Jazz Improvisation: Swing and Early Progressive Piano Styles

First, a quick warning... this book is not for beginners or dabblers, it is very thorough, intense, and very little is simplified for folks with small hands or short attention spans. It is probably one of the most thorough yet readable documentations of Jazz Piano technique circa the '30s - '50s, but in its trueness, I imagine countless "quick fix" learners have wound up putting it aside indefinitely... The truth is that the era documented in the book was one that was very Darwinian in nature, especially for pianists who had to battle it out to rise to the top. As a pianist, you couldn't make it to the top by co-existing with your fellow section members... you had to knock the other guy off the bench by playing better than him. Finally, the '60s afforded the piano more harmonic and melodic adventureness and an economy of style where the rhythm section freed up the piano player to break free of many of the conventions documented in this very book - - a rich, full, and rhythmically strong playing style that required experience, stamina, muscles, tireless tendons plus the bedazzling ability not just to be able to play chords and modes, but to HARMONIZE melodies on the spot while playing stride style basslines (!) Fortunately (and towards the end of the book) George Shearing came along, and the 40 or so pages dedicated to his unique "locked hand" style made the book worth the purchase (atleast for me !) Some of the language and notation might be a bit out of fashion, and the book definitely requires a lot more reading than many of today's Jazz piano students might be used to, however, anyone seeking a true and systematically presented glimpse into the influences of Teddy Wilson, Art Tatum, Bud Powell, George Shearing and Horace Silver will definitely find this book a priceless resource.

This is the third in a series of four volumes created between 1959 and 1965 by jazz pianist and instructor John Mehegan. The complete set is of the utmost historical importance for anyone with a serious interest in jazz piano. Before Mehegan, no other author had succeeded in unlocking the mysteries of jazz piano and then communicating them to a mass audience in a clear and cogent manner.This volume considers three primary piano styles--first is a stride architecture using open scale tone tenth chords and modelled after pianist Teddy Wilson. The second, also stride, utilizes tenths with other notes filled in. It is modelled after Art Tatum. Third is a bebop architecture modeled after Bud Powell, in which stride is abandoned altogether and the only chord architecture is a series of comparatively naked root-third and root-seventh intervals.(Parenthetical note: Serious Bud Powell fans may chafe to see Powell's legacy reduced to something so vastly oversimplified. However, when one is trying to communicate the revolutionary paradigm shift embodied in Powell's groundbreaking bebop work, it is difficult to incorporate his more elaborate solo piano work.To get the best grasp of what Mehegan is talking about, particularly in the two stride styles, you should have Mehegan's second volume, Jazz Rhythm And The Improvised Line, which includes solo transcriptions for Wilson's version of Thou Swell and Tatum's legendary "Aunt Hagar's Blues." These transcriptions make it easier to see Mehegan's theoretical concepts "in action." Be forwarned that both stride styles are technically very demanding, perhaps impossible if your hands are too small. Mehegan does a good job of breaking all the 10th intervals into three levels of difficulty and proposes viable root-seven alternatives for the most difficult ones.The book's primary flaw -- one which persists throughout the series -- is its unfortunate allegiance to the concept of "figured bass" used within traditional music theory instruction. Indeed, there is a conspicuous overall effort throughout the series to "suck up" to academia, but this is a forgivable byproduct of an age when traditional academia persisted in viewing jazz as something too vulgar and intellectually impovershed to merit acceptance within hallowed academic environs. -- Cortland Kirkeby<P)