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What are the best must have books you own and worked with that are good for jazz guitar learning?
Which books were not too great or not helpful to your expectations?
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02-17-2026 06:04 PM
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Jazz is so wide reaching, you have to narrow the field, no? Best Swing Jazz books, Bebop, Modal, Post Modern, etc. I doubt you’ll find a book that successfully covers all of these. What area interests you most, GB?
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Jazz Improvisation For Guitar - Garrison Fewell
You can really get alot of mileage out of this.
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For my goals
1. Mickey Baker - Jazz Guitar
2. Yuji Kamihigashi - Early Jazz Guitar Chord Soloing
3. Hal Leonard - Real Book I and II
3rd one may be controversial, but it’s literally been my gateway to playing with others. Anything in the first 2 real books is game to call on a jam or gig. Because you know, it’s in the real book. The shortcut we all use.
The goal is to get off the page and have elephant sized ears, but the road to that goal is paved with playing as much music as competently as possible by any and all means.
That’s my opinion anyway.
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My interest is being able to play any music in Jazz style like Tommy Immanuel does. Not sure if it sounds making sense, as I am a newbie in Jazz guitar practicing.
Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
I like listening to any general Jazz guitar music like Joe Pass to Wayne Krantz, and Bluezy and the old classic Jazz too.
Recently I was looking into the books for Jazz Voicing, Intervals and Harmonies. There seem to be many books for the topics, and couldn't figure out which ones would be best, or better than the others.Last edited by GBRow; 02-17-2026 at 07:29 PM.
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Not specifically for guitar…
Rhythms Complete by Colin/Bower. (This one will teach you to read).
Jazz Theory by Levine. (This one will explain the lay of the land in detail).
The Realbook. (If you had to pick just one, this would be it -- but you have to know how to read to get the most out of it).
For guitar:
Brazilian Guitar Styles by Faria. (Detailed enough that you can actually learn the style.)
Maybe Warren Nunes’ Soloing book. (If you just get the notion of tonal centers out of it, it's worth the price).
EDIT: These are the books I found most useful, and I have the usual shelf full of books. I think this is a very personal issue, related to your current abilities, ears, musical memory, chops, reading ability, practice style etc etc etc. So, as the thread has proved, not everybody responds the same to a given book.Last edited by rpjazzguitar; 02-18-2026 at 03:38 PM.
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In that case, you should get his book (it's Emmanuel) and Martin Taylor's book(s), e.g., this one: Originally Posted by GBRow
Martin Taylor's Complete Jazz Guitar Method Compilation: Master Jazz Guitar Chord-Melody, Walking Basslines & Single-Note Soloing
Tommy Emmanual is not a great improvisor, but he's great at arranging for guitar. That is to say, if you want to play like Tommy, you don't need to become a good improvisor.
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GB, some people follow the history of jazz: start with swing to get the feel and a good grounding; then move on to bebop, then modal, then modern. Doing it that way would be a fairly gentle rise from relatively simple to advanced. I don’t know what Tommy Emmanuel does generally, but I’ve seen him playing swing with Martin Taylor once, and he was killing it (as in a good sense of killing!).
Everyone here will have their favourite books, but they might not be right for where you want to go.
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I may be wrong, I admit that I have only heard him play solo guitar. I imagine he's a competent improvisor but he's not known for that. Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
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Yes, it looks a very good book actually. Saved in the Books to get List. Thanks for the info. Originally Posted by Mick-7
Some of TE's guitar playing sounded like Jazz tune, and he seems to be able to make even the simplest easy songs into interesting tunes. And I thought that is a great skill to have as a guitar player in any style.
But I would like to learn also general Jazz guitar playing too. My aim for guitar practicing is to be a versatile flexible player who can play different styles of music be it folk, blues, jazz or even pop and rock music.
I have been practicing pop, folk and blues songs for about 5 months before deciding to put more time on jazz guitar practicing. The other styles were kind of easy ride, but Jazz seems a tough time ahead needing patience, effort and investment of time for more serious practicing and funds for buying the books.
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Great advice, thank you Rob. Originally Posted by Rob MacKillop
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Yes…my favorite of the dozens I’ve bought…..by a long shot. Very well organized. Great sounding audio. It seems to touch all the bases without being overwhelming if that makes sense. Originally Posted by Rodney Gene
Book’s actual title is “Jazz Improvisation for Guitar: A Melodic Approach”
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The time, effort and patience are way more important than the books. You can buy any book. Mickey Bakers book is like $10. It’ll take you a year to work through with SERIOUS effort. Originally Posted by GBRow
You’ll want to learn things one bit at a time. It’s slower than you want but quicker than it feels.
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You are definitely wrong.Tommy Emmanuel can play anything at a top tier level and is great at soloing on a tune. Originally Posted by Mick-7
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That “If I Had You” video is so good! It’s one of the versions I studied when learning the tune.
I second the Real Book, or what ever book is in use where you live (in my case, in Japan, it’d be the Jazz Standard Bible). Much of what one needs to learn to play jazz is in the tunes. As said above that’s the goal and it puts you on the same page as peers.
Having said that, books are fun and useful. I used the three Barry Galbraith books starting out. Thin volumes, on soloing, comping and harmonic minor, but hours of practice there in. And for a little bit of fun when needed, get the Jim Hall book.
You’re embarking on a wondrous musical journey. Fare thee well!
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Agree .. Yes to the Baker book. Its jazz basic 101. Minimal essential chords and basic lines to play over them. Originally Posted by AllanAllen
If you follow Bakers instruct..its one lesson a week-52 lessons.
You will now be able to work on tunes that will have many of the chords and progressions from his lessons.
You will now be ready for intermediate studies of "jazz" and music in general.
If your serious about learning this art..it will unfold for you little by little
enjoy the journey
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Randy Vincent - The Guitarist's Introduction To Jazz.
I now have almost all his books but this is the place to start.
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the inner game of tennis
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Is it not “Jazz Improvisation for Guitar: A Harmonic Approach” ? Or is this another book by the same author? Originally Posted by alltunes
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I see the book in Amazon. It has high percentage of positive reviews, but one or two negative ones. Originally Posted by James W
The negative review is detailed writeup, and it sounds quite bad.
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Same author - Jazz Improvisation for Guitar: A Melodic Approach Originally Posted by GBRow
I have seen 'A Harmonic Approach' but have never read it and was not referring to it.
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I found one that mostly just complains about having to read music, so I wouldn't take that too seriously. The book is full of useful info. Originally Posted by GBRow
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Such a HUGE and personal question!
Maybe useful, maybe not but as a guitarists inspired by the ostensibly limitless possibilities of guitar, my life changed when I read The Advancing Guitarist by Mick Goodrick. An enormously expansive volume with very little "Do this" advice but solid suggestions on how to be aware and create your own way. It's the one book that is as important to me today as the day I found it. And just as actively referenced.
As a reference for how harmony and chord melody works, I used Mike Eliot's Contemporary Chord Solos (vol 1 and 2) and it made practical playing make sense.
Mark Levine wrote a book on The Jazz Theory and this was the most inclusive and logically laid out book for me on theory.
On improvisation, the Hal Crook wrote a couple of books and they're all Excellent.
By far though, work with a GOOD teacher; one with enough experience to have a personal take on what to learn and in what order. Find one who will work with how to listen, how to train your ear, how to hear what a soloist is doing... these things you don't get from a book and there are so many layers to becoming a jazz guitarists that no one book alone will be able to guide you through your own process of mastery.
Be patient. Immerse yourself. Listen to a lot. Be ready to turn away from somebody else's advice if you are not convinced why their advice is necessary.
Good luck
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I feel a bit disingenuous answering this question, because the only books for "jazz guitar learning" that I own and ever worked with are Originally Posted by GBRow
- Micky Baker - Complete Course In Jazz Guitar
- William Leavitt - Modern Method For Guitar, Volume 1
- William Leavitt - Melodic Rhythms For Guitar
and tbh I'm not so sure how "good" any of those were for "jazz guitar learning"
I learned a lot of chord forms, and I learned to sight-read from those. And if I'd paid a little more attention to the Baker book I'd probably have learned a few more licks.
But I think to whatever extent I learned jazz guitar, it came from A) personalized one-on-one lessons from a couple of brilliant teachers during my formative years; and B) getting thrown into the fire at jam sessions in my late teens/early 20s.
Now, if the subject was broader than just "jazz guitar learning" and you ask about "the best must have books you own and worked with that are good for music learning?" I've got a whole mini-library to recommend! But none of them are geared towards jazz guitar, more towards music theory and/or composition.
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If you like a particular cat's playing, get his books. I have found a wealth of useful stuff in books by Joe Pass, Herb Ellis and Larry Coryell. Jazz is about having musical vocabulary and a "system" (as Kenny Burrell calls it).
The Mickey Baker and Warren Nunes books were not helpful in my case.
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