Klarinet Archive - Posting 000092.txt from 1995/05

From: Thomas Labadorf <Labadorf@-----.COM>
Subj: Re: Improvisation
Date: Wed, 3 May 1995 02:55:47 -0400

Fred,

A subject I know something about. I'm a classically trained clarinetist who
has always wanted to play jazz. I have a lot of material to learn from, but
I've learned that if you don't apply it, you can't learn it. Makes sense.

A good start is the Jamie Aebersold jazz methods. A series of method books
that come with CD to accompany the books. The CD's are great! They provide
piano, bass and drums played by great musicians.

Jamie professes starting with Volume 24, "Major and Minor Scales." Another
good start is "Nothin' but the Blues" Volume 2. Volume 1 would be the next
step, and then you can go on from there in almost any direction. I think he
is beyond Volume 54, and still churning them out. The 1993 catalogue has
them priced at $14.90 for the book and CD. Very reasonable. Address: Jamey
Aebersold, P.O. Box 1244C New Albany, IN 47151-1244 Orders: (800) 456-1388
Fax: (812) 949-2006.

Jamie presents annual jazz workshops across the country. He is very
enthusiastic and very encouraging. I attended one and recommend it highly.

Other materials:

Scott D. Reeves, _Creative Jazz Improvisation_. (New Jersey: Prentice Hall,
1989) A good step by step method which explains jazz theory with a blend of
practical application.

Jerry Coker, _Patterns for Jazz_. (Miami: Studio P/R, 1970) This book
provides a set of patterns in progressive order from basic scale patterns
through progressions into complicated patterns (eg Lydian chromatic).

_Charlie Parker Omnibook_. Transcribed Charlie Parker solos. (Atlantic
Music Corp., 1978) The best of the bebop patterns. A must, and a lot of
jun!

David Baker, _How to play Bebop_. Books 1-2. Alfred Publishing, 1986.

_The Real Book_ & _The Real Book II_. A collection of lead sheets with chord
progressions. Unfortunately, they are illegal, and some of the chords are
wrong, but between the two volumes, there is a collection of about 1,000
tunes.

_The Ultimate Jazz Fakebook_. (Milwaukee: Hal Leonard Publishing, 1988) A
great collection of over 600 tunes with a nice cross section of styles.
Since it's legal, it has the right chord changes. I recommend this over The
Real Books.

If your student has access to a computer with MIDI set up, he should get a
program call Band-in-a-Box. Here's how it works: You type in the chord
progression from the computer keyboard, select an accompaniment style, set
your tempo, and it will provide a piano, bass and drums (and sometimes pan
winds) accompaniment to play with. It also comes with a "fake book" of files
containing standard tunes. This is not as good as playing with real people,
but it's a great way to practice without embarrasing yourself in front of
real jazzers. Available for PC, MAC and ATARI. PG Music, Inc. 111-266
Elmwood Ave., Buffalo, Ny 14222. (416) 528-2368.

A good source for jazz publications:

Charles Collis Music, New York City. (212) 581-1480.

Most importantly, you can have all the methods, but you can't learn jazz if
you don't do it. Have him pick up a few recordings of an artist he really
likes, and play along with it *without written music*. Fred Jacobowitz's
suggestions are also very good.

Good luck.

Tom L.