"Know Thyself." Such was the advice constantly offered over 2,000 years ago by the famed Greek Oracle of Apollo at Delphi. It was given in response to those who sought her counsel regarding the course their destiny was likely to take. It is still sound advice for most of us in the modern world. To come to "really" know oneself-discover one's distinctive temperament and character-requires frequent self-scrutiny. It is well nigh impossible to know what makes one "tick" without recognizing the nature of one's attitudes and responses to life in the outside world, while also acknowledging the highly personal inner psychological drives of feeling, thought and imagination. The consciousness that impels us is psychologically deep and wide-ranging. The search for the essential Self requires a "Sherlock Holmes" mentality and discipline: it's a hell of a job to unify outer and inner "consciousnesses." This book should help. Every chapter can be seen and read as its own "story" describing an especially significant aspect of consciousness. Cumulatively, they are meant to help readers attain a sense of their own body-mind-spirit complexes and "who" they are as entities unto themselves. And then to ask the question as to where "reality" is to be found: in the mental life of thoughts and feelings. . . or in physical encounters with the material world of time and space?

Graham Collier's radical new analysis of the place of the composer in jazz is nothing less than a complete reassessment of the direction in which the music is developing and a powerful argument for fresh thinking. He takes a detailed look at the music of Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Gil Evans. His views about jazz composition - jazz happens in real time, once - and about contemporary composers are clearly and strongly expressed, controversial and provocative. This book will appeal to lay readers, especially those who enjoy an argument, as well as professional musicians and teachers. Musical examples in the book are linked to the author's website. 'I find "The Jazz Composer" to be an insightful, intelligent, creative and artful view to the understanding of jazz composition. It is written and developed for all interested listeners, the novice as well as the performer, and shows the way to the deepest artistic level' - Justin DiCioccio, jazz educator. 'Composers - take heed! ...If you're confident in your compositional devices - take the challenge to have your foundations soundly rattled If you're searching for a methodology to follow or guide you, it could well lie here...Not for the squeamish . ..prepare to be provoked' - Mike Gibbs, jazz composer. 'Collier ...makes music that speaks directly ...strongly personal but in no way self-dramatising ...It's reassuring to learn that when he turns to prose, the same qualities are in place' - Brian Morton, jazz critic.

"Know Thyself." Such was the advice constantly offered over 2,000 years ago by the famed Greek Oracle of Apollo at Delphi. It was given in response to those who sought her counsel regarding the course their destiny was likely to take. It is still sound advice for most of us in the modern world. To come to "really" know oneself-discover one's distinctive temperament and character-requires frequent self-scrutiny. It is well nigh impossible to know what makes one "tick" without recognizing the nature of one's attitudes and responses to life in the outside world, while also acknowledging the highly personal inner psychological drives of feeling, thought and imagination. The consciousness that impels us is psychologically deep and wide-ranging. The search for the essential Self requires a "Sherlock Holmes" mentality and discipline: it's a hell of a job to unify outer and inner "consciousnesses." This book should help. Every chapter can be seen and read as its own "story" describing an especially significant aspect of consciousness. Cumulatively, they are meant to help readers attain a sense of their own body-mind-spirit complexes and "who" they are as entities unto themselves. And then to ask the question as to where "reality" is to be found: in the mental life of thoughts and feelings. . . or in physical encounters with the material world of time and space?