Customer Reviews

Charlie Parker Omnibook for E Flat Instruments : Recorded Solos

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There's no denying this book is considered a classic, but it could use a few revisions. It appears not to have changed at all since its original appearance in 1976, including an annoying amount of tacky and out-of-date advertisements. In one instance, a half-page ad on the second page of "K.C. Blues" replaces what should have been Parker's second solo on that tune! Many of the songs are transcribed without key signatures - adding key signatures would make transposing tunes and riffs significantly easier. There are some rhythm errors in a few of the tunes ("K.C. Blues" has one measure with only three counts, "Ballade" also has a few rhythm mistakes and is nearly impossible to read the way it's written, with its overabundance of 32nd and 64th note runs). I'm not questioning the talent of Parker - some of the other "Omnibook" reviews here are based on Parker's playing abilities rather than the way his compositions are represented in these transcriptions. The simple addition of key signatures would be a huge improvement. For less experienced students, it'd also be nice to see a synopsis of the tune beneath the title describing the song's form or the origin of the chord changes. Simple things like that could make this book even more indispensable than it has become.
Do we all have to buy this book? Despite its shortcomings, I'm afraid the answer is "yes". Surely, there's some ambitious grad student out there somewhere willing to enter the entire book into Finale or Sibelius so we can at least get key signatures and those few rhythm corrections. Please?

This is a well done transcription of Charlie Parker's recording on Dial, Savoy, Verve. There are 60! songs including Parker's solo in this transcription,such as KoKo, Confirmation, Ornithology, Parker's Mood, She Rotre, Yardbird Suite, Scrapple from the apple, Billie's Bounce... Not like the one 'Charlie Parker a Jazz Master' Hal-Leonard made, without any information on the records(the real sounds), this has information on series numbers of the records where the song was transcribed from.

The transcription is done very well;notes are took very precisely, in hand-writing, with chords changes on bars.'Not regularly 4 bar each row' is the only thing that I can complain about.

This book is a very important material for people whom want to know what parker has made when he was improvising. With carefully analysis, one can get an insight view on what Parker was really doing. According to this, the book could be the most important marterail that ever written about Charlie Parker.

A must have. I'll give it 5 more * if I can. Hope there are more omnibooks from these giant were made.

The transcriptions are spot on and a huge time saver for anyone who wants to learn Bird's patterns and doesn't have the proper equipment or time to transcribe em' his/herself. I learn more and more through this book every day. It's absolutely worth transcribing pieces on your own sometimes but to get a collection of this magnitude, and accurate as it is, would be really time-consuming. This Eb version is a necessity for any serious jazz alto players - personally i think the some version of it should be in EVERY MUSICIAN'S library.

This is easily the greatest book of solos ever compiled. As it has been said before, you're entire jazz education can be held in this book. Buy it.

Awesome transcribed solos boo. If you dont have this book yet ur wasting ur time. It should be renamed the OMNI BIBLE of Jazz. Perfect for playing along with bird, studying his style, copying licks, studying the structures of solos, great for Technique development. I cant suggest this book any more than saying, If u dont have this yet, ur wasting ur time.


AWESOME BOOK.

My drum teacher had me learn all the solos from this book - first on snare drum (hi-hat on 2 and 4)to learn the rhythms and accents of Bird's solos, then playing each again but now moving around the drum set. My teacher also told me to vocalize the rhythms. The idea being that if you can sing it you can play it. It helps a lot. It is incredible how much this book improved the quality of my solos, both in variety and depth. I stopped playing like Buddy Rich and began to have a voice of my own. You do need to have the recordings to play along to it also. Someone should produce a Charlie Parker Omnibook CD with all the recordings. This book and the recordings are the ultimate in Bee-Bop education.

I gave this book as a gift and my son (19) was thrilled to receive this book. Great source of awesome music.

I got this for my upcoming lessons in college and so far its great. I play alto sax and its alot of fun to be able to play along with bird. The only thing the book dosen't have is the recordings. Something from his verve years should cover just about everything though, I put a link on here for a cd collection. Theres some stuff that he recorded with savoy as well but most of it should be in the verve collection. The Complete Verve Master Takes Its some great stuff and the transcriptions are great. highly recommended

This book shows Charlie Parker's genius but it also gives the reader an accelerated education in music. Open to a transcription, maybe put the appropriate music on, and start playing on your instrument. Limited articulation marks -- how could anybody transcribe Charlie's articulation? -- but that just shows you what a genius Bird was. Bird lives!

Man, if Bird was god, then this is sure is the bible. If you got a horn, this is all you need, the only way to learn fully is to play Birds solos. Buy it and you'll never put your horn down.