Customer Reviews

Modern Jazz Piano: A Study In Harmony And Improvisation

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book completely changed my understanding and level of jazz piano playing. It is short and to the point, yet carefully written and complete. I like the fact that the author is a trained engineer. As a computer programmer I can identify with the way the book is layed out very logically with the assumption that the reader is intelligent, interested, and motivated. I read the entire book while on trains going to and from work. I think it would have been a distraction to have read it while at a piano. The chord pattern excercises at the end of the book are excellent; I am methododically going through all of them using a PC based sequencer connected via midi to an electronic keyboard. If you only buy one book on jazz piano, I think it should be this one. The next book to read after this one, in my opinion is "All about Chords". I am almost finished reading it; I could never have handled it if I hadn't read "Modern Jazz Piano" first. The two books together are magnificently complete. I have a quite a library of jazz piano and jazz books; most of them are padded and not of much use. "Modern Jazz Piano" is by contrast a classic that every jazz pianist should have. I lost many years because I was brain-washed into believing the John Mehegan jazz system as taught at Julliard was the only way to learn jazz. I now believe the Julliard system is hopelessly complicated and not effective. The traditional harmony systems used in "Modern Jazz Piano" are the best and also the most popular. It is not something esoteric that only propeller heads know about. Buy it and hold onto it. Even if it sits on your bookshelf for years, there will come a day when it will speak eloquently to you and change your level of playing and understanding.

This book could possibly be the MOST important jazz theory book you will ever buy. Its greatest strength is the organization and easy-to-follow instruction on a topic which can obviously get quite complicated. Waite does away with a lot of bogged-down sight reading and overly-complicated notation, and he presents the subject with a seriousness of purpose and amazing clarity. The book is loaded with all kinds of things found in other jazz piano books, making this one the one to get if you are starting out. I am no piano guru, but this book appears simply unbelievable in scope of coverage and also displays considerable depth. Some topics include: intervals, basic music notation, building chords, building scales, major/minor/diminished scale harmony, polychordism (although I think there's easier ways to approach this than his way), voicings (left hand and both hands), modal jazz and sus4 chords, flatted fifth substitutions, chord progressions (lots on this), passing/ornamental/chordal notes, bass lines, turnarounds, playing styles, chord/scale relationships, improvisation advice, and a huge appendix full of chord progressions to practice. Although no book is exhaustive, this is the best book I have seen that summarizes a great deal of jazz theory for the piano.

I feel a bit bad not rating this book a 5 standing on its own, but for my personal purpose, which is how-to/learn-and-play jazz books, this book serves only as an excellent theory coverage/reference. In other words, I read it lying in bed at night, but practice at the piano with some other book.

This distinction may be helpful to those of you trying to locate a good how-to-play book (refer, e.g., to Amadie's or Ferrara's for this purpose)

That said, Brian Waite's engineering training shows clearly through in this (small) compendium of chord fundamentals, harmony, voicing, and improvisation. It has the most systematic presentation I have ever seen in a jazz book. You will find a full enumeration of the scales and modes with all the notes and keys listed. You'll find 6 different typical sections of chord patterns that make up the 32-bar standards, that can be combined in various ways. Waite tells you how to tell that Cm6 in a song copy should have been written Am7(b5) in its proper root. Etc. It is well organized with lots of tables, and after a few scans, I understand the order enough to get to just the section I want. Like a dictionary, of sorts.

This is one reference I definitely keep within reach at the piano to find/confirm, in a minute, information that may be difficult or extremely tedious to look up elsewhere.

"Modern Jazz Piano" is the ideal textbook of jazz theory. This book is written in such a lucid and didactic manner that even a very beginner of music like me can read. Author's advanced writing and teaching skills allow this concise book to contain most of the important concepts of jazz, for instance circle of fifth, polychordism, mode, bass line, with practical examples, and chord progression tables. This book absolutely gave me a direction of jazz study. I believe "Modern Jazz Piano" is one of the best written books of jazz theory (if not the best). - 5 stars

This is a really nice down to earth introduction to Jazz piano in that its very concise and has the meat and potatoes. ... the plus side of Waite's Modern Jazz Piano is that it is perfectly suitable for players just making the transition to Jazz piano. It is focused and to the point and easy to get through.

... if you're at the point where you can't really play play tunes from fake books (meaning to make up your own chord voicings and improvisations, and being able to do so in a systematic matter, not just by luck), then this book would be a great start.<P...In summary, a book like Modern Jazz Piano represents a good first step for any student interested in making the leap into the world of modern Jazz improv... It is practical and focused, but only represents an initial step in a long but rewarding lifelong process... though by no means thorough, it is definitely a solid down to earth step in the right direction !

Brian has kept this book very thorough, short and sweet. It lays an overall approach in the learning of jazz piano and to add to that, you have a complete listing of all the scales at the appendix. It means you dont need to purchase a scale book ! A excellent book, the chapters covered are shown above in the review given by Coldmiser.

Brian Waite's Book definitely has its strengths. The book is concise and to the point but unfortunately almost to a fault. While I appreciate the clear layout and direct and unambiguous language, it would have been an even better book if it had more detials such as references to original modern jazz compositions.

The chapter on polychord tables, which the author admits should be used more as a reference guide, could have been compacted into a reference section at the back.

For a strict, no-fancy-frills introdution to Jazz theory there is no better book than this one. What the book sacrifices in terms of elaboration and detail, it makes up for in lucid, direct presentation and clear instruction. For a more detailed and expansive introduction however, a bigger book would be better.

I am a classically trained piano teacher who has worked over the years to expand my skills to include faking off chord charts and jazz techniques. This book is a logically organized reference guide. I think, perhaps, it is not the best choice as a guide book for teaching yourself how to improvise. It has very few examples of what the author is teaching. Once I hit the polychord tables, my brain kind of seized up in the sense that I wasn't sure how to internalize them enough to apply them to my playing. (20 tables with 48 to 120 information blocks per table!)Again, an excellent reference book, but you should not expect to study and play your way through it without assistance unless you are already half-way there.

Modern Jazz Piano is an excellent study for any serious jazz-pop artist. The entire organization of this study is very useful for understanding, what to do, where the possibilities are in all areas of composition. From cover to cover, fundamentals to and through the compendium of scales 100% useful. Get it. You won't regret it!

I just enjoy playing some of these pieces...I'll get to the rest, eventually, got nothing but time