biography, published on the centenary of his birth, draws on rare archival material to interweave Ellington's own observations and reminiscences with those who knew and worked with him. The text also includes a wealth of Ellington memorabilia to re-create in vivid narrative and illustration the jazz great's life and musical artistry against the background of his colorful times. Stuart Nicholson's skillful use of first-hand accounts allows the reader to fully experience Ellington's story and to relive the vibrant jazz scene in which he worked. The author charts the course of his brilliant career, from sign writer, pianist, and poolroom hustler in Washington, D.C., to star performer at Harlem's Cotton Club, to internationally acclaimed bandleader, composer, and arranger. He offers revealing insights into the private man, recounting his strengths, faults, humor, attitude toward business, and love of women. Nicholson also explores Ellington's struggles as a black artist in the white-dominated entertainment world. This engaging and innovative biography provides the most authentic portrait yet available of the legendary jazz musician.