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Mine is (by a very wide margin) The Jazz Harmony Book by David Berkman. 15 stars out of 10!
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02-17-2024 10:34 AM
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I have two:
- "Jazz Theory: a creative approach" by Stan Kenton (foreword by Teddy Wilson)
- "Grundlagenharmonik" by Werner Pöhlert, 6. edition from 2000
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Originally Posted by Rick5
Yea... totally agree. I remember when book came out... I pushed it here. It's great somewhat simple approach to actually be able to play jazz without too mush BS. And he can actually play...LOL
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I have to mention two more:
- Philippe Baudoin: "Jazz: mode d'emploi.", especially vol. 1 (of two)*)
- Our Alan Kingstone's Barry Harris guitar method book was one of the things that helped me understand Barry's harmonic method better.
*) in French unfortunately;
The Pöhlert I mentioned above is in German, but you might find a used copy of the English translation of an older edition called "Basic Harmony", not sure if the latter includes several books by Pöhlert like the edition I mentioned above.Last edited by Bop Head; 02-17-2024 at 03:09 PM.
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I don't know if it's my favorite, 'cause I only have one, and just bought it at a used bookstore yesterday, but "Jazzology", a Hal Leonard textbook by Robert Rawlins and Nor Eddine Bahha, seems very complete.
It starts from the basics, quickly gets into jazz chords, scales and modes, on to structures, reharms, etc.. It's billed as being for all instruments, though it seems piano oriented. So far I'm using it for review and filling in some gaps, but it looks like further into it, it will cover stuff I should have learned in college (if I wasn't studying electronics!).
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I got the most from a book called Inside Outside by Reese Markevich a long time ago. I don't know where you could find it now. It's OOP.
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I was brought up old school on Vincent Persichetti's Twentieth Century Harmony which gave me a foundation beyond the traditional boundries of jazz and gave me fluency in language that is untapped in even the most out players. Solid groundwork.
And Dave Leibman's A Chromatic Approach to Harmony and Melody is an excellent complement to the Persichetti. Leibman has an approach that is comprehensive enough to cover any treatment of the 12 notes in a context that paves the way for total harmonic/melodic freedom. It's a must have in my book.
These two books aren't jazz specific as far as a step by step to understanding how to play jazz, but are, rather volumes that will be a lifelong companion to what you can do as an evolving and advancing guitarist.
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OP - what do you mean by jazz harmony? Further context needed…
That said I probably wouldn’t be much help anyway because I didn’t really learn ‘jazz harmony’ from a book. I’m not sure there are books on a lot of the stuff I found most helpful.
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Hal Crook's "Ready, Aim, Improvise!" has enough info to keep you busy!
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The two that I always keep handy are:
Hal Leonard - Jazz Guitar by Jeff Schroedl
Alfred - Beginning Jazz Guitar by Jody Fisher
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The Complete Arranger by Sal Nestico and The Jazz Composer's Companion by Gil Goldstein
Both books are out of print but you can find free copies of them online.
Amazon.com - Nestico
Amazon.com - Goldstein
Gil Goldstein's book includes interviews with jazz composers re: their approach to composition, including Bill Evans, Carla Bley, George Russell, Horace Silver, Pat Metheny, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Richie Beirach, Ralph Towner, et. al.
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I only use one, "YouTube", and focus on the Barry Harris system - it's all one needs.
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TBH, I don't really believe in "jazz theory," separate from just "music theory." So, yeah, I've read the Mark Levine books, and the Liebman *Chromatic Approach* (was looking into it a while ago, after a number of years since I read it, and was reminded it's a really lucid book loaded with ideas).
So, I dunno, Walter Piston's *Harmony* or Schönberg's *Harmonielehre* maybe?
However, some concepts, such as Garrison Fewell's triadic idea (I've been working at that very slowly and deliberately for quite a while) I find very helpful. I don't know if I'd call it theory...much more a practical way to organize seventh chords and melodies on the fretboard.
Kind of similar to Bert Ligon's texts, or Barry Harris's approach, in that way. Practical ways to organize one's thinking, which are all based on "regular" music theory.
No, am not trolling for laughs, that's just how I consider it.
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I quite like this book:
https://www.shermusic.com/1883217121.php
If you're into books you might want to check out Mikko Hilden's Youtube channel, his frequent book reviews are quite good, I think.
Mikko Hilden - YouTube
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John Mehegan Jazz Improvisation series:
- Lots of roman numerals, few notes
- My favorite rootless voicings start volume 4 lesson 1
- downloadable as free PDFs, apparently
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His Tonal and Rhythmic Principles was a great foundation for using roman numerals with classic standards. Originally Posted by _bix_
A good introduction into the 12 key approach for learning standards.
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Inside Outside by Reese Markevich. Good luck finding it.
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Not even the author's name comes up in an online search, who is he and how long ago was the book published? Originally Posted by sgcim
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He is a jazz piano and flute playing psychiatrist. It was published around 1960. It's long OOP. I spelled the last name wrong-it's Markewich not Markevevich, sorry. Originally Posted by Mick-7
If you add the initials MD after his name on a search, you might find him, but good luck finding the book. He wrote three other books and put out one record as a leader.
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Ah!, it helps to spell the author's name correctly.... he wrote other books too, but all of them are out of print:
Books by Reese Markewich
And one recording:
Amazon.com - New Designs in Jazz CD
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Same, youtube and Monk for me. Why does everyone want a book? :P Originally Posted by P4guitar
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