Jazz Improv: How to Play It and Teach It (Plastic Comb)

~ (Author) "Our approach to improvisation begins with the tonal concept of "Tension and Release"..." (more)
Key Phrases: Single Chromatic, Great Staff, Please Note (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This book contains a unique method for improvising based on the tonal concept of tension and release providing students, teachers and professional musicians with important principles of improvising melodic ideas, culminating in a creative procedure for tonality, modality and bi-tonality practices.

About the Author

Jimmy Amadie is recognized world-wide as a jazz musician, educator, teacher and author. His texts: "Harmonic Foundation for Jazz and Popular Music" and "Jazz Improv: How to Play It and Teach It" are used in more than 35 countries including Australia and Japan with information on the texts published in English, Italian, German, French and Japanese. Mr. Amadie has been pianist/composer in Woody Herman's Big Band, Mel Torme's personal accompanist, co-author of compositions with Steve Allen and composer/condutor for the National Football Film scores. In addition to teaching privately, he teaches at both Berklee College of Music in Boston and Villanova University for their summer programs. He is also a concert artist for Baldwin Piano Company as well as an artist/clinician for Korg Inc.

Product Details

• Plastic Comb: 158 pages
• Publisher: Thornton Publishing (January 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0961303514
• ISBN-13: 978-0961303518
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #298,600 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A BREAKTHROUGH IN JAZZ ED. BUT..., January 3, 2000

By	Eddie Landsberg "10 years reviewing on Amazon... (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Amadea's approach to teaching Jazz improv is a major breakthrough. The book that precedes this and which you should read first (HARMONIC FOUNDATIONS FOR JAZZ AND POP MUSIC) is incredible. It presupposes you know NOTHING, yet after you work through this book it'll be like finishing 4 years of college in 6 months and graduating MCL. - - The one drawback of JAZZ IMPROV is that it requires a lot of thinking... meaning it ain't no magic carpet ride... ya gotta be willing to work at it and stick with it. To put the book in a nutshell, you think of scale tones numerically. You then learn concepts of how to target the tones. His concept of improv is based on TENSION and RELEASE. - - WARNING: Don't think just because you've read the chapter and understand it, you're ready to go on with the next. You have to internalize it. A neat book I used in conjunction with this is BERT LIGON's CONNECTING CHORDS WITH LINEAR HARMONY.

12 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finally, we have someone who can teach and write about jazz., April 16, 1999

By A Customer

Jazz is recognized throughout the world as America's greatest art form and we who create this music owe a great deal to Jimmy Amadie for his ability to explain what we are doing and how it can be improved. His conception are exactly what is needed by student and professional to keep our music in step with the 1990's and beyond. He defies the old saying that jazz cannot be taught.