Thinking in Jazz

by Berliner, Paul F.

• ISBN13: 9780226043814
• ISBN10: 0226043819
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1994-08-01
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

A landmark in jazz studies,Thinking in Jazzreveals as never before how musicians, both individually and collectively, learn to improvise. Chronicling leading musicians from their first encounters with jazz to the development of a unique improvisatory voice, Paul Berliner documents the lifetime of preparation that lies behind the skilled improviser's every idea. The product of more than fifteen years of immersion in the jazz world,Thinking in Jazzcombines participant observation with detailed musicological analysis, the author's experience as a jazz trumpeter, interpretations of published material by scholars and performers, and, above all, original data from interviews with more than fifty professional musicians: bassists George Duvivier and Rufus Reid; drummers Max Roach, Ronald Shannon Jackson, and Akira Tana; guitarist Emily Remler; pianists Tommy Flanagan and Barry Harris; saxophonists Lou Donaldson, Lee Konitz, and James Moody; trombonist Curtis Fuller; trumpeters Doc Cheatham, Art Farmer, Wynton Marsalis, and Red Rodney; vocalists Carmen Lundy and Vea Williams; and others. Together, the interviews provide insight into the production of jazz by great artists like Betty Carter, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins, and Charlie Parker. Thinking in Jazzoverflows with musical examples from the 1920s to the present, including original transcriptions (keyed to commercial recordings) of collective improvisations by Miles Davis's and John Coltrane's groups. These transcriptions provide additional insight into the structure and creativity of jazz improvisation and represent a remarkable resource for jazz musicians as well as students and educators. Berliner explores the alternative ways--aural, visual, kinetic, verbal, emotional, theoretical, associative--in which these performers conceptualize their music and describes the delicate interplay of soloist and ensemble in collective improvisation. Berliner's skillful integration of data concerning musical development, the rigorous practice and thought artists devote to jazz outside of performance, and the complexities of composing in the moment leads to a new understanding of jazz improvisation as a language, an aesthetic, and a tradition. This unprecedented journey to the heart of the jazz tradition will fascinate and enlighten musicians, musicologists, and jazz fans alike.

Author Biography

Elizabeth A. Kaye specializes in communications as part of her coaching and consulting practice. She has edited Requirements for Certification since the 2000-01 edition.

Table of Contents

List of Figures

List of Music Texts

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Picking Notes out of Thin Air?

Improvisation and Its Study

Love at First Sound: Early Musical Environment

Hangin' Out and Jammin': The Jazz Community as an Educational System

A Very Structured Thing: Jazz Compositions as Vehicles for Improvisation

Getting Your Vocabulary Straight: Learning Models for Solo Formulation

Seeing Out a Bit: Expanding upon Early Influences

The More Ways You Have of Thinking: Conventional Rhythmic and Theoretical Improvisation Approaches

Conversing with the Piece: Initial Routines Applying Improvisation Approaches to Form

Composing in the Moment: The Inner Dialogue and the Tale

Improvisation and Precomposition: The Eternal Cycle

The Never-ending State of Getting There: Soloing Ability, Ideals, and Evaluations

Arranging Pieces: Decisions in Rehearsal

Adding to Arrangements: Conventions Guiding the Rhythm Section

Give and Take: The Collective Conversation and Musical Journey

When the Music's Happening and When It's Not: Evaluating Group Performances

The Lives of Bands: Conflict Resolution and Artistic Development

Vibes and Venues: Interacting with Different Audiences in Different Settings

Epilogue: Jazz as a Way of Life

Music Texts

House Congressional Resolution 57

List of Artists Interviewed

Sources

Notes

Discography

Videography

Bibliography

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