Jazz Guitars

The book seems to attempt to present everything in 80 pages.

To illustrate, on the 8 first pages on chords, 80 different chords are presented (all with the same root, C). The title of the ninth page is “Other common chords”.

Sure, these are all chords that are used in jazz, but the challenge is to get so familiar with different chords that changes are almost second nature, and then I -for one- need the information presented in smaller chuncks and some excercises to internalize the information. Within the 8 pages there are 4 pages of chord progression that you may play to use the different chords. But even playing through them 10 or 20 times is not sufficient to learn 80 chords. (The chord chart is provided for each chord, so you do not need to remember any chord to play the progressions, which also slows the learning.) Moreover, there is no explanation of how each chord is derived from more basic forms, these are simply 80 independent objects to remember.

All these chord progression is played on the accompanying CD, and with a definitely jazz-comp feel. However, while the book indicate an even strumming, four beat per measure, the actual playing in the CD is a syncopated rythm. Moreover, the bass is more prominent in the sound than the guitar, so it is hard to pick up the rythm used on the CD. The guitar is not isolated in one of the channel, so it is impossible to enhance it. This is a larger problem later, where the ensamble is larger with a sax, a piano, bass and drums. The guitar comp is very hard to isolate, to figure out what is going on.

When it comes to improvisation the picture is the same. While other beginning books sticks to the major scale for a long time, the book jumps right ahead to harmonic minor, melodiv minor, diminised and whole tone scales. You are told that over the dominant chord you may use the mixolydian, he Prygian dominant, Lydian dominant, Super locrian, Dominant diminished, Whole tone or mixolydian scale. All this information is given before the first example of a solo is presented. And when the first solo is presented there is no analysis of it. Presumably there is no need to, all the information is already presented.

If you already know a lot about jazz guitar, but need a short summary; a place to look up jazz-chord, fingerings of the different scales, brief review of which scales to use on which chords etc. This may be the book for you, hence the two stars. This also applies to those who have tons of book but lack one that summarizes it all. But as an instructional book for those who want to learn jazz guitar however, I would not recommend this one.

Rating: 2 / 5

I agree with many of the other reviewers on this book. I am a guitar instructor (only been teaching for 4 years now) and I wouldn’t recommend students getting this book. I work through certain passages myself, but like the reviews said, this is not progressive, it doesn’t go from easy to hard. Its full of useful information, but diggin into the book is mildly difficult if you’re new to jazz guitar. The concepts are what i’d consider intermediate to advanced (more towards the advanced). The author shows you what chords you can use, but throws all the possibilities on one page, which can be intimidating for any student (or anyone for that mannor). And from there, it shows licks a student can try over specific chords. Then end will write transcriptions of solos over a chorus of a specific tune (Mr. Pc, and others, not many others) Realistically, this can develop some stylistic fundamentals, but in no way would teach anything about improvisation. The book is just all these ideas thrown together in a very unorganized mannor. I’d recommend looking for a different jazz guitar book, unless you’re looking to emulate licks ands licks of the greats. Even if you are, i’d recommend the essential collection (John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, etc.) of books.

Definately not for new players to the jazz realm.
Rating: 3 / 5

This book is the best one I’ve come across in a long time for those interested in jazz guitar. As other reviewers have commented, the book does present a lot of material in a rather short book. Some reviewers found that the book was short on explanations and this is a fair characterization. The book is probably best used in conjunction with a teacher who can piece together the music theory components that aren’t elaborated on in the book. However, if you’ve ever wondered how to approach jazz, this book provides everything you need to get you started. There is material on tritone substitutions, modal harmonizations, chord melody playing, etc, etc, etc. Yes, it assumes you have a decent handle on music theory but once you get a bit of theory under your belt, the book will really open up and you can begin incorporating what it presents in a meaningful way. Other reviewers may disagree, but I don’t think you even need months of studying theory before you can begin to use this book. If you understand major and minor chords, scales, the circle of 5ths, and how to construct chords, you’ll be fine. For example, if you’ve ever wondered how players like Wes Montgomery used chords in his solos, this book provides the basic vocabulary for chords, their alterations and extensions. If you start with a minor, add the seventh, then the ninth, then the 11th and so on, you can begin to build a chord solo or comping vocabulary based on the forms the author provides in this book. Yes, it’s not an introductory book but its accessible to beginners with a bit of work and guidiance.
Rating: 5 / 5