Customer Reviews

Jazzology: The Encyclopedia of Jazz Theory for All Musicians

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although it is only one of many jazz theory books on my shelf, I find that this book sticks out for its breadth and applicability to performing and arranging in the jazz idiom. This is accomplished through the sections on piano playing for all jazz instrumentalists where the topics include both voicing and comping rhythms. The latter is usually left out from theory books. There is also a chapter devoted to solo styles where the student can read through analysis of solos with the musical example provided in the book. There is a chapter on arranging for various ensembles as well as a chapter that deals with "Early and Traditional Jazz" a much overlooked area in our jazz history studies. The book even ends with a chapter on practicing that deals not only with what one should practice, but why we practice particular aspects of the music.

Of course there are all of the requisite chapters on scale/chord theory and the ii-V-I progression that you will find in most books, but it is the added material that appleals to the player as much as the theorist. That is what makes this book a superior buy to many others.

this book is very very down to earth. i've seen many theory books and have recieved quite a few desk copies. most theory books give me the hives. they seem very far away from 'the music'. this book is right in there. talks about piano voicings for non-piano players, a section on improv. everything seems like stuff you can teach, students can learn, and everyone can apply directly to the music. which is what most of us want the book for, right?

tony miceli

The book's approach is so intuitive, it almost leads you by the hand into the world of jazz. Certainly jazz is freedom of expression but you have to know what you're doing and this book is the tool for that. Combine it with some tunes and mix in some listening, and the world of jazz is open to you. This should be a standard in every high school with a jazz program and every college lab band.

This excellent book is useful and relevant both as a reference work
and as a coursebook.

In addition to being the definitive compendium of music theory as it
relates to Jazz usage, it also contains exercises for the student
that can be used in the classroom as a supplementary teaching tool or
even as a full blown course of study in itself.

There are hundreds of musical examples to flesh out the prinicples
and topics covered in the text.

The material is well paced and in a logical order. The uncrowded look
of the page layouts aids considerably in making this vast amount of
technical material easily digestible for learners of any level.

This extremely deep book is certainly poised to become the standard
Jazz Theory text of the 21st century.

Pro:
This is a great book to build a solid knowledge of harmony. It goes from the basics of intervals through building chords and their roles in given keys. The book concludes with the task of voicings of chords. An excellent resource for anyone wanting to learn the inner workings of Jazz and music in general. The book has questions at the end of each chapter to reinforce the content covered; I have a Masters in Music and I went through this book cover to cover and did every question, I found that I became more proficient in the harmonic language by studying this text.
Con:
Unfortunately the one and only con is a biggie! Yes there are questions at the end of each chapter. As I worked out every answer to every question I noticed that there are mistakes in the answer section; at least 5. I emailed the publisher about this and was advised that they cannot be held accountable for printing mistakes. This is not acceptable from a book which is meant to teach a tough element of music. Calling something Mixolydian when it should be Lydian is not a printing error, it is downright poor.
Overall:
The content of the material delivered through the chapters is fantastic. It is broken down and build on throughout the book. I would be giving this book 10 stars out of 5 if there were no mistakes in the answer section but I can't give more than 3 stars when I know that someone who is coming to harmony for the first time could get stuck and become frustrated when they cannot understand why their answer does not match the one provided. Hopefully the publisher will take note and correct this for the next edition

This book is one of the very best I have seen,
along with "hearing the changes" by Jerry Coker,
and Jazz and Popular Harmony by Daniel Ricigliano,
it has become a favorite.

I was surprised by this product. It delivers what it promises, and with very good didactical devices. The treatment of harmonic analysis is fantastic, from the ground up. The improvisional devices are up to the point. The best book on jazz theory I've read in recent years, a perfect companion to Levine's "Jazz Theory Book".

I had my reservations with this article. I am the kind of guy that loves when books have a nice presentation. It inspires me to take action. All the lessons are carefully explained. I am learning a lot from this book. I've found that the ilustrations are awesome and the style of encyclopedia learning is cool.

An excellent reference for current jazz students who accept the premise that "real" jazz began in the 1940's with Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and further evolved by John Coltrane. For the minority of students looking for information as to how to play like Armstrong, Beiderbecke, Goodman, Shaw, Teagarden, Young and
other jazz heroes of the developmental years prior to 1940, this isn't the book for you.

AMAZON.COM best e-store on this century. excellent book to learn to play jazz . Love this kind of books. I enjoy a lot of...Best wishes to all to make this possible. Greetings.