These are the most useful books that I know of which deal specifically with string instruments applied to jazz styles. Of course, there are many other great jazz books which can be used by strings or any instrumentalist.
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Blake, John. Jazz Improvisation Made Easy Vol. 1, Beginning to Improvise
Jody Harmon/BlakeHarmon pub. POB 186 Westford MA 01886 - Baker, David. A New And Innovative System For Learning To Improvise; books for violin and cello. (See Darol's review, below) Jamey Abersold Jazz Inc. POB 1244 New Albany, IN 47151-1244
- Norgaard, Martin. Jazz Fiddle Wizard Mel Bay Publications, St Louis, MO www.jazzfiddlewizard.com
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Sabien, Randy. Jazz Philharmonic: Making Jazz Easy In The String Orchestra.
Alfred Publishing, POB 10003 Van Nuys, CA 91410-0003. www.alfredpub.com -
Lieberman, Julie Lyonn. Improvising Violin
Huiksi Music dist. In music stores nationally or call 800-248-SHAR -
Lieberman, Julie. You Are Your Instrument: the Definitive Musicianas guide to Practice and Performance
Huiksi Music dist. in music stores nationally or call 800-33-TAPES -
Glaser, Matt. Jazz Violin with Stephane Grappelli
Oak Publications 33 West 60th Street, NY NY 10023 -
The Turtle Island String Quartet Workbook
(Anger, Balakrishnan, Seidenberg, Summer, Silverman). Jazz String Workbook (out of print)
Available at TISQ workshops.
In addition, Matt Glaser, Darol Anger, and Julie Lyonn Leiberman have instructional videos published which illuminate various aspects of improvisation:
- Matt Glaser: Improvising Hot Swing Fiddle (Homespun Tapes)
- Matt Glaser: Ear Training (Homespun Tapes)
- Darol Anger: Blues on the Fiddle (Homespun Tapes)
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Julie Lyonn Leiberman: You Are Your Instrument
Huiksi Music. In music stores nationally, or call 800-33-TAPES
A New & Innovative System for Learning to Improvise for Jazz Violin (and all treble clef instruments) - by David Baker
David Baker occupies a special place in most jazz string players' hearts. Whether it's terror of his whirlwind approach to improvising drill (one student proposed bumper stickers reading "I've Been Baked"), astonishment at his unceasing volcanic activity in every area of music: education, composition, speaking, playing, -- or the most affectionate love and gratitude for irreplaceable time spent with them helping mold an approach to jazz.
Those of us whose musical paths have crossed David's have known his penetrating intellect, and the embrace of that gigantic heart. No book can communicate the warmth and dedication of his personality, and yet there is a size about his latest book which suggests some of that. Not physical sizea this new book on string improvisation is acually a distillation of several earlier books (he's written over sixty) and is shocking in its concision. But the book covers in words and examples nearly every aspect of David's nearly 30 years of innovative thought on the kind of work necessary to evolve a personal jazz style on a stringed instrument.
This book combines bracingly short, precise verbal summations of his ideas with huge stretches of musical examples suggesting the gigantic harmonic and rhythmic vista of jazz thought and practice. Organized into three sections, the book progresses from a lengthy compendium and incisive analysis of basic jazz skills: scales, exercises, "fretted playing" (the concept of playing in one position across all strings rather than shifting up and down), to the second part: a discussion of "public domain" materials (jazz licks and melodies shared by most players) with many examples, categorized into two sections.
These sections are Scale Patterns, which deal with different sequences in a static harmonic context, and Harmonic Formulae, which deal with melodies negotiating common basic jazz chord progressions. Both these sections frequently cite relevant additional books and playalong records, with just enough short examples to be clear and suggest further work, yet always moving forward rapidly.
The last, very short yet concentrated section deals with jazz study through the memorization of bebop tunes, with a comprehensive list of tunes to learn, sources, and an interesting discussion of contrafacts. The section does not contain any actual charts of tunes other than a couple of David Baker originals; I suspect this is for copyright convenience. He recommends going to the recorded source and matching one's phrasing to the original player.
The bowing section occupies all of one page and includes no examples; the essential message is alisten and experiment until you discover something that sounds right and works for you', which is consistent with his admonishment throughout the book to develop one's ear.
Baker proposes an ingenious approach to the problem of originality in jazz vocabulary. His treatment of the common body of licks, cliches, and melodic patterns is to label it "public domain" material which gives the jazz style its unique character and establishes a common language, especially for educative purposes.
While acknowledging that most every improvising string player has hit on this idea, Baker was the first to present the "fretted approach" (also known as tablature, frames, boxes) as a complete system for improvising fluency through keys, and expounds it here in a economical but comprehensive manner.
A word about the biblography. This section is very large, and includes not only the expected classics of applied jazz from Abersold to Slonimsky, but a large section of recommended reading with titles such as Arthur Koestler's The Act Of Creation, memory development books, and various fascinating-sounding works on the general subject of creativity from every angle. It's a wonderful bonus to be able to look in on David Baker's personal reading list, which strongly suggests that any serious artist must develop as a whole creative person. The separate list of books written by Baker alone is mind-boggling, and well worth perusing, including his excellent Advanced Ear Training and A Creative Approach To Practicing Jazz, to name just two.
To conclude: DB combines the heart of a showman and artist with an brilliantly methodical analytic mind. It's no wonder that he practically invented the art of jazz education and has led its development for at least 30 years. His book assumes you are motivated, have a brain, and can play**, and and sets a direct course through the center of what's needed to be a competent at jazz, with the emphasis on functional knowledge. It's a core reference which can function beautifully as a musical road map and dictionary, to be used and consulted through all one's studies. It's alternatively compact and thorough where it needs to be, and never spoon-feeds too much information, but points outward to needed additional information whenever appropriate. Get it, use it, play, listen, learn.
14 Jazz and Funk Etudes By Bob Mintzer
A(C)1994 Warner Bros. Publications, Miami, FL
CD included; $24.95
Among myriad music book purchases, most books are rarely used after the first couple of openings. The rare book that holds one's attention and becomes an old friend counts as treasure. 14 Jazz and Funk Etudes is written by saxophonist/composer Bob Mintzer, who is well known as the newest member of the long-lived, award-winning fusion group, The Yellowjackets. He is also an top session player around Manhattan and a prolific author of jazz-oriented charts for everything from school stage bands to smaller groups. His playing incorporates everything from Lester Young-era through Bird and Eddie Harris up to the most contemporary styles, but his main focus is on an apollonian post-Coltrane sound favored by many of the best contemporary tenor saxophone players such as Michael Brecker, Bob Berg, and others.
The book of etudes is one of his finest efforts, consisting of fourteen fully realized musical works in the aforementioned styles. The book takes you through a wide variety of tempos and forms with friendly, soulful, and to-the-point explanations of each tune. It was recommended to me by the phenomenal jazz violinist and teacher Matt Glaser, no stranger to these pages, in a conversation about how much I liked Minzter's playing. There is a terrific blues, a set of I Got Rhythm variations, a workout on the standard All The Things You Are, a couple of extremely funky pieces, modern fourthy compositions and some lyrically slow and challenging material, with the melody, improvisations, and chord progressions all clearly written out. The chords (placed over the single staff) accurately describe both the basic progression and the harmonic substitutions occurring within the melody.
A play-along CD is included; the 14 tunes are given with and without the melody instrument (Mintzer's saxophone), so that one can study and play along with Mintzer's cool, beautiful phrasing, or solo unassisted with the excellent rhythm section. I even find myself listening to the CD for fun, enjoying it with and without the lead. The musicality stands out here. Many books explicate post-bop and Coltrane style but very few do it with such economy and logic. The melodies surprise and make sense simultaneously. The runs and licks follow each other not as a laundry list but as a flow of musical ideas. The tunes are enjoyable enough to make a pleasure of breaking up and developing the ideas, transposing to other keys, all the things one needs to do to really learn jazz improvisation.
This book is not easy for a string player! Even New York studio violin ace Paul Peabody, a truly monstrous player, has commented to me on the unfamiliar moves required to play much of the material. Though the fiddle would seem to lend itself to the 4th and 5th intervals which characterize Mintzer's style, the tunes and solos are tricky to master, with many string crossings and nonintuitive intervals. But once the player gets accustomed to the melodies, the new harmonic possibilities open up beautiful and thriling musical vistas. It comes in four editions: Bass clef, C clef and Eb and Bb horn. Be sure you get the right one!
