Martin provides a new overall assessment of the importance of Charlie Parker through an analysis of his improvisations in a variety of genres. Earlier studies of Parker argue that his style is based on an extensive network of melodic formulas that are combined to create solos. Because the same formulas appear throughout his improvisations regardless of the theme, these studies concluded that the solos do not usually relate to the original melodies. Charlie Parker and Thematic Improvisation provides a much-needed reassessment by showing that Parker's solos are often related to the original themes in unexpected and sometimes ingenious ways. The conclusion sums up features of Parker's style and discusses his contribution in the context of Western music history. Numerous transcriptions are provided. This groundbreaking technical study will be of interest to musicologists and serious students of jazz.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
...in-depth and closely analytical...an essential addition to the collection of anyone interested in creative improvised music from a musicological point of view. (Cadence )
This is the latest in a magnificent body of jazz literature, and, so far as depth is concerned, surely Rutgers' finest achievement...this volume is simply brilliant...such depth and omniscience in the purely musical sense. Exceptional. (Crescendo And Jazz Music )
This is the latest in a magnificent body of jazz literature, and, so far as depth is concerned, surely Rutgers' finest achievement...this volume is simply brilliant...such depth and omniscience in the purely musical sense. Exceptional. (Crescendo And Jazz Music )
About the Author
Henry Martin is a faculty member of the Jazz and Contemporary Music Program at the New School for Social Research.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Someone give the author some credit please?,
By A Customer
This review is from: Charlie Parker and Thematic Improvisation (Hardcover)
This could be one of the most insightful books on Parker's style ever published. For all of you musicians who are Bach fanatics (if you aren't check him out), this is the book for you. Henry gives a fresh perspective to an widely emmulated saxophonic vocabulary using a Schenkerian approach(If you don't have Schenker's counterpoint book get it)by addressing Parker's profound "Bach-like" sense of voice leading. Being a noteworthy educator and composer (former student of Milton Babbit), Henry's abitlity to verbalize asthetics is simply astounding. Add this one to your music theory book collection. It's is worth a thousand more than what it costs.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
of academic interest only !,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Charlie Parker and Thematic Improvisation (Paperback)
Basically this book uses Schenkerian analysis to find sense in the improvisational lines of Charlie Parker.
The idea itself is not so bad, but to be honest, I think the best way to play Parker is to understand how he ticked, and definitely acquaint yourself with the language that he as well as people who play him used. Charlie Parker, no doubt was a riff player... but the catch being that he didn't just play 2 or 3 or the same riffs all the time... he played 100s (well, maybe 100 or so identifiable motifs seem to pop up again and agin.) Of key note, they weren't the same old hackneyed stuff that everyone else before him played, but his own book... and all deeply and richly conceptual based on his understanding of conventional chord theory, which he saw differently than his peers as well as his experience actually blowing blues... hence, for example you might have a conventional riff like in 'Now's the Time', but in the mind of Bird, something is going to happen that makes it say something totally different and mind blowing... (For fun, listen to other tunes of his, and see if you can find other traditional blues and swing riffs hidden in between the other stuff he did... they're almost always present, but like WALDO, not necessarily easy to find, whether or not they're in your face. My advice then, if you're buying this book for non-academic purposes, don't... however, take the following steps: 1. Learn to play your blues forms. 2. Learn to play "rhythm changes" form (in Bb) especially. 3. Learn to play basic II V I standards - - Including Cherokee, Stella By Starlight, Honeysuckle Rose etc.) 4. Master basic chord theory (R 3 5 9 11 13 - - major, minor, dominant, half diminished, etc.) 5. Once you can play chord runs in all keys, practice playing Jazz Melodies in general using the REAL BOOK, and as soon as possible graduating to ear. 6. Begin to transcribe simple BLUES heads... pre-bop o.k. (for example learn RED TOP and SYMPHONY SID by ear.) 7. Read Berliner's THINKING IN JAZZ and Amadea's HARMONIC FOUNDATIONS FOR JAZZ and POP. 8. Work on simple Parker Tunes from the REAL BOOKS (Now's The Time, Buzzy, Confirmation, Yardbird Suite, Billie's Bounce) - - If possible, try to figure out some stuff by ear... not that it is easy. 9. For help internalizing the melodies consider listening to Eddie Jefferson. 10. Once you've learned several dozen Parker tunes, beging to engage in your own chord/harmony style analysis, taking note why he seemed to choose the notes he chose, and the chord shapes the outlined. Be sure to get the DIAL and SAVOY recordings in particular. 11. While doing this, read up as much as you can about the life and times of Bird as well as the Bebop movement in general - - sometimes the way of thinking of a musician can give you clues to their choice of notes - - literally. 12. Continue your journey the way the old masters did... by listening to the old recording and doing their best to figure them out, but aurally and mentally.... boom, you got it.. As for this book... frankly speaking, the language it uses and approach it takes might appeal to people interested in composing from a classical perspective, but it definitely ain't how I or any Jazz musician I know think on the bandstand... so to that extent, its purely academic - - but a noble effort to find some intelligent way of cracking the code !
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
For Music Theory UBER-Geeks ONLY,
This review is from: Charlie Parker and Thematic Improvisation (Paperback)
It would be unfair to say that this book is worthless. It did get me to listen to more Charlie Parker. That was worth something. The author's ideas about different methods and modes of improvisation are interesting. But that's about it. The analysis in this book did nothing to enhance my appreciation of Charlie Parker's work.
Why? This book is a perfect example of an academic manipulating the data to reflect their thesis. Martin's thesis is that Parker, who was known as more of a licks player than a thematic improvisor, refers to the themes of the tunes he's playing on while playing his licks. In order to prove this he manipulates the definition of "thematic improvising." In other words, the definition of thematic improvisation as is doesn't fit, so he changes it to prove his point. This is not a good sign. Furthermore, in his analysis, he awkwardly uses the wrong tool for the job: Schenkerian analysis. While Schenkerian theory might be a useful tool in analyzing the classical works that it was designed for, it really seems like the wrong tool for the job here. On "Red Cross" he argues that Parker's repeated statement of Bb is a reference to the theme, and that its rhythmic placement in the form has significance. While this *might* be true, it seems to me that the simplest explanation is the best: the tune is in the Key of Bb. Bb is the tonic. Of course he's gonna play some Bb's. While Martin observes that the head from Red Cross appears to have been modified in the studio, he ignores the elephant in the room: Red Cross is a "rhythm changes" tune, and it's very likely that the head on the tune was actually improvised right there in the studio. Parker and other musicians often did this in order to get paid. There's no such thing as a royalty for performance in the U.S., so improvisors would craft melodies for the simple purpose of collecting composer royalties. To assign such structural significance to a head that Parker likely improvised on the spot seems a little odd. And it strikes me as fascinating that Martin makes absolutely no note of the single most distinctive element in the "Red Cross" head: the very unusual arpeggio on the sixth bar of the A section. That seems the signature of the head. But Martin makes no note of it. Because it doesn't suit his thesis, as Parker makes no reference to that part of the theme in his improvisations. This is what I mean by Martin's manipulating the data to suit his thesis. Using Schenkerian analysis as his tool, he defines one of Parker's Motif's on "Shaw Nuff" as Parker's emphasis on the minor third interval from D to F. This oversimplification of Parker's brilliant motif is due to Martin's method: the Schenkerian analysis insists upon. This is what I mean about the wrong tool for the job. Reducing analysis of a theme to focusing on chord tones on a jazz tune (where the "out" notes are as important as the "in" ones) is patently absurd. What's more, once again there is a simpler explanation for the D - F interval that Martin observes: The tune is in Bb. Those two notes are the third and 5th of the key. The tonic chord. Of course they're gonna get some play. Because the author is an eminent scholar, and his work is quite respected, I think his work in this area has gotten undue attention and appreciation. I just happen to think he "got it wrong" here and that this book is a really specious argument. Most importantly, this work won't really enhance your understanding of Parker's musicianship. Listeners would do better to read other books to develop more of an appreciation of Parker. Players might do well to check out one of these: Charlie Parker for Guitar: Note-for-Note Transcriptions and Detailed Performance Notes for 18 Bebop Classics The Best of Charlie Parker: A Step-by-Step Breakdown of the Styles and Techniques of a Jazz Legend I'm sure there are other valuable books on the subject as well.
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