Mel Bay Brazilian Jazz Guitar (Book & CD) [Spiral-bound]

Mike Christansen; John Zaradin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Number ten in the Mel Bay/Warner collaboration contains a collection of beginning to intermediate arrangements for Brazilian Guitar. All tunes included in standard notation and tablature are: “One Note Samba”, “Meditation”, “Quiet Nights of Quiet Stars”, “Chega de Saudade”, “How Insensitive”, “The Girl from Ipanema”, “A Day in the Life of a Fool”, “The Island”, “So Nice”, “Desafinado”, “A Felicidade”, “Sabia” and “Gentle Rain”. Tunes arranged by John Zaradin and Mike Christiansen. All tunes included on companion CD in solo and rhythm styles.

About the Author

Mike Christiansen is a Professor and Director of Guitar Studies at Utah State University. In 1994 he was selected "Professor of the Year" at Utah State. He is the author of numerous instructional books, has recorded several CDs, and appears on fourteen instructional videos. He has had articles published in several magazines including Acoustic Guitar and Soundboard, and has also conducted many workshops for guitarists and educators. In addition to this work geared toward teaching, he has played in many top bands and ensembles, has written and performed radio jingles, has backed up many artists on recordings and has written and recorded music for TV and educational films. Currently, in addition to his teaching and writing duties, Mike does solo work, performs with the Lightwood Duo (a clarinet-guitar duo), and is a member of the group, Mirage. John Zaradin's professional life began performing with the violinist, Jan Resek, in Germany and the UK, after which his London debut concert, in 1968, at the Purcell Room, Royal Festival Hall, launched him into the London musical world. Here, he was exposed to a wide variety of music and was called upon to perform in studios, in theatre and on the concert platform. He made, at this time, with the London Symphony Orchestra, the guitar recordings for the television series The Strauss Family. His London theatre life began at the Royal Court Theatre with Shakespeare's Twelfth Night (director Jane Howells), evolved onto the West End stage at the Piccadilly Theatre with Man of La Mancha and continued into touring with the musicals Hair and Fiddler on the Roof and with the companies Ballet Rambert, London Contemporary Dance and Glyndebourne Opera. In 1972 Belwin Mills became his first publisher and he made his first solo recording Concierto de Aranguez by J. Rodrigo (EMI/CFP). Later that year, he was invited to join the Royal Shakespeare Company for the world tour of his production of Midsummer Night's Dream. Returning to Europe, John toured as soloist, with Brazilian companies, presented his own group Images of Brazil and recorded a second album Zaradin's Guitar for EMI (1976). This group Images of Brazil, playing original compositions and a kaleidoscope of music from Brazil, made television and radio performances and performed in venues, which ranged from Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club to the Queen Elizabeth Hall, London.

Product Details

• Spiral-bound: 136 pages
• Publisher: Mel Bay Publications, Inc.; Spi Pap/Co edition (May 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786670231
• ISBN-13: 978-0786670239
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 8.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #79,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

  #4 in	Books > Entertainment > Music > Theory, Composition & Performance > Songbooks > Folk & Ethnic
  #32 in	Books > Entertainment > Music > Musical Genres > Jazz

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!, January 6, 2009

By	Eric H. (Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mel Bay Brazilian Jazz Guitar (Book & CD) (Spiral-bound)

I've purchased over 50 guitar books over the years, and this is one of the best. Here's why:

1. Comes with CD (essential to learning).
2. Excellent arrangements that sound great on solo guitar.
3. Each song has: a) lead sheets and lyrics, b) solo guitar in tab & standard notation; and c) rhythm accompaniment study. The CD has the solo and accompaniment study for each song. The solo guitar versions of these songs make a good CD by themselves.
4. Printing is clear and easy to read.
5. Thirteen full songs. Not just excerpts, not just chords, but entire songs.
6. Very reasonably priced.

This is not a beginner's book. I consider myself an early intermediate player and I find these pieces challenging. But they are very rewarding, thanks to the beautiful arrangements. They really sound good.

If you're wondering how tough the songs are to play, check the preview and try playing the first song in the book. It's a good example of both the level of difficulty and the excellence of the arrangements.

This book sets a high standard for what a guitar book should be. Obviously, a great deal of time and effort has gone into it, and it shows. In turn, it is worth my spending a good deal of time and effort to master these songs. And I'll certainly be buying other guitar books by John Zaradin and Mike Christiansen. Thanks to both of them for an outstanding product!

(BTW, the other guitar books I would rate as faves are "Fingerstyle Blues Songbook" by Steve James, "Mel Bay's Complete Country Blues Guitar Book" by Stefan Grossman, and "Guitar Atlas: Celtic" by David Ernst.)

15 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THANKS FOR THE GIRL FROM IPANEMA, BUT SHE JUST DOESN'T SEE . . ., August 12, 2006

By	C. Scanlon "least helpful reviewer" (among us humans) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mel Bay Brazilian Jazz Guitar (Book & CD) (Spiral-bound)

don't believe what others say, this is really a great book. go to the roots of the chords and build form there with your pinky finger. try different strums and plucks. You'll get it. After forty years I can finally play a really COOL tune, instead of only channeling Jimi Hendrix. Trying to do the opposite, with a REALLY laid back, melancholy (well, that's the same), almost shy virtuoso approach is opening up many doors. This music is everything American def medal is not. Brilliant. Get this book as a portal. It includes at least three ways to approach each song. And so you see that each time you play them, you must play it differently (or are free to improvise as you wish) LEarn tunes with more than one two or even three chords. YOu will not regret it. Great place to continue and expand and to breathe.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Brazilian in name only, October 24, 2009

By	Frank Teixeira - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Mel Bay Brazilian Jazz Guitar (Book & CD) (Spiral-bound)

This product is terrible.
I would have sent it back immediately had I not had to go out of town for 3 weeks.

The arrangements are choppy and harmonically uninteresting. The CD is amateurish and rough.

There are much better arrangements out there. Brazilian Masters comes to mind as does Noriyasu Takeuchi's effort.

To my mind, it is worth attempting to play a more difficult arrangement than to settle for something like this which is simpler but very off the mark as far as Brazilian music goes.