Best of
Jazz

2004

The Real Book - Volume I - Sixth Edition: C Edition


Hal Leonard Corporation - 2004
    The Real Books are the best-selling jazz books of all time. Since the 1970s, musicians have trusted these volumes to get them through every gig, night after night. The problem is that the books were illegally produced and distributed, without any regard to copyright law, or royalties paid to the composers who created these musical masterpieces. Hal Leonard is very proud to present the first legitimate and legal editions of these books ever produced. You won't even notice the difference, other than that all of the notorious errors have been fixed: the covers and typeface look the same, the song list is nearly identical, and the price for our edition is even cheaper than the original! Every conscientious musician will appreciate that these books are now produced accurately and ethically, benefitting the songwriters that we owe for some of the greatest tunes of all time! Includes 400 songs: All Blues * Au Privave * Autumn Leaves * Black Orpheus * Bluesette * Body and Soul * Bright Size Life * Con Alma * Dolphin Dance * Don't Get Around Much Anymore * Easy Living * Epistrophy * Falling in Love with Love * Footprints * Four on Six * Giant Steps * Have You Met Miss Jones? * How High the Moon * I'll Remember April * Impressions * Lullaby of Birdland * Misty * My Funny Valentine * Oleo * Red Clay * Satin Doll * Sidewinder * Stella by Starlight * Take Five * There Is No Greater Love * Wave * and hundreds more! Editions also available in B-flat, E-flat, and Bass Clef. Looking for a particular song? Check out the Real Book Songfinder here.

A Terry Teachout Reader


Terry Teachout - 2004
    This collection gathers the best of Teachout’s writings from the past fifteen years. In each essay he offers lucid and balanced judgments that invariably illuminate, sometimes infuriate, and always spark a response—the mark of a critic whose thoughts, however controversial, cannot be ignored. In a thoughtful introduction to the book, Teachout considers how American culture of the twenty-first century differs from that of the last century and how the information age has altered popular culture. His selected essays chronicle America’s cultural journey over the past decade and a half, and they show us what has been lost—and gained—along the way. With highly informed opinions, an inimitable wit and style, and a genuine devotion to all things cultural, Teachout offers his readers much to delight in and much to ponder.

Bix: The Definitive Biography of a Jazz Legend


Jean Pierre Lion - 2004
    Take that from Satchmo! He was a born genius " Louis Armstrong Bix Beiderbecke is one of jazz music s most enigmatic figures, and he has captivated listeners since his career began in the 1920s. He died at just 28, leaving many loose ends and inspiring much speculation. This book aims to clarify many of the myths created by the musician's premature death and the fictionalizations of Bix's life (three novels and a film: "Remembering Bix" by Ralph Berton, "1929" by Fredericks W. Turner, and "Young Man with a Horn" by Dorothy Baker, and the 1950 film of Baker's novel by Michael Curtiz), and to update his two prior biographies ("Bix, Man and Legend" being out of print for many years). French jazz scholar Jean Pierre Lion traveled the trajectory of Bix s life, from birth to death, to boarding school, on tour and beyond, to find the true story of this pivotal figure. Considered a genius by his fans and fellow musicians, Bix Beiderbecke was a master cornet player, and one of the most inspiring white jazz musicians of his age. He drank heavily during Prohibition, and fell ill from the toxic swill he had been drinking. When he died he left behind a tremendous list of recordings (included here in a definitive discography) and several original compositions. This biography culls the entirety of Bix scholarship into one volume, painting a complete picture of the man, his music, and his times. Lion brings the true legend of Bix into historical context, underlining the importance of the jazz scene that Bix not only participated in, but also helped to establish. The originality of Bix s style has roots in New Orleans jazz and such classical composers as Debussy and Ravel, and this biography traces the evolution of these various inspirations alongside the tale of the white cornet player. Historical ambience is created by descriptions of the Chicago of the 1920s ruled by Al Capone and peopled with fast cars, flappers and hot jazz musicians and Bix s personality is fleshed out by excerpts from the few letters he wrote in his lifetime, and memories of friends and witnesses of the jazz-age. The story is lively and emotional, the testament of a true fan and a true scholar.

Ear Training for the Contemporary Musician


Keith Wyatt - 2004
    Complete lessons and analysis include: basic pitch matching * singing major and minor scales * identifying intervals * transcribing melodies and rhythm * identifying chords and progressions * seventh chords and the blues * modal interchange, chromaticism, modulation * and more Learn to hear and to visualize on your instrument. Take your playing from good to great Over 2 hours of practice exercises with complete answers in the back.

The Uncrowned King of Swing: Fletcher Henderson and Big Band Jazz


Jeffrey Magee - 2004
    Now Jeffrey Magee offers a fascinating account of Henderson's musical career, throwing new light on the emergence of modern jazz and the world that created it. Drawing on an unprecedented combination of sources, including sound recordings and hundreds of scores that have been available only since Goodman's death, Magee illuminates Henderson's musical output, from his early work as a New York bandleader, to his pivotal role in building the Kingdom of Swing. He shows how Henderson, standing at the forefront of the New York jazz scene during the 1920s and '30s, assembled the era's best musicians, simultaneously preserving jazz's distinctiveness and performing popular dance music that reached a wide audience. Magee reveals how, in Henderson's largely segregated musical world, black and white musicians worked together to establish jazz, how Henderson's style rose out of collaborations with many key players, how these players deftly combined improvised and written music, and how their work negotiated artistic and commercial impulses. Whether placing Henderson's life in the context of the Harlem Renaissance or describing how the savvy use of network radio made the Henderson-Goodman style a national standard, Jeffrey Magee brings to life a monumental musician who helped to shape an era.An invaluable survey of Henderson's life and music.--Don Heckman, Los Angeles TimesMagee has written an important book, illuminating an era too often reduced to its most familiar names. Goodman might have been the King of Swing, but Henderson here emerges as that kingdom's chief architect.--Boston GlobeExcellent.... Jazz fans have waited 30 years for a trained musicologist...to evaluate Henderson's strengths and weaknesses and attempt to place him in the history of American music.--Will Friedwald, New York Sun

Soul on Soul: The Life and Music of Mary Lou Williams


Tammy Kernodle - 2004
    A versatile musical genius who experimented with and mastered most of the emerging styles in jazz's evolution, Williams wrote and arranged for such greats as Duke Ellington and Benny Goodman, and she was friend, mentor, and teacher to the likes of Thelonious Monk, Charlie Parker, and Dizzy Gillespie. Yet throughout her prolific career of nearly six decades, she battled as an African American woman to achieve recognition, equality, and acceptance in the male-dominated world of jazz.Now Williams's artistic brilliance and lasting legacy are affirmed in this definitive volume, which masterfully interweaves biographical details with incisive commentary on her music, performances, and recordings. Setting Williams's intriguing story against the racial, social, cultural, and musical currents of her times, Tammy L. Kernodle draws on extensive interviews and meticulous research to chronicle the tragedies and triumphs of Williams's stormy life. Included are her struggles with racism, sexism, and age discrimination, and such personal misfortunes as recurrent bouts of poverty, turbulent marriages and love affairs, extreme loneliness, and a string of bad business decisions.Born to an impoverished, unmarried mother in Georgia, and raised in Pittsburgh, the self-taught Williams started performing publicly when she was six-years-old. By the age of twelve, the "little piano girl" was touring on the black vaudeville circuit. Kernodle follows Williams's harsh life on the road, her rise to fame in the 1930s as an arranger and performer for Andy Kirk's Kansas City swing band Twelve Clouds of Joy, her role as matriarch of the bebop movement, her solo career, her blossoming spirituality, and conversion to Roman Catholicism. In her later years, Williams wrote sacred jazz pieces that brought emotional healing to listeners, and worked tirelessly to help and rehabilitate addicted, down-and-out musicians. She was also strongly committed to advancing jazz composition and to educating others about the cultural roots of jazz.This striking portrait untangles the paradoxes of an exceptionally gifted pianist who defied the odds and endured hardships to create innovative music that inspired musicians and fans alike. It celebrates her persistent yet loving spirit, extraordinary talent, and enduring body of work.

Modern Chords: Advanced Harmony for Guitar [With CD]


Vic Juris - 2004
    Not for the fainthearted, Vic teaches polychords and intervallic structures derived from the major, minor, harmonic minor, melodic minor and harmonic major scales in this must have jazz guitar book. Each section has etudes that will help students integrate each concept into their own playing. The companion CD gives students the opportunity to hear and play along with these cutting edge concepts.

Guitar Arpeggio Studies on Jazz Standards [With CD]


Mimi Fox - 2004
    The lesson concludes with advanced arpeggio concepts including super-imposition of unusual arpeggios over various chord types to create startling tonal clusters. This is a must-have for all serious guitarists who want to achieve great technique while developing their sense of harmony. Companion CD included.