Customer Reviews

The Jazz Theory Book

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

When I was younger I used to read about how playing with various famous jazz musicians like Monk or Dizzy was like going to school. I just thought it was for general inspiration. Now I can see that there is a mass of musical harmonic theory that has built up over the years, and mostly passed on from player to player. This book presents all the basic harmonic innovations that Jazz came up with between the 1940's and 1980's, and it's a lot. You'd have to know this stuff in order to play with the musicians of those times.

I think the best audience for this work consists of players who have mastered the "basics of their horn" and are ready to move into the "real world" of jazz improvisation and writing. However, even beginners can get into the book and I'd bet there are some masters out there who could learn a trick or two from it.

Many of the ideas presented here may have been printed before, but I've never seen them all together like this, never seen them related to each other like this, and there's lots and lots that this musician at least had never conceived of before. Reading it was like opening my eyes for the first time in the morning. So much of what I had listened to for years suddenly became explicable.

Do you want to know what to do with that B-flat alt chord in the "Real Book?" Want to know how pentatonic scales can build over various chords? Want to know why it somehow sounded right when that V chord resolved down a major third instead of a fifth? Read this book.

Other topics: Coltrane's changes -- modal scale theory -- a whole section on using melodic minor scales to basically reharmonize every which way but loose --- be-bop scale theory and great gobs of four-bar examples (properly notated in case you can beg borrow or steal the original record) -- playing "outside". There are also complete treatments of some key tunes such as Giant Steps, I Hear a Rhapsody, etc. I think there's enough in this book to keep any musician busy for a decade practicing and working out.

One nice touch is how Mark Levine points out practicioners of the art, not only Coltrane for his famous reharmonizations, but people like Woody Shaw for his pentatonic harmonies and Joe Henderson, Herbie Hancock etc. etc. There are some nice pictures of all these people, which to me exhibits one of the best qualities of jazz culture -- that of giving proper and humble credit and tribute to the many great musicians that have formed and furthered the music.

One thing this book is not -- It's not just a book of licks written out and transposed in various keys for you to practice over particular chords. Examples of licks are there, of course, but the focus is on giving you enough of an understanding so that you can make your own practicing agenda.

There was a time when it was a common adage that Jazz can't be taught. You were either born with it, or were lucky enough to pick it up... to some extent that is true... as there is a time you have to lift your head from the books and learn on the bandstand... but the question is how to get to that point - - the point where you can benefit from lead sheets or learning off of records, or by communicating with other musicians ?

For many years, a lot of the "Jazz" educational material on the market was either antequated by the time of publication (remember going into music shops to find "modern" piano books that would teach you how to play stride version of Honeysuckle Rose and the Maple Leaf Rag?)... other books contained misleading information, or some of the better ones required technical reading skills (as well as hand spands and chops) that few Jazz masters themselves were known to possess (!) - - Finally, over the years, a few breakthroughs... two of the earliest that come to mind would include books by David Baker and John Mehegan. - - But most of us still wondered, "When is somebody going to write *the book* ?" - - ...finally someone did.

The publication of this book has launched Jazz education into the modern era... Very readable, well presented, modern, practical, never over academic or esoteric, and requiring the most minimal amount of reading of musical notation possible - - and written for a generation raised on Miles Davis and John Coltrane not Fats Waller and Louis Armstrong (as great as they were.)

Combining this book with the right listening, hands on playing (check out some of the Aebersold play-a-longs) and the right fake book... in a situation where a great Jazz teacher might not be so available or affordable, with the right attitude (check out Berliner's Thinking In Jazz) - - this book is your spiral bound musical conservatory, with advice relevent to players of all levels... From those basic intervals, scales, chord voicings and changes that all Jazz students learn in their first lessons, to the insight required to "put it all together" - - This is a great reference for everyone, from the begining student, the aspiring amateur trying to get into a program (or take his or her playing to the next level)... to the seasoned veteran who'd like to learn the language and reason and gain better insight into what he or she is playing and hearing in order to grow as a musician. Regardless, this is one resource that belongs in your music learning library !

This is not a "how-to" book to work through, but a reference work that will offer much to the ongoing study by a serious student of jazz music. It offers mode-by-mode analyses of major scale and melodic minor harmonies, looks at different techniques practicing and for constructing solos, outlines the basics of reharmonization, and has a thousand other little details that are very helpful. Each point is accompanied by examples from classic works in the jazz repertoire. This is a book that can only be digested over a period of years. I recommend it highly to anyone studying this music seriously.

This book is very good and I recommend it to any serious music student. I learned a lot from it and it gave me plenty of new information and insights. It is also valuable as a reference with excellent indicies and appendices, for example a long list of contrafacts based upon standard song forms. My main criticism of it is that it is very piano-centric. Most examples are given in complex two-handed piano-score format which is great if you can sight read complex piano parts, but are not immediately helpful if piano is your second or third instrument. Also, examples and contexts reflect the author's own personal tastes heavily. There is nothing really wrong with these things, but for a book that seems to present itself as the authoritative text on jazz theory, it's not. I think Bert Ligon's series of books presents a more comprehensive, accessible, and balanced overview of jazz theory, and is more oriented towards musicians in general, not only pianists.

This book is just outstanding in the way is speaks to the students. You have the feeling you are learning from a friend, instead from a teacher who doesn't care that you learn something. It starts with basic theory, and goes on to the more advanced stuff like reharmonizing jazz standards and playing outside etc. This book has it all, so if you're an aspiring jazz student you should get this book, it is essential in any jazz fan's book collection. Great stuff!

My frustration with this book is the considerable overlap between it and the Jazz Piano Book, also by Mark Levine. I bought the Jazz Piano book first worked through a lot of it before purchasing this book. The number of pages copied verbatim from one book to the other appears to be significant, particularly at the beginning. I could not help feeling a little like I paid twice for the same not inexpensive book. However, the material unique to this book is great, especially the chapters on reharmonization. Just don't be surprised if you own the Jazz Piano book and end up skipping some sections in this book.

^^ don't listen to fffcj...

this book is thoroughly informatve and the many music examples only help to further your understanding of what is being explained.

This book goes into many detailed explanations of various concepts (beginner to advanced) and provides many valuable examples/recordings in which you can referrance the topic to. including the many footnotes and sidebars which ARE very important and certainly deserved to be in the book. the footnotes also help to eliminate alot of clutter that would have been inevitable had Mark included them in the main body of text.

One thing i was very happy about with this book is not as clinical as alot of other books. The Author talks to you as if you were having it explainied to you by a private teacher. Including humor and real world clarifications.

Jazz Theory can clear up many things you may have been hazy on, and also teach many things you had no clue about. this book gets 10 stars out of 5.

I am writing this review to point out that Mark Levine publishes TWO Jazz theory books " The Jazz Theory Book (1995)" and "The Jazz Piano Book (1989)." Amazon shows incorrect dates for these books. I purchased both here on Amazon. To my suprise, the two books are virtually the same with frequent identical paragraphs of text, illustrations, chapters, etc. Jazz Theory Book is essentially an update version of Jazz Piano Book. Both are superior well written music theory works but it is not necessary to own both. Either one of them is a must have for any aspiring Jazz pianist or theory hound. I am keeping the Jazz Theory Book since it is newer. I feel that Amazon or someone should point this 'duplication' out.

Mark Levine's "Jazz Theory Book" is an important resource for anyone interested in learning jazz harmony, in a complete fashion. Most books on jazz theory leave some things out, or don't explain something fully, forcing the player the buy another book to try to fill the holes. This book covers all the bases and the concepts can be applied to any instrument (reading music is necessary).

The book starts off pretty basic, but then quickly gets into such wide-ranging concepts as chord/scale theory, reharmonization, Coltrane changes, and others. Levine explains things clearly, sometimes in musical examples rather than words (this means you must be self motivated and actually analyze the examples, that's why they are there). Some reviewers have complained about the amount of musical examples, but I liked seeing the concepts applied a few different ways in the context of real tunes. For me, all the examples were a plus, not a minus. The footnotes were also helpful.

This book is not going to do the work for you. It has the answers, but simply reading the words while you are waiting for dinner to cook is not going to make you into a great jazz musician. Play through the examples, read things over more than once, apply the concepts to other tunes in your own playing, and you will have everything covered. Also, the spiral binding is a great touch; the book can be opened easily to any page and stay there (I wish every book had this binding, actually).

Overall this book is a great learning tool for musicians of any skill level. It has a wide variety of topics, all well laid out, and will provide the musician with some much-needed skills.

By all means, if you've been confused with theory in the past, buy this book! I could have easily saved myself several hundred dollars I've spent on other materials that only left me as confused as I was when I started or at best taught me fragments of theory that I couldn't piece together in a cohesive manner if I'd just bought this book first. Levine's book shows you the how and the why in a way that is easy to understand and builds on itself so that you "get it" and can apply it. I can't recommend it highly enough!