The Jazz Theory Book Review
I'm primarily a guitarist, I learned to play blues by ear many years ago. But, as I grew more interested in playing jazz, it became clear that there were gaps in my knowledge that I wasn't going to get around by relying on my ear. This book has done an excellent job addressing those gaps.
It was not an easy book to get through. I don't have easy access to a piano, so playing many of the examples on the guitar didn't get the point across completely. Also, piano voicings and guitar voicings aren't ever going to match up completely. But, it was still a valuable experience. At some point I would like to go through the book again with a piano in front of me. In fact, I didn't absorb everything the first time through, I will no doubt read the book again anyway to pick up some of the loose ends.
One of my favorite parts of the book was the section on blues scales, things that I was familiar with. He was able to tie my understanding of the blues to a better understanding of jazz. I think I'll be a better blues player because of it.
I don't read standard music notation very well. I've seen some reviews where the use of standard notation was said to be a shortcoming of the book. I disagree. If you want to play jazz, learn to read music.
It's a challenging read, but worth all of the effort that I put into it. I expect it to also act as a long-term reference. If anything ever happens to it, I'll buy another copy.
The Jazz Theory Book Overview
Endorsed by Jamey Aebersold, James Moody, Dave Liebman, and others, The Jazz Theory Book presents all the information any student of jazz needs in an easy-to-understand, yet thorough, manner. For intermediate to advanced players, and written by one of the acknowledged masters of jazz, it is used by universities around the world.
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