Jazz Improvisation: Advice From the Masters

[Lois Gilbert]

Jazz Improvisation: Advice From the Masters is the new softcover book published by Outcat LLC in Long Beach, New York.

The book features specific advice and inspiration from 16 noted jazz artists and educators, including Joanne Brackeen, Terri Lyne Carrington, Steve Coleman, Todd Coolman, Dave Douglas, Robin Eubanks, Hal Galper, Mark Helias, Charlie Hunter, Dave Liebman, James Moody, Jeremy Pelt, Judi Silvano, Dave Stryker, Lew Tabackin and Kenny Werner. A glossary of jazz jargon, written by the editors, completes the volume.

The articles are based on interviews with the artists conducted by Jimi Durso, who has written transcription articles for DownBeat magazine, and by journalist Karla Harby. The book contains 36 text pages and more than 16,000 words. It retails for $19.95 and is available for immediate delivery from the publisher's website, http://www.outcatrecords.com.

Table of Contents:

First Steps Toward Improvisation,
by Joanne Brackeen

Learning from the History of Jazz,
by Terri Lyne Carrington

Improvisation as Communication,
by Steve Coleman

Listening More Deeply,
by Todd Coolman

Becoming Aware of Musical Traditions,
by Dave Douglas

Using Computer Technologies as Practice Tools,
by Robin Eubanks

Playing (Almost) Everything in Half Time,
by Hal Galper

Silencing the Inner Critic,
by Mark Helias

Embracing Your Limitations,
by Charlie Hunter

Effective Transcription and Analysis,
by Dave Liebman

The Importance of Scales and Modes,
by James Moody

Getting a Foundation in Be Bop,
by Jeremy Pelt

Exercises to Enhance Creativity and Interaction,
by Judi Silvano

Using Classic Recordings to Improve Your Playing,
by Dave Stryker

Playing With Conviction,
by Lew Tabackin

Playing Free,
by Kenny Werner

Glossary of Jazz Jargon,
by Karla Harby & Jimi Durso

[Fluter]

Wow! Thanks very much for posting this, Lois.

Gee I guess I am outed for sure now. . .

If anyone has any questions about the book I'd be happy to try to answer them here.

I've been a journalist for about 20 years now, and whenever I do a series of interviews with fascinating, beautiful people, it reminds me why I was attracted to journalism in the first place. This project was just like that -- we were already fans of everyone's music, but now we are fans of these artists as people as well. How fortunate we are to have them.

I'd also like to publicly thank that most excellent cat, Jimi Durso, who interviewed more than half of our subjects, transcribed the tapes and edited the result to create readable articles. It's a huge amount of work, as those of you who have done it can attest. This was also his first experience interviewing sources as a journalist, meaning he had to come up with the right questions to ask to elicit the kind of information we thought our readers would enjoy having, and he did a fantastic job.

Thanks again, Lois!