Chasin' the Sound

Brian Levy is Director and Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at San Diego State University (SDSU). Prior to this role, he was a full-time member of the faculty at The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) from 2013-23, where he held joint appointments in the Department of Jazz Studies and the Department of Music History and Musicology. In 2021, he received the prestigious Louis Krasner Teaching Award. As a saxophonist, Levy performs regularly in the US and Europe.Keith Waters is Professor of Music at the University of Colorado Boulder. As a professional jazz pianist, he has recorded and performed with jazz artists such as James Moody, Bobby Hutcherson, Eddie Harris, Dave Liebman, Janis Siegel, and many others. As an author, Waters is the author of The Studio Recordings of the Miles Davis Quintet, 1965-68; Postbop Jazz in the 1960s: The Compositions of Wayne Shorter; Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea; and Jazz: The First Hundred Years (with co-author Henry Martin).

• How to Use this BookAbout the Companion WebsitePrefaceAcknowledgementsIntroduction Chapter 1: Pulse and SyncopationChapter 2: Horizontal and Vertical Approaches to ImprovisationChapter 3: Introduction to Charlie Parker: Rhythm and PitchChapter 4: Rhythmic ShapesChapter 5: "Groovin' High": The UpsurgeChapter 6: Descending Pathways and Underlying ThirdsChapter 7: Techniques for Connecting and Expanding Melodies Chapter 8: Cross RhythmsChapter 9: "Klaunstance" and "Ko Ko": the Vocabulary of BebopChapter 10: Vertical Approaches: Harmonic SpacesChapter 11: Flexibility of Harmonic RhythmChapter 12: Hard Bop ApproachesChapter 13: Soloing with Comping RhythmsChapter 14 (Online): Practical Applications Chapter 15 (Online): Learning Tunes, Harmonic Progressions, and Lines in 12 Transpositions Chapter 16 (Online): Other Bop Players Chapter 17 (Online): Rhythm Changes Routines Chapter 18 (Online): John Coltrane and Harmonic Third Relations Index

What sets jazz apart from other music is its rhythm and feel. This book does such a masterful job at showcasing the elements that are essential to this music. The detail and explanations make it accessible to all who want to improvise. The relationship between soloist and rhythm section is highlighted in the transcriptions that are in the book. This book is a knockout!!!