Creative Jazz Improvisation

by Scott Reeves, Tom Walsh

Overview

The leading textbook in jazz improvisation, Creative Jazz Improvisation, Fifth Edition represents a compendium of knowledge and practice resources for the university classroom, suitable for all musicians looking to develop and sharpen their soloing skills. Logically organized and guided by a philosophy that encourages creativity, this book presents practical advice beyond the theoretical, featuring exercises in twelve keys, ear training and keyboard drills, a comprehensive catalog of relevant songs to learn, and a wide range of solo transcriptions, each transposed for C, Bb, Eb, and bass clef instruments. Chapters highlight discussions of jazz theory - covering topics such as major scale modes, forms, chord substitutions, melodic minor modes, diminished and whole-tone modes, pentatonic scales, intervallic improvisation, free improvisation, and more - while featuring updated content throughout on the nuts and bolts of learning to improvise.

New to the Fifth Edition:

• Co-author Tom Walsh
• Additional solo transcriptions featuring the work of female and Latino jazz artists
• A new chapter, “Odd Meters”
• A robust companion website featuring additional exercises, ear training, play-along tracks, tunes, call and response tracks,
• keyboard voicings, and transcriptions, alongside Spotify and YouTube links to many of the featured solos

Rooted in an understanding that there is no one right way to learn jazz, Creative Jazz Improvisation, Fifth Edition explores the means and methods for developing one’s jazz vocabulary and improvisational techniques.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781000575590
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	08/19/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	396
File size:	77 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Scott Reeves is Professor Emeritus at The City College of the City University of New York.

Tom Walsh is Professor of Saxophone and Chair of the Department of Jazz Studies in the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University.

Read an Excerpt

PREFACE:

Preface

It is gratifying that, since the publication of the first edition in 1989 and the second in 1995, many college educators, private instructors, and students of jazz have found Creative Jazz Improvisation to be a valuable aid in their musical growth. This text is a direct outgrowth of over twenty-one years of experiences teaching jazz improvisation at the college level, as well as my own personal quest to develop as a jazz artist.

I believe there is a direct parallel between life and art. The pursuit of understanding in any art form can teach us much about ourselves and serve as a catalyst for a lifetime of learning. My own musical perspectives have evolved since the second edition of this text was written, and much of this new information has been incorporated into the present volume. Therefore, I believe this edition to be much more than a minor reworking of the previous one. However, all of the same features that made Creative Jazz Improvisation a popular choice for classroom use are retained, including:

1. The philosophy that there are several paths to the same goal and that each student learns in his or her own unique way.
2. An orientation in difficulty toward college-level and intermediate-to-advanced musicians. For students at the high-school or community college level or adult beginners, I strongly recommend the entry-level companion to this text, Creative Beginnings, which comes with a play-along compact disc.
3. The division of the majority of chapters into sections devoted to jazz theory, exercises over a specified chord progression, a list of relevant compositions, and a transcribedsolo which has been transposed and edited for concert pitch treble clef, B6, E6 and bass clef instruments.
4. A thorough discussion of all facets of jazz theory, including major scale modes, forms and chord substitutions, melodic minor modes, diminished and whole-tone scales, pentatonic scales, and intervallic and "free" improvisation.
5. The keying of the chord progressions to either the widespread Jamey Aebersold series or the compact disc accompanying Creative Beginnings.
6. Exercises that include not only basic scales and arpeggios but also melodic ideas taken directly from cited recordings by master improvisers, arranged in order of relative difficulty.
7. The indexing of the list of compositions to legal fake-books, particularly the New Real Book and the Aebersold play-along series.
8. The correlation of half of the transcribed solos with the widely available anthology, The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz.
9. The convenience of allowing a classroom of mixed instrumentation to work simultaneously from the text.

Differences between the second and third editions include:

1. The addition of a new chapter, "Whom to Listen To," which lists major innovators, important contributors, and women in jazz.
2. The expansion of the chapter on "Rhythm," with considerable new information and exercises.
3. Replacement of two transcriptions with more readily playable examples, including Miles Davis's "Solea" solo (in place of Wayne Shorter's "Masqualero" solo), and Bill Evans's "Autumn Leaves" solo (in lieu of Dizzy Gillespie's "Stardust" solo). In addition, J. J. Johnson's solo on "Aquarius" has been renotated in long meter to make it easier to read.
4. An expansion of the list of compositions in each chapter to reflect the ever-increasing number of play-along recordings by Jamey Aebersold. The third edition is now keyed to the first eighty-five volumes in his series, A New Approach to Jazz Improvisation.
5. An extensive reworking of all portions of the text to improve readability and reflect recent information.
6. A reappraisal of all exercises, with selected replacements and additions.
7. The incorporation of inspirational epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter.
8. A continued investigation of the how to bridge the gap between the technical and intellectual aspects of jazz with the creative and intuitive state of mind. Many of these ideas may be traced to my exposure to the concepts of pianist Kenny Werner, and I am indebted to his willingness to allow me to incorporate some of his ideas into this volume.

This text reflects the influences of my previous teachers, particularly David Baker, Woody Shaw, and Kenny Werner, the many jazz artists whose work I have studied and transcribed, and the pedagogical concepts of Jamey Aebersold. I gratefully acknowledge these people, as well as the staff at Prentice Hall, particularly my acquisitions editor, Christopher Johnson and my production and copy editor, Laura Lawrie. I sincerely hope the readers of this text will find it a valuable aid in their growth as musicians.

Table of Contents

PART 1: THE ART OF IMPROVISATION / 1. Practicing and Performing Jazz / PART 2: DIATONIC CHORDS AND THE MODES IN THE MAJOR SCALE / 2. Major Scales and Major 7th Chords / 3. Dorian Scales and Minor 7th Chords / 4. Mixolydian and Dominant Bebop Scales, and Dominant 7th Chords / 5. The ii V I Progression and Functional Harmony / 6. Locrian and Aeolian Scales, and the iiØ7 V7♭9 i Progression / 7. Lydian and Phrygian Scales, and Major 7♭5 Chords / PART 3: CHORD SUBSTITUTIONS, HARMONIC STRUCTURES, AND FORMS / 8. The Blues Scale, the Blues Form, and Chord Substitutions / 9. Sectional Forms and Rhythm Changes / 10. Harmonic Structures and Coltrane Substitutions / PART 4: ALTERED CHORDS, DIMINISHED MODES, WHOLE-TONE SCALES, AND HARMONIC MINOR AND MELODIC MINOR MODES / 11. Diminished Scales, Fully Diminished Chords, and Dominant 7♭9 Chords / 12. Whole-Tone Scales and Augmented Chords / 13. Melodic and Harmonic Minor Scales, and Minor/Major 7th Chords / 14. Locrian #2 and Altered Scales, and Minor iiØ9 V7 ♯9♯5 i Progressions / 15. Lydian Augmented and Lydian Dominant Scales, and Major 7th ♯5 and Dominant 9th ♯11 Chords / PART 5: BEYOND FUNCTIONAL HARMONY / 16. Free Improvisation / 17. Pentatonic Scales / 18. Four-Note Groupings Derived from Pentatonic Scales / 19. Intervallic Improvisation / 20. Odd Meters / Appendix I: Intervals / Appendix II: Modes in the Major Scale / Appendix III: Modes in the Melodic Minor Scale / Appendix IV: Diatonic 7th Chords in Major Keys / Appendix V: Diatonic 7th Chords in Minor Keys / Appendix VI: Chords and Their Relationship to Scales / Appendix VII: Upper Structure or "Slash" Chords / Appendix VIII: Creativity and an Overview of Kenny Werner’s Effortless Mastery Method

Preface

PREFACE:

Preface

It is gratifying that, since the publication of the first edition in 1989 and the second in 1995, many college educators, private instructors, and students of jazz have found Creative Jazz Improvisation to be a valuable aid in their musical growth. This text is a direct outgrowth of over twenty-one years of experiences teaching jazz improvisation at the college level, as well as my own personal quest to develop as a jazz artist.

I believe there is a direct parallel between life and art. The pursuit of understanding in any art form can teach us much about ourselves and serve as a catalyst for a lifetime of learning. My own musical perspectives have evolved since the second edition of this text was written, and much of this new information has been incorporated into the present volume. Therefore, I believe this edition to be much more than a minor reworking of the previous one. However, all of the same features that made Creative Jazz Improvisation a popular choice for classroom use are retained, including:

1. The philosophy that there are several paths to the same goal and that each student learns in his or her own unique way.
2. An orientation in difficulty toward college-level and intermediate-to-advanced musicians. For students at the high-school or community college level or adult beginners, I strongly recommend the entry-level companion to this text, Creative Beginnings, which comes with a play-along compact disc.
3. The division of the majority of chapters into sections devoted to jazz theory, exercises over a specified chord progression, a list of relevant compositions, and atranscribedsolo which has been transposed and edited for concert pitch treble clef, B6, E6 and bass clef instruments.
4. A thorough discussion of all facets of jazz theory, including major scale modes, forms and chord substitutions, melodic minor modes, diminished and whole-tone scales, pentatonic scales, and intervallic and "free" improvisation.
5. The keying of the chord progressions to either the widespread Jamey Aebersold series or the compact disc accompanying Creative Beginnings.
6. Exercises that include not only basic scales and arpeggios but also melodic ideas taken directly from cited recordings by master improvisers, arranged in order of relative difficulty.
7. The indexing of the list of compositions to legal fake-books, particularly the New Real Book and the Aebersold play-along series.
8. The correlation of half of the transcribed solos with the widely available anthology, The Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz.
9. The convenience of allowing a classroom of mixed instrumentation to work simultaneously from the text.

Differences between the second and third editions include:

1. The addition of a new chapter, "Whom to Listen To," which lists major innovators, important contributors, and women in jazz.
2. The expansion of the chapter on "Rhythm," with considerable new information and exercises.
3. Replacement of two transcriptions with more readily playable examples, including Miles Davis's "Solea" solo (in place of Wayne Shorter's "Masqualero" solo), and Bill Evans's "Autumn Leaves" solo (in lieu of Dizzy Gillespie's "Stardust" solo). In addition, J. J. Johnson's solo on "Aquarius" has been renotated in long meter to make it easier to read.
4. An expansion of the list of compositions in each chapter to reflect the ever-increasing number of play-along recordings by Jamey Aebersold. The third edition is now keyed to the first eighty-five volumes in his series, A New Approach to Jazz Improvisation.
5. An extensive reworking of all portions of the text to improve readability and reflect recent information.
6. A reappraisal of all exercises, with selected replacements and additions.
7. The incorporation of inspirational epigraphs at the beginning of each chapter.
8. A continued investigation of the how to bridge the gap between the technical and intellectual aspects of jazz with the creative and intuitive state of mind. Many of these ideas may be traced to my exposure to the concepts of pianist Kenny Werner, and I am indebted to his willingness to allow me to incorporate some of his ideas into this volume.

This text reflects the influences of my previous teachers, particularly David Baker, Woody Shaw, and Kenny Werner, the many jazz artists whose work I have studied and transcribed, and the pedagogical concepts of Jamey Aebersold. I gratefully acknowledge these people, as well as the staff at Prentice Hall, particularly my acquisitions editor, Christopher Johnson and my production and copy editor, Laura Lawrie. I sincerely hope the readers of this text will find it a valuable aid in their growth as musicians.

Editorial Reviews

Detailed information for students and professionals on how to practice, how to improvise in a creative way, and how to teach jazz improvisation. Discusses the creative process and techniques for accessing creative spontaneity, explains the basics of improvisation, and provides technical exercises, scales, and patterns to help develop facility and ear skills. The material can be applied to any instrument. Spiral-bound. No index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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