Grounded in authority and brimming with style, Playing Changes is the first book to take the measure of this exhilarating moment: it is a compelling argument for the resiliency of the art form and a rejoinder to any claims about its calcification or demise."Playing changes," in jazz parlance, has long referred to an improviser's resourceful path through a chord progression. Playing Changes boldly expands on the idea, highlighting a host of significant changes--ideological, technological, theoretical, and practical--that jazz musicians have learned to navigate since the turn of the century. Nate Chinen, who has chronicled this evolution firsthand throughout his journalistic career, vividly sets the backdrop, charting the origins of jazz historicism and the rise of an institutional framework for the music. He traces the influence of commercialized jazz education and reflects on the implications of a globalized jazz ecology. He unpacks the synergies between jazz and postmillennial hip-hop and R&B, illuminating an emergent rhythm signature for the music. And he shows how a new generation of shape-shifting elders, including Wayne Shorter and Henry Threadgill, have moved the aesthetic center of the music.Woven throughout the book is a vibrant cast of characters--from the saxophonists Steve Coleman and Kamasi Washington to the pianists Jason Moran and Vijay Iyer to the bassist and singer Esperanza Spalding--who have exerted an important influence on the scene. This is an adaptive new music for a complex new reality, and Playing Changes is the definitive guide.

    Davis, political activist, scholar, author, and speakerSophisticated Giant presents the life and legacy of tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon (1923-1990), one of the major innovators of modern jazz. In a context of biography, history, and memoir, Maxine Gordon has completed the book that her late husband began, weaving his "solo" turns with her voice and a chorus of voices from past and present. Reading like a jazz composition, the blend of research, anecdote, and a selection of Dexter's personal letters reflects his colorful life and legendary times. It is clear why the celebrated trumpet genius Dizzy Gillespie said to Dexter, "Man, you ought to leave your karma to science."Dexter Gordon the icon is the Dexter beloved and celebrated on albums, on film, and in jazz lore--even in a street named for him in Copenhagen. But this image of the cool jazzman fails to come to terms with the multidimensional man full of humor and wisdom, a figure who struggled to reconcile being both a creative outsider who broke the rules and a comforting insider who was a son, father, husband, and world citizen. This essential book is an attempt to fill in the gaps created by our misperceptions as well as the gaps left by Dexter himself.

    The Other Night at Quinn's is an uncommon and engaging portrait of people gathering to make and embrace deeply personal art in the age of new media.In early 2014, Mike Faloon sees jazz legend Joe McPhee perform at Quinn's, a recently reopened diner turned club in Beacon, New York. Faloon soon realizes he's stumbled across a vibrant scene–"small, local, and brave as hell"–that is at once unique and universal. The Other Night at Quinn's is far from a standard music critique, though. Set against the backdrop of an historic Hudson Valley mill town, Faloon's dispatches slowly evolve, taking on characteristics of the music, blending memoir, reportage, essay, and collage, with themes revealed over time.The Other Night at Quinn's includes essays and interviews, along with photographs by Michael Bogdanffy-Kriegh.

    In this book you’ll learn the essential building blocks of modern jazz guitar with numerous licks and detailed descriptions of the theory behind each concept.Popular YouTube teacher Jens Larsen teaches you how to apply triads, arpeggios and scales to create the sounds of contemporary jazz guitar. This creative method allows you to develop the knowledge you already have, using basic major and minor scales in a new way to create fresh sounds. This book contains a wealth of knowledge and provides a clear, easy to follow method for jazz guitar fans who want to access the modern style of playing. What you’ll learn: · The essential techniques of modern jazz guitar, with licks played over the familiar II V I progression· How to apply the basic major scale to contemporary jazz guitar with clever use of triads and arpeggios· How to use chromatics to create tension and interest in your solos· The “Coltrane pattern” – break up boring scale patterns and learn how to improvise over quick chord changes· How to apply the Harmonic Minor and Diminished scales in a modern jazz context· Expand your jazz vocabulary with a collection of innovative modern licks you can adapt to your style Modern jazz guitar concepts · Would you like a straightforward method that teaches you how to achieve a contemporary jazz guitar sound, without having to learn dozens of exotic scales? · Would you like a jazz guitar method that shows how you can re-think the scales and arpeggios you already know? · Would you like a simple method that will help you create your own original melodic ideas? A creative modern jazz guitar method In recent years, many new modern jazz guitar players have emerged, many from the exciting New York scene. Jens Larsen has written the must-have guide to contemporary jazz vocabulary – but this isn’t merely a book of licks – the concepts behind the licks are explained in a thorough, detailed manner, enabling you to immediately apply them to your playing. Here’s What You Get: · A step-by-step guide that starts simple and adds layers of complexity· Perfectly notated examples with tab and studio-quality audio to download for FREE· A full-length blues with a solo analysis demonstrating all the concepts at work A modern jazz guitar method that breaks down barriers Modern Jazz Guitar Concepts cuts through the mystery that surrounds contemporary jazz guitar and explains the concepts behind the style in a clear and concise manner. Using the familiar II V I progression, Jens Larsen demonstrates how to get “that sound”, without learning dozens of exotic scales. Hear it! Modern Jazz Guitar Concepts  contains numerous supporting audio examples you can download, so you can hear exactly how each example should sound. Buy it now and master the language of modern jazz guitar!

    As a freelance jazz photojournalist who devoted nearly thirty years in search of the great jazz musicians, Veryl Oakland profiles the music's masters in a wide variety of settings--under the spotlight, in their homes, and far from the stage--in a personalized manner unique for jazz publications. Close followers of the entertainment industry and music lovers everywhere will be enthralled to see more than 340 iconic images of diverse stars--Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Buddy Rich, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Dexter Gordon, Art Blakey, Stan Getz, Phil Woods, Sun Ra, Cecil Taylor, Paul Bley, Weather Report, and Wynton Marsalis--covering music styles from swing, to bebop, cool, hard bop, free, and beyond.

    He was present at and integral to the free jazz scene and his memoir has all of the info. All new photos not in the original Japanese edition! Introduction by Otomo Yoshihide. Public Bath Press is very proud to add this book to out catalog.