Joe Pass Omnibook--Anyone purchase a copy?

**PaulHintz** · 06-22-2015, 10:08 PM

Saw a listing on Amazon for a Joe Pass Omnibook. To be released this month (June 2015). No listing of contents. Am mainly wondering if it has anything in it that has not already appeared in print (I do believe I have all of the previously published transcriptions). Anyone got a copy, or an opinion?
Thanks!

**PMB** · 06-22-2015, 10:17 PM

Maybe you checked a while back but Amazon now has the contents listed:

All the Things You Are * But Not for Me * Cavalerie * C.E.D. * Chlo-e * Django * 500 Miles High * For Django * Giant Steps * Have You Met Miss Jones? * I Love You * In a Mellow Tone * Just Friends * Limehouse Blues * Love for Sale * Love Is Here to Stay * Meditation (Meditacao) * Night and Day * The Night Has a Thousand Eyes * Oleo * Robbin's Nest * Rosetta * Satin Doll * Soon * Speak Low * Stella by Starlight * Stompin' at the Savoy * Tricrotism * Watch What Happens * Windows * Yardbird Suite * You Stepped Out of a Dream.

**pubylakeg** · 06-24-2015, 02:05 AM

Just checked, and the details page for this publication has vanished from HalLeonard's website. Mmmm...Could be they're postponing/withdrawing publication ? Hope not. I'd really been looking forward to that one.

**Stuart Elliott** · 06-24-2015, 01:20 PM

Send HL an inquiry and they responded

This item is in production right now. We have been cleared final approvals and it should be in stock in about 3 weeks. We will ship the product to the vendors as soon as we have it available. If you have it on order please check with your vendor in a few weeks.

**Cunamara** · 06-24-2015, 06:18 PM

No, and I'm not going to buy one. I would rather spend the money on some Joe Pass recordings. In the past few months I've come to realize that very, very few of the jazz books I have ever purchased have done me a bit of good. I simply don't read music at all competently and thus don't get much if anything out of them (and after 35 years of playing guitar and not being able to learn to read music, I've given up on it. It ain't happening and there are other ways to learn). I am far better off listening to recordings and learning jazz that way. Someone who can actually read music even semi-competently might have a different experience.

**Endorphins** · 06-25-2015, 09:18 AM

The Coltrane book got moved ahead at least once. These things happen.

**Sufa** · 08-12-2015, 07:36 PM

Hey Paul,

I just received a copy of the Joe Pass Omnibook today. I'm very impressed so far. The transcriber's notes, notation, and tablature are clear and rendered well, and it's the first book I've received in years that is spiral-bound (!). The notation/tablature seems well 'synchronized'. I've only reviewed "Giant Steps" and "500 Miles High", and they are very well done. A quick glance at others leads me to infer that the quality is consistent throughout. All-in-all, for ~$15, I'd definitely recommend the book. Let me know if you have any more questions or if you'd like to see a few samples.

**PaulHintz** · 08-12-2015, 07:53 PM

Sufa,
Thanks for the update, and the positive review. Maybe my original question wasn't clear---does this book contain any transcriptions not already available in other books? Just the titles alone aren't a certainty, for tunes that Pass recorded several/many times. Many people prefer his group recordings (For Django especially gets lots of love), but all I do is solo performing, and so his Virtuoso-and-after records are what I am most interested in. Does this Omnibook have any solo/individual performances? For me, the book would be worth buying if it has even one solo-performance transcription I don't already own.
Thanks for your help!

**Sufa** · 08-14-2015, 07:44 PM

Paul,

I'm not sure about whether any of these transcriptions appear elsewhere. However, there are definitely a few solo transcriptions in the book (that's exactly what I was after as well). I've been surfing around the book the last few days looking for chord-melody solos to put into notation software for further study and practice.

Here's a few of the songs that appear to be solos (I'm still gathering recordings and so forth, lol, so I'm not 100% sure):

500 Miles High - from Virtuoso #2
Giant Steps - from Virtuoso #2
Stella by Starlight - from Virtuoso
Windows - from Virtuoso #2

There may be more - the book is 296 pages.

Take care, and have a good weekend.

**PaulHintz** · 08-14-2015, 09:23 PM

Sufa,
A thousand thanks for your kind and helpful reply. Just those three, heck, just the transcription of Stella, make the book a must-purchase for me. I'll order it this weekend. Much obliged!
-P.

**Moonray** · 08-15-2015, 02:20 AM

Hey Sufa

Does the book give the album each transcription is taken from?

Given how Joe used to record the same tunes on multiple albums that'd be a help.

Also you mentioned tablature....do the fingerings look like they have the general gist
of JP's LH approach....ie CAGED based....not 3NPS...like some tab programs default to
and in the process help to conceal rather than clarify.

I'd rather have no tab if it's the latter....anyone who's studied Joe's performances videos and books
knows roughly how he may have fingered it.

I think there's far too little emphasis in the study of jazz guitar on LH fingering....
Speaking as someone like many here, who played classical guitar for many years...I came to know
how important to the phrasing/feeling of the music that the LH could make or break a piece.

It's like a saying I heard an old time jazz guitarist lament..."the trouble with life is it just doesn't lay well"

**jazzalta** · 08-19-2015, 01:19 AM

A great book, just got my copy today. Lots of ideas in there. I'm not one for copying direct licks per se but there are a lot of concept themes I can wrap my head around. A great publication.

**WilliamScott** · 08-24-2015, 05:56 PM

I got the book, too. Nobody would want to learn to do a direct copy of his performances but it's great for seeing all his tricks and devices laid out for you.

**Bobalou** · 08-25-2015, 12:45 AM

Looks good. Would be even better if it came with a copy of the recordings the transcriptions were taken from. That would be really boss.

Anybody know which records the actual recordings came from for all 30 transcriptions?

Personally I'd rather have a book that transcribed 30 mostly chord melody performances because that's the what Joe was really known for. His single note lines were genius too though.