How is the Beatles' "Help " similar to Stravinsky's "Dance of the Adolescents?" How does Radiohead's "Just" relate to the improvisations of Bill Evans? And how do Chopin's works exploit the non-Euclidean geometry of musical chords?
In this groundbreaking work, author Dmitri Tymoczko describes a new framework for thinking about music that emphasizes the commonalities among styles from medieval polyphony to contemporary rock. Tymoczko identifies five basic musical features that jointly contribute to the sense of tonality, and shows how these features recur throughout the history of Western music. In the process he sheds new light on an age-old question: what makes music sound good?
A Geometry of Music provides an accessible introduction to Tymoczko's revolutionary geometrical approach to music theory. The book shows how to construct simple diagrams representing relationships among familiar chords and scales, giving readers the tools to translate between the musical and visual realms and revealing surprising degrees of structure in otherwise hard-to-understand pieces.
Tymoczko uses this theoretical foundation to retell the history of Western music from the eleventh century to the present day. Arguing that traditional histories focus too narrowly on the "common practice" period from 1680-1850, he proposes instead that Western music comprises an extended common practice stretching from the late middle ages to the present. He discusses a host of familiar pieces by a wide range of composers, from Bach to the Beatles, Mozart to Miles Davis, and many in between.
A Geometry of Music is accessible to a range of readers, from undergraduate music majors to scientists and mathematicians with an interest in music. Defining its terms along the way, it presupposes no special mathematical background and only a basic familiarity with Western music theory. The book also contains exercises designed to reinforce and extend readers' understanding, along with a series of appendices that explore the technical details of this exciting new theory.

(Piano Solo Songbook). Piano solo arrangements of 24 jazz favorites, including: Almost like Being in Love * Angel Eyes * Autumn Leaves * Bewitched * God Bless' the Child * If You Go Away * It Might as Well Be Spring * Love Me or Leave Me * On Green Dolphin Street * Smoke Gets in Your Eyes * That Old Black Magic * What's New? * Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams (And Dream Your Troubles Away) * and more.

`The best one-volume history of jazz.' That is how the American Music Guide described the book that Louis Armstrong once said `held ol' Satch spellbound'. A unique blend of history and criticism, this lively and perceptive book includes chapters on such jazz giants as King Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, John Coltrane, and Ornette Coleman. In addition to an expanded essay on Count Basie, this revised edition also includes pieces on Eric Dolphy, Bill Evans, and the World Saxophone Quartet.

Jazz from Detroit explores the city's pivotal role in shaping the course of modern and contemporary jazz. With more than two dozen in-depth profiles of remarkable Detroit-bred musicians, complemented by a generous selection of photographs, Mark Stryker makes Detroit jazz come alive as he draws out significant connections between the players, eras, styles, and Detroit's distinctive history. Stryker's story starts in the 1940s and '50s, when the auto industry created a thriving black working and middle class in Detroit that supported a vibrant nightlife, and exceptional public school music programs and mentors in the community like pianist Barry Harris transformed the city into a jazz juggernaut. This golden age nurtured many legendary musicians-Hank, Thad, and Elvin Jones, Gerald Wilson, Milt Jackson, Yusef Lateef, Donald Byrd, Tommy Flanagan, Kenny Burrell, Ron Carter, Joe Henderson, and others. As the city's fortunes change, Stryker turns his spotlight toward often overlooked but prescient musician-run cooperatives and self-determination groups of the 1960s and '70s, such as the Strata Corporation and Tribe. In more recent decades, the city's culture of mentorship, embodied by trumpeter and teacher Marcus Belgrave, ensured that Detroit continued to incubate world-class talent; Belgrave proteges like Geri Allen, Kenny Garrett, Robert Hurst, Regina Carter, Gerald Cleaver, and Karriem Riggins helped define contemporary jazz. The resilience of Detroit's jazz tradition provides a powerful symbol of the city's lasting cultural influence. Stryker's 21 years as an arts reporter and critic at the Detroit Free Press are evident in his vivid storytelling and insightful criticism. Jazz from Detroit will appeal to jazz aficionados, casual fans, and anyone interested in the vibrant and complex history of cultural life in Detroit.

Mission Impossible: My Life in Music is the engaging autobiography of Lalo Schifrin, the musician, conductor, and composer of more than 60 jazz and classical works and over 100 film and television scores, including Bullitt, the Rush Hour series, Cool Hand Luke, The Dead Pool, Tango, The Fox, Voyage of the Damned, The Amityville Horror, The Sting II, and Mission Impossible. Edited by Richard Palmer, this autobiography is a journey from Schifrin's formative years in Argentina to the classical and jazz atmospheres in Paris in the 1950s; and from his jazz career in the United States with Dizzy Gillespie from 1958-1963 to his development as a film and television composer from 1963 to the present. Organized in eight parts, the book reflects on Schifrin's cosmopolitan experience and provides impressions and vignettes of the extraordinary people with whom he worked. As a composer whose works bridge three main musical styles-jazz, classical, and film and television-his autobiography offers invaluable insights on all three genres, as well as politics, literature, and travel. This significant volume includes over 30 photos, appendixes listing Schifrin's works, and a discography, as well as an audio CD featuring some of Schifrin's greatest compositions.

Your guitar becomes the ultimate jazz solo instrument when you master the techniques and concepts in this book. Picking up where the harmony lessons in Intermediate Jazz Guitar leave off, topics include melody and harmony integration, bass line development, chord enhancement, quartal harmonies, and how to arrange a guitar solo. Learn to simultaneously play the harmony, melody, rhythm, and bass parts of any song! Concepts are illustrated with lots of examples to practice, including arrangements of some traditional melodies. All music is shown in standard notation and TAB, and the CD demonstrates the examples in the book. 64 pages.

A rare collection of more than 200 full-color and black-and-white souvenir photographs and memorabilia that bring to life the renowned jazz nightclubs of the 1940s and 1950s, compiled by Grammy Award-winning record executive and music historian Jeff Gold and featuring exclusive interviews with Quincy Jones, Sonny Rollins, Robin Givhan, Jason Moran, and Dan Morgenstern. In the two decades before the Civil Rights movement, jazz nightclubs were among the first places that opened their doors to both Black and white performers and club goers in Jim Crow America. In this extraordinary collection, Jeff Gold looks back at this explosive moment in the history of Jazz and American culture, and the spaces at the center of artistic and social change. Sittin' In is a visual history of jazz clubs during these crucial decades when some of the greatest names in in the genre-Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Oscar Peterson, and many others-were headlining acts across the country. In many of the clubs, Black and white musicians played together and more significantly, people of all races gathered together to enjoy an evening's entertainment. House photographers roamed the floor and for a dollar, took picture of patrons that were developed on site and could be taken home in a keepsake folder with the club's name and logo. Sittin' In tells the story of the most popular club in these cities through striking images, first-hand anecdotes, true tales about the musicians who performed their unforgettable shows, notes on important music recorded live there, and more. All of this is supplemented by colorful club memorabilia, including posters, handbills, menus, branded matchbooks, and more. Inside you'll also find exclusive, in-depth interviews conducted specifically for this book with the legendary Quincy Jones; jazz great tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins; Pulitzer Prize-winning fashion critic Robin Givhan; jazz musician and creative director of the Kennedy Center, Jason Moran; and jazz critic Dan Morgenstern. Gold surveys America's jazz scene and its intersection with racism during segregation, focusing on three crucial regions: the East Coast (New York, Atlantic City, Boston, Washington, D.C.); the Midwest (Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, St. Louis, Kansas City); and the West Coast (Los Angeles, San Francisco). This collection of ephemeral snapshots tells the story of an era that helped transform American life, beginning the move from traditional Dixieland jazz to bebop, from conservatism to the push for personal freedom.

A practical comprehensive guide to rock, jazz and pop arranged by one of Britain's most gifted and versatile musicians. Written in lively, accessible and entertaining style, this book contains everything the professional arranger or aspiring amateur needs to know, from setting out a lead sheet to scoring a full arrangement. The problems and pitfalls of writing for every group of instrument are discussed, from keyboards, drums and bass to brass strings, woodwind, percussion, guitar and a 'cappella' vocal writing. Packed with vital tips and hints, and presented in easy-to-use reference format, Rock, Jazz and Pop Arranging also includes two valuable appendices - on time saving shortcuts and chord symbols - and indispensable glossary.

There were but four major galaxies in the early jazz universe, and three of them-New Orleans, Chicago, and New York-have been well documented in print. But there has never been a serious history of the fourth, Kansas City, until now. In this colorful history, Frank Driggs and Chuck Haddix range from ragtime to bebop and from Bennie Moten to Charlie Parker to capture the golden age of Kansas City jazz. Readers will find a colorful portrait of old Kaycee itself, back then a neon riot of bars, gambling dens and taxi dance halls, all ruled over by Boss Tom Pendergast, who had transformed a dusty cowtown into the Paris of the Plains. We see how this wide-open, gin-soaked town gave birth to a music that was more basic and more viscerally exciting than other styles of jazz, its singers belting out a rough-and-tumble urban style of blues, its piano players pounding out a style later known as "boogie-woogie." We visit the great landmarks, like the Reno Club, the "Biggest Little Club in the World," where Lester Young and Count Basie made jazz history, and Charlie Parker began his musical education in the alley out back. And of course the authors illuminate the lives of the great musicians who made Kansas City swing, with colorful profiles of jazz figures such as Mary Lou Williams, Big Joe Turner, Jimmy Rushing, and Andy Kirk and his "Clouds of Joy." Here is the definitive account of the raw, hard-driving style that put Kansas City on the musical map. It is a must read for everyone who loves jazz or American music history.

Part design history, part trip down musical memory lane, this anthology of jazz album artwork is above all a treasure trove of creative and cultural inspiration. Spanning half a century, it assembles the most daring and dynamic jazz cover designs that helped make and shape not only a musical genre but also a particular way of experiencing life. From the 1940s through to the decline of LP production in the early 1990s, each chosen cover design is distinct in the way it complements the energy of the album's music with its own visual rhythms of frame, line, text, and form. To satisfy even the most demanding of music geeks, each record cover is accompanied by a fact sheet listing performer and album name, art director, photographer, illustrator, year, label, and more.

In this volume author John Corcelli reveals Zappa's roots as a musician from his diverse influences to his personal life. We also learn more about his former band members and the enormous musical legacy inherited by his son Dweezil. The book features a juried examination of Zappa's recordings and his videos. It also features a complete discography and a recommended reading list. Each chapter has a special focus on Zappa's life with sections covering his family his home studio a known as the Utility Muffin Research Kitchen a his keen interest in the Synclavier (a device he first used in 1980) his guitars and more. Special attention is paid to the Mothers of Invention.THEFrank Zappa FAQE is a must-have for fans new and old looking to delve into some of the best music ever made by one of the most innovative artists the world has known.

The late Count Basie is one of the jazz immortals. The master of swing, whose beat was the subtlest and supplest of all the bandleaders, Basie featured some of the great soloists in jazz history while he sat unobtrusively at the piano, keeping time with his unmatched rhythm section, showing off the surging power of his brass players, and commenting wittily with a single chord or phrase. A man and musician of reserve and modesty, Basie nonetheless will always be a landmark for his won achievements and for the jazz musicians who passed through his band. In this sociable and pioneering oral history of Basie and his band, Stanley Dance talks with the Count himself, Jimmy Rushing, Buddy Tate, Buck Clayton, Joe Williams, Jay McShann, Jo Jones, Dicky Wells, Lester Young, and a dozen others, who reminisce about each other, Kansas City jazz, and their legendary peers Billie Holiday and Charlie Parker. With a rich flow of anecdote, opinion, and biographical information,and with striking photographs,this history both documents and assesses the legacy of Basie for American music.

What was the first jazz record? Are jazz solos really improvised? How did jazz lay the groundwork for rock and country music? In Why Jazz?, author and NPR jazz critic Kevin Whitehead provides lively, insightful answers to these and many other fascinating questions, offering an entertaining guide for both novice listeners and long-time fans.
Organized chronologically in a convenient question and answer format, this terrific resource makes jazz accessible to a broad audience, and especially to readers who've found the music bewildering or best left to the experts. Yet Why Jazz? is much more than an informative Q&A; it concisely traces the century-old history of this American and global art form, from its beginnings in New Orleans up through the current postmodern period. Whitehead provides brief profiles of the archetypal figures of jazz--from Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington to Wynton Marsalis and John Zorn--and illuminates their contributions as musicians, performers, and composers. Also highlighted are the building blocks of the jazz sound--call and response, rhythmic contrasts, personalized performance techniques and improvisation--and discussion of how visionary musicians have reinterpreted these elements to continually redefine jazz, ushering in the swing era, bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, and the avant-garde. Along the way, Why Jazz? provides helpful plain-English descriptions of musical terminology and techniques, from "blue notes" to "conducted improvising." And unlike other histories which haphazardly cover the stylistic branches of jazz that emerged after the 1960s, Why Jazz? groups latter-day musical trends by decade, the better to place them in historical context.
Whether read in self-contained sections or as a continuous narrative, this compact reference presents a trove of essential information that belongs on the shelf of anyone who's ever been interested in jazz.

Jazz Man's Journey chronicles the life and career of, Ellis Louis Marsalis, Jr., one of New Orleans' most vivacious and talented jazz musicians. From his childhood in a rural section of New Orleans, to solo appearances with the New Orleans/Louisiana Philharmonic, as well as appearances at Carnegie Recital Hall, Newport Jazz Festival, and Harvard University, this unprecedented biography accurately portrays Marsalis not only as a pianist and a Columbia recording artist, but also as a successful teacher, composer, lecturer, father, and human being. By conducting interviews with Marsalis and his family, as well as with some of his friends and professional acquaintances, D. Antoinette Handy provides comprehensive background on Marsalis, as well as a revealing personal narrative. Complete with discography, dozens of photos from Marsalis's private collection, and a list of Marsalis "profundities," this book is an important addition to jazz studies, and an enjoyable read for jazz scholars and more casual fans alike.

'You the funkiest man alive.' Miles Davis' accolade was the perfect expression of John Lee Hooker's apotheosis as blues superstar: recording with the likes of Van Morrison, Keith Richards and Carlos Santana; making TV commercials (Lee Jeans); appearing in films (The Blues Brothers); and even starring in Pete Townshend's musical adaptation of Ted Hughes' story The Iron Man. His was an extraordinary life. Born in the American deep south, he moved to Detroit and then, in a career spanning over fifty years, recorded hypnotic blues classics such as 'Boogie Chillen', rhythm-and-blues anthems such as 'Dimples' and 'Boom Boom' and, in his final, glorious renaissance, the Grammy-winning album The Healer. Charles Shaar Murray's authoritative biography vividly, and often in John Lee Hooker's own words, does magnificent justice to the man and his music.

During World War II, jazz embodied everything that was appealing about a democratic society as envisioned by the Western Allied powers. Labelled 'degenerate' by Hitler's cultural apparatus, jazz was adopted by the Allies to win the hearts and minds of the German public. It was also used by the Nazi Minister for Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, to deliver a message of Nazi cultural and military superiority. When Goebbels co-opted young German and foreign musicians into 'Charlie and his Orchestra' and broadcast their anti-Allied lyrics across the English Channel, jazz took centre stage in the propaganda war that accompanied World War II on the ground. The Jazz War is based on the largely unheard oral testimony of the personalities behind the German and British wartime radio broadcasts, and chronicles the evolving relationship between jazz music and the Axis and Allied war efforts. Studdert shows how jazz both helped and hindered the Allied cause as Nazi soldiers secretly tuned in to British radio shows while London party-goers danced the night away in demimonde `bottle parties', leading them to be branded a `menace' in Parliament. This book will appeal to students of the history of jazz, broadcasting, cultural studies, and the history of World War II.

Laura Nyro (1947-1997) was one of the most significant figures to emerge from the singer-songwriter boom of the 1960s. She first came to attention when her songs were hits for Barbra Streisand, The Fifth Dimension, Peter, Paul and Mary, and others. But it was on her own recordings that she imprinted her vibrant personality. With albums like Eli and the Thirteenth Confession and New York Tendaberry she mixed the sounds of soul, pop, jazz and Broadway to fashion autobiographical songs that earned her a fanatical following and influenced a generation of music-makers. In later life her preoccupations shifted from the self to embrace public causes such as feminism, animal rights and ecology - the music grew mellower, but her genius was undimmed. This book examines her entire studio career from 1967's More than a New Discovery to the posthumous Angel in the Dark release of 2001. Also surveyed are the many live albums that preserve her charismatic stage presence. With analysis of her teasing, poetic lyrics and unique vocal and harmonic style, this is the first-ever study to concentrate on Laura Nyro's music and how she created it. Elton John idolised her; Joni Mitchell declared her 'a true original'. Here's why.

The 1920s were not called the Jazz Age for nothing. Celebrated by writers from Langston Hughes to Gertrude Stein, jazz was the dominant influence on American popular music, despite resistance from whites who distrusted its vibrant expression of black culture and by those opposed to the overt sexuality and raw emotion of the `devil's music'. As Kathy Ogren shows, the breathless pace and syncopated rhythms were as much a part of twenties America as Prohibition and the economic boom, which enabled millions throughout the states to enjoy the latest sounds on radios and phonographs.

Johnny Griffin, the Little Giant from the South Side of Chicago, has remained a top jazz saxophonist throughout his 62-year playing career. He has spent 42 years in Europe and is recognized internationally as a major jazz star with a readily identifiable style, an immense improvisational flair and an unfailing capacity to swing. As jazz writer Brian Priestley has observed: Griffin is one of the fastest and most accurate ever on his instrument. Griffin is an articulate, witty and entertaining conversationalist with an unending flow of anecdotal reminiscences about his days with Lionel Hampton, Art Blakey, Thelonious Monk, Eddie Lockjaw Davis, the Clarke Boland Big Band and the variety of small groups he has fronted over the years. The Little Giant is a light-hearted, irreverent and uninhibited look at the life of one of the most consummate musicians in jazz. Author Mike Hennessey is a jazz critic, producer, broadcaster and pianist. Other books by him include a biography of the late drummer, Kenny Clarke, Klook, and a history of Ronnie Scott's Club, Some of My Best Friends Are Blues. He has covered the international music scene for Billboard magazine for 27 years and he has written more than 500 album notes and hundreds of articles for a wide range of jazz magazines in North America and Europe."

Here is the book jazz lovers have eagerly awaited, the second volume of Gunther Schuller's monumental The History of Jazz. When the first volume, Early Jazz, appeared two decades ago, it immediately established itself as one of the seminal works on American music. Nat Hentoff called it "a remarkable breakthrough in musical analysis of jazz," and Frank Conroy, in The New York Times Book Review, praised it as "definitive.... A remarkable book by any standard...unparalleled in the literature of jazz." It has been universally recognized as the basic musical analysis of jazz from its beginnings until 1933.

The Swing Era focuses on that extraordinary period in American musical history--1933 to 1945--when jazz was synonymous with America's popular music, its social dances and musical entertainment. The book's thorough scholarship, critical perceptions, and great love and respect for jazz puts this well-remembered era of American music into new and revealing perspective. It examines how the arrangements of Fletcher Henderson and Eddie Sauter--whom Schuller equates with Richard Strauss as "a master of harmonic modulation"--contributed to Benny Goodman's finest work...how Duke Ellington used the highly individualistic trombone trio of Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton, Juan Tizol, and Lawrence Brown to enrich his elegant compositions...how Billie Holiday developed her horn-like instrumental approach to singing...and how the seminal compositions and arrangements of the long-forgotten John Nesbitt helped shape Swing Era styles through their influence on Gene Gifford and the famous Casa Loma Orchestra. Schuller also provides serious reappraisals of such often neglected jazz figures as Cab Calloway, Henry "Red" Allen, Horace Henderson, Pee Wee Russell, and Joe Mooney.

Much of the book's focus is on the famous swing bands of the time, which were the essence of the Swing Era. There are the great black bands--Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, Earl Hines, Andy Kirk, and the often superb but little known "territory bands"--and popular white bands like Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsie, Artie Shaw, and Woody Herman, plus the first serious critical assessment of that most famous of Swing Era bandleaders, Glenn Miller. There are incisive portraits of the great musical soloists--such as Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, Bunny Berigan, and Jack Teagarden--and such singers as Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, and Helen Forest.

This second edition of the highly successful Popular Singing serves as a practical guide to exploring the singing voice while helping to enhance vocal confidence in a range of popular styles. The book provides effective alternatives to traditional voice training methods, and demonstrates how these methods can be used to create a flexible and unique sound. This updated and thoroughly revised edition will feature a new chapter on training for popular singing, which incorporates recent movements in teaching the discipline across the globe, taking into account recent developments in the area. The book also features a new section on 'bridging' - ie. using all the technical elements outlined in the book to help the singer find their own particular expressive style to inspire more playfulness and creativity, both for the individual singer and for the teacher in practice and performance.