The New York loft jazz scene of the 1970s was a pivotal period for uncompromising, artist-produced work. Faced with a flagging jazz economy, a group of young avant-garde improvisers chose to eschew the commercial sphere and develop alternative venues in the abandoned factories and warehouses of Lower Manhattan. Loft Jazz provides the first book-length study of this period, tracing its history amid a series of overlapping discourses surrounding collectivism, urban renewal, experimentalist aesthetics, underground archives, and the radical politics of self-determination.

Standard Lines, Book III in the Constructing Walking Jazz Bass Lines series for the Double Bassist and Electric Bassist is a comprehensive guide demonstrating the devices used to construct walking jazz bass lines in the jazz standard tradition. Book III covers 24 standard jazz chord progressions with 110 choruses of professional jazz bass lines as an example. Part I outlines the Modes and the chord scale relationships and the fundamental knowledge required to be able to build the diatonic triads and 7th chords in any key. Examples are given in the " 2 " feel and " 4 " feel walking bass style enabling the bassist to develop a strong rhythmic and harmonic foundation. More advanced bass line construction examples including voice leading and mode substitutions and mode applications related to specific jazz chord progressions are also outlined. Part II outlines the Symmetric Scales as well as the Modes of the Melodic Minor Scale related to the Minor II V I progression. Provided are written examples of the Symmetric Scales and the chord scale relationships and how to apply the use of the Symmetric Scales over popular jazz chord progressions. The Minor II V I is outlined and compared to the Major II V I outlining the differences with the suggested scale uses applied to common jazz chord progressions. Part III outlines the use of the BeBop Scales and their use in the jazz walking bass tradition, providing suggested uses of the Be Bop scales related to popular jazz chord progressions. Part IV outlines the previous lesson devices and concepts with examples of professional level bass lines over standard jazz chord progressions. All information builds in a stepwise progression enabling the bassist to apply the techniques in all 12 keys.

Standard Lines Book III in the Constructing Walking Jazz Bass Lines series for the Electric Bassist is a comprehensive guide demonstrating the devices used to construct walking jazz bass lines in the jazz standard tradition. Book III covers 24 standard jazz chord progressions with 110 choruses of professional jazz bass lines as an example. Part I outlines the Modes and the chord scale relationships and the fundamental knowledge required to be able to build the diatonic triads and 7th chords in any key. Examples are given in the " 2 " feel and " 4 " feel walking bass style enabling the bassist to develop a strong rhythmic and harmonic foundation. More advanced bass line construction examples including voice leading and mode substitutions and mode applications related to specific jazz chord progressions are also outlined. Part II outlines the Symmetric Scales as well as the Modes of the Melodic Minor Scale related to the Minor II V I progression. Provided are written examples of the Symmetric Scales and the chord scale relationships and how to apply the use of the Symmetric Scales over popular jazz chord progressions. The Minor II V I is outlined and compared to the Major II V I outlining the differences with the suggested scale uses applied to common jazz chord progressions. Part III outlines the use of the BeBop Scales and their use in the jazz walking bass tradition, providing suggested uses of the Be Bop scales related to popular jazz chord progressions. Part IV outlines the previous lesson devices and concepts with examples of professional level bass lines over standard jazz chord progressions. All information builds in a stepwise progression enabling the bassist to apply the techniques in all 12 keys.

Fred Astaire: one of the great jazz artists of the twentieth century. Astaire is best known for his brilliant dancing in the movie musicals of the 1930s, but in "Music Makes Me", Todd Decker argues that Astaire's work as a dancer and choreographer - particularly in the realm of tap dancing - made a significant contribution to the art of jazz. Decker examines the full range of Astaire's work in filmed and recorded media, from a 1926 recording with George Gershwin to his 1970 blues stylings on television, and analyzes Astaire's creative relationships with the greats, including George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern, and Johnny Mercer. He also highlights Astaire's collaborations with African American musicians and his work with lesser known professionals - arrangers, musicians, dance directors, and performers.

The exercises in this book are designed to help students learn the scales, articulations, technic, and style necessary to play in the jazz idiom, particularly in the Big Band or swing styles.

Rhythm Changes in 12 Keys is Book II in the " Constructing Walking Jazz Bass Lines " series for the Double Bassist and Electric Jazz Bassist. Rhythm Changes in 12 Keys compliments Book I " The Blues in 12 Keys " by following on with an in depth study of " must know " Jazz chord progressions for the aspiring Jazz Bassist. Rhythm Changes in 12 Keys is a complete guide demonstrating how to construct walking jazz bass lines in the jazz tradition. Part 1 of the book outlines and demonstrates the various techniques used by professional Jazz Bassists to provide forward motion and a strong harmonic and rhythmic foundation into bass lines. Part 2 of the book outlines Rhythm Changes in 12 keys with over 70 choruses of professional jazz bass lines. for Beginner to Advanced students.

Rhythm Changes like the " Blues " is an essential part of the Jazz musicians vocabulary. Book II in the Constructing Walking Jazz Bass Lines series Rhythm Changes in 12 Keys provides various insights into how the Rhythm Changes song form may be approached by the Jazz Bassist. Part I outlines the Rhythm Changes form and provides examples of how to construct walking jazz bass lines using voice leading, chromatic passing tones, pedal points, tri-tone substitutions, and harmonic anticipation. Part II provides an in-depth look at the Rhythm Changes A sections and shows the common chord substitutions used by the bebop musicians when improvising. Part III provides an in-depth look at the Bridge or B section providing various chord substitutions used when improvising and walking bass lines. Part IV outlines Rhythm Changes in 12 keys using all the previous lesson topics and bass line examples outlined in the book. Included are over 100 choruses of professional jazz bass lines in all 12 keys. Suitable for the beginning to advanced electric bassist.

Constructing Walking Jazz Bass Lines Book I -The Blues in 12 Keys is a complete guide demonstrating the devices used to construct walking bass lines in the jazz tradition. Part 1 demonstrates the techniques used by professional jazz bassists to provide forward motion into bass lines, while providing a strong harmonic and rhythmic foundation. Part I includes triads, 7th chords, voice leading, playing over the bar line, chord substitutions, pedal points, harmonic anticipation and chromatic approach notes. The exercises are designed to give the Electric Bassist strong jazz bass lines in the bottom register of the instrument. As an added bonus for the Electric Bassist Part 1 provides a complete study of the Blues in F whilst in the first and open positions. This is an excellent technique builder. Part 2 expands on the lessons and techniques used in Part 1 providing the bassist with the previous devices used in professional level bass lines in all 12 keys. Included is over 150 choruses of Jazz Blues lines in all 12 keys using the whole register of the instrument. There are many advanced principles applied in the following bass lines whilst never losing sight of the functioning principle of the bass in the jazz idiom. To provide a strong foundation of rhythm and harmony for the music being played & providing support for the melody and or soloist.

All a beginner, comeback player, or serious student of jazz needs to know about jazz theory. The first of 3 parts. More information including free samples at: www.allabouttrumpet.com/BJT/

Constructing Walking Jazz Bass Lines Book I Walking Bass Lines - The Blues in 12 Keys The Blues in 12 Keys is a complete guide demonstrating the devices used to construct walking bass lines in the jazz tradition. The book starts out in Part 1 by demonstrating the various techniques used to provide forward motion into the bass lines, while providing a strong harmonic and rhythmic foundation. The exercises are designed to give the double bassist and electric bassist strong jazz bass lines in the bottom register of the instrument. As an added bonus for the Double Bassist Part 1 provides a complete study of the blues in F whilst in the first position. This is an excellent technique builder in itself. Part 2 expands on the lessons and techniques used in Part 1 providing the bassist with the previous devices used in professional level bass lines in all 12 keys. Included is over 150 choruses of jazz blues lines in all 12 keys using the whole register of the instrument. There are many advanced principles applied in the following bass lines whilst never losing sight of the functioning principle of the bass in the jazz idiom. To provide a strong foundation of rhythm and harmony for the music being played & providing support for the melody and or soloist.

Stormy Weather is a biography of Lena Horne, one Hollywood's stars, and one of the first Tony and Grammy winning stars, who opened doors for black female entertainers such as Eartha Kitt, Sarah Vaughn, Diahann Carroll, Aretha Franklin, and Diana Ross, to name a few. She was glamorous, seductive, and dignified. But under her well-crafted look of elegance and grace, lay a tidal wave of rage. By the 90s, as a defence mechanism, she had shut nearly everyone out of her life. James Gavin tells the story of Lena: the legend and the mystery. He has amassed an incredible collection of source material including: 60 hours of recorded conversations with the singer dating back to the early 50s. 40 hours of TV specials, guest appearances and other rare footage spanning her career. He has interviewed among many others: Johnny Mathis, Bobby Short, Abbey Lincoln, Ruby Dee, Carmen Delavallade, Geoffrey Holder, and Ms Horne herself.

Arranging for the Small Jazz Ensemble presents an innovative approach to the challenging subject of jazz arranging. The author, Robert Larson, has narrowed down the choices of instrumentation and texture in such a way that anyone from a novice jazz enthusiast to a seasoned professional can learn how to arrange jazz standards and originals in a relatively short period of time. Four original jazz tunes are used throughout the book to demonstrate texture, instrumentation, introductions, endings, interludes, solo backgrounds, solis, and shout choruses. Each chapter contains exercises that give the reader a chance to practice the techniques learned in that chapter. By the end of the study, the reader will be equipped to create a complete jazz arrangement. With everything you need here in one book, why aren't you Arranging for the Small Jazz Ensemble?

"A career in music ... is a calling with such a strong pull; you'd think a tide was sucking you under. It becomes an intense obsession of such great intensity that you can almost think of nothing else, it drives you with a fever and fervor."

In the early 70s, an idealistic young man - Brian Torff - arrived in New York to pursue his passion for music. During an excursion to Long Island, Brian found his dream instrument: a 1775 re-built Nicola Galliano bass.

Such was the beginning of a career that led Torff from Cafe Carlyle to Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and the White House. He has toured worldwide with the greatest: from Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, George Shearing, and Erroll Garner to Stephane Grappelli, Benny Goodman, Mary Lou Williams, and Marian McPartland.

As Brian notes, "bass players do a lot of observing from the back of the bandstand." It is this supportive role that qualifies Torff to share his insight into jazz music, and its many personalities. Torff takes us beyond the music by adding depth with his vision of American music, and paints vivid portraits of the musicians with whom he played.

Torff's memoir is one of creativity, and determination mixed with timing, and plain good luck. His sharp narrative not only brings the legends of jazz to life, but reading about them here will certainly motivate you to add some music to your collection.

George Lewis, one of the great traditional jazz clarinetists, was born in 1900 at about the same time that jazz itself first appeared in New Orleans. And by the time he died, on the last day of 1968, New Orleans jazz had pretty much run its course, too. By then a jazz museum stood on Bourbon Street, and a cultural center was under construction where Globe Hall had Stood. Lewis's life thus paralleled that of New Orleans jazz, and in his later years hew as the best known standard bearer of his city's music. He came to the attention of the jazz world at the time of the so-called "New Orleans Revival" of the 1940's, when veteran trumpeter Bunk Johnson was recorded by a number of jazz enthusiasts, notably William Russell. In this new biography, Tom Bethell challenges a favorite myth of the history of jazz: that the music became moribund in New Orleans after the legal red light district, Storyville, was closed in 1917, resulting in most jazz musicians going "up the river." In fact, Bethell shows, many more jazzmen stayed in the city than left, and the musical style continued to develop and grow. Thus the jazz fans who arrived in the city in the early 1940's did not encounter a "revival" of an old style so much as an ongoing tradition, with clarinetists like Lewis having been influenced by Benny Goodman and the Swing Era in addition to Lorenzo Tio and the Creole School. After Bunk Johnson's death in 1949, at a time when many other social changes were beginning to be felt in the city, the New Orleans jazz tradition began to go into a decline. It became increasingly rigid and repetitive, and was often designed to please what one observer called "Dixieland fans yelling for their favorite members." The book is based on lengthy research in New Orleans, including interviews with George Lewis shortly before his death, and unpublished material from the diaries kept by William Russell on his visits to New Orleans between 1942 and 1949. It also includes a statement by Lewis on jazz and the best way to play it and a complete Lewis discography. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1977.

... over 2000 jazz pianists listing the title of album or CD
... introducing you to the great and the unknown jazz pianists
... discography of the amazing Bernard Peiffer and Jessica Williams
... information on cdbaby
... great for collectors and musicians searching out new artists
... links to important sites
... if you enjoy piano jazz, this is a must for your library

"Jazz Writings" made Larkin's jazz criticism widely available - Palmer now offers the first extensive revaluation of Larkin's writing on jazz as well as covering his poetry and early work."Such Deliberate Disguises: The Art of Philip Larkin" argues that a true understanding of Philip Larkin as man and poet lies beyond his enduring public appeal and the variety of criticism that has recently been applied to his work.Richard Palmer suggests that the ostensible simplicity of Larkin's writing, which continues to attract so many readers to him, is deceptive, masking as it does one of the richest and most resonant of oeuvres in twentieth-century poetry. Penetrating the many masks of Larkin, the book sheds new and considerable light on the hitherto largely ignored spiritual significance of his work. Based upon close and scrupulous reading of the poems themselves, it draws upon insights gained from the history of art and the study of religion and myth as much as literary criticism and personal biography.It also brings long-overdue attention to what is seen to be perhaps the chief love, and operative aesthetic force, of Larkin's life: jazz. "Such Deliberate Disguises" is thus a major contribution, not just to Larkin studies, but to the wider cultural history of our times.

Born in Paris in 1908, Stephane Grappelli experienced every decade of the jazz century and his story spans an astonishing 77 years, during which time he performed with the great names of jazz: Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and Oscar Peterson. But it's his performances with Django Reinhardt, for which he is perhaps best remembered. Contains exclusive interviews with Stephane as well as contributions from his family and friends, much newly discovered evidence on both Stephane and Django and many previously unpublished photos. This is a slice of music history, a testament to a man who invented his own style of jazz.

for SATB choir and piano This exciting collection gives a jazzy twist to nine favourite folk songs from around the world, including 'Scarborough Fair', 'A la claire fontaine', and 'Waltzing Matilda' as you've never heard them before! Each song is presented in its original language, and an English singing translation is provided where applicable. The accompanied songs can be peformed with piano solo or with jazz-trio accompaniment; a separate part is available for the bassist, and the drummer should play along ad lib. This fantastic, varied collection will revitalise the repertoire of any choir and is guaranteed to give audiences a fresh perspective on these traditional songs.

Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers was one of the most enduring, popular, reliable and vital small bands in modern jazz history. Blakey was not only a distinguished, inventive and powerful drummer, but along with Duke Ellington and Miles Davis, he was one of jazz's foremost talent scouts. The musicians who flowed seamlessly in and out of this constantly evolving collective during its 36-year run were among the most important artists not just of their eras, but of any era. Though their respective innovations were vital to the evolution of bebop, hard bop and neo bop, the recorded work of the Messengers sidemen has never been properly analyzed. Until now. Hard Bop Academy: The Sidemen of Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers critically examines the multitude of gifted artists who populated the many editions of the Jazz Messengers. In addition to dissecting the sidemen's most consequential work with Blakey's band, jazz musician and acclaimed novelist Alan Goldsher offers up engaging profiles of everyone from Wynton Marsalis to Terence Blanchard to Hank Mobley to Wayne Shorter to Horace Silver to Keith Jarrett to Curtis Fuller to Steve Davis. And that's only the beginning. Goldsher conducted over 30 interviews with surviving graduates of Blakey's Hard Bop Academy, many of whom spoke at length of their tenure with the legendary "Buhaina" for the first time. Alan Goldsher is a bassist who has recorded with Janet Jackson, Digable Planets, Cypress Hill and Naughty By Nature. His writing has been published in Bass Player, Tower Pulse, Sport and BasketBull: Chicago Bulls Magazine. Goldsher's debut novel, Jam, was published in 2002 by Permanent Press. He lives in Chicago. Hardcover.

The amount of theoretical knowledge required to become a fluent improvisor on the piano can be overwhelming to the aspiring jazz pianist. Jazz Piano Vocabulary is a series of workbooks designed to help students of jazz piano learn and apply jazz scales by mastering each scale and its use in improvisation. Each book focuses on a different scale, and features: . the scale in all twelve keys - two octaves up and down with complete fingerings . chords and left hand voicings that can be used with the scale . ideas for applying the material . transcriptions and/or etudes using the scale . ideas for further study and listening . detailed instructions and suggestions on how to practice the material . opportunity to contact the author online if questions arise This book explores the Aeolian mode and its use in jazz improvisation. It provides an entry point for the student who is exploring modes for the first time. Beginning improvisors will find that the approach in this book allows them quickly to begin applying the Aeolian mode to simple chord progressions. Volume 6 also offers an introduction to "shell" voicings.Like the other books in this series, this book offers melodic examples that you can practice as well as listen to on the Muse Eek website. The goal is to provide you with enough guidance to work confidently on your own so that you become comfortable integrating the use of the scales into your improvisation. This book is based on Roberta Piket's twenty-plus years of educational experience. In addition to her private students and her experience coaching jazz ensembles at Long Island University, Roberta has given clinics or masterclasses at the Eastman school of Music, Rutgers University, California Institute of the Arts, Macalester College, Duke University, and countless middle and high schools throughout the U.S., Europe and Japan. An unusual feature of this book is the author's availability to answer questions on the material at the Muse Eek Publishing website, creating an interactive learning experience for the student.

Told in the words of the musicians themselves, Keeping the Beat on the Street celebrates the renewed passion and pageantry among black brass bands in New Orleans. Mick Burns introduces the people who play the music and shares their insights, showing why New Orleans is the place where jazz continues to grow. Brass bands waned during the civil rights era but revived around 1970 and then flourished in the 1980s when the music became cool with the younger generation. In the only book to cover this revival, Burns interviews members from a variety of bands, including the Fairview Baptist Church Brass Band, the Dirty Dozen, Tuba Fats' Chosen Few, and the Rebirth Brass Band. He captures their thoughts about the music, their careers, audiences, influences from rap and hip-hop, the resurgence of New Orleans social and pleasure clubs and second lines, traditional versus funk style, recording deals, and touring. For anyone who loves jazz and the city where it was born, Keeping the Beat on the Street is a book to savor.

"We should be grateful to Mick Burns for undertaking the task of producing... the only book to cover the subject of what he rightly calls the brass band renaissance." -- New Orleans Music

"A welcome look at the history of brass bands. These oral histories provide a valuable contribution to New Orleans musical history.... What shines through the musicians' words is love of craft, love of culture." -- New Orleans Times-Picayune

"A seminal work about the Brass Bands of New Orleans." -- Louisiana Libraries

"I learned courage from Buddha, Jesus, Lincoln, and Mr. Cary Grant." So said Miss Peggy Lee. Albert Einstein adored her; Duke Ellington dubbed her "the Queen." With her platinum cool and inimitable whisper, Peggy Lee sold twenty million records, made more money than Mickey Mantle, and presided over music's greatest generation alongside pals Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. Drawing on exclusive interviews and never-before-seen information, Peter Richmond delivers a complex, compelling portrait of an artist that begins with a girl plagued by loss, her father's alcoholism, and her stepmother's abuse. One day she boards a train, following her muse and hoping her music will lead her someplace better. And it does: to the pantheon of great American singers.