Books

JAZZ BOOKS by BertLIGON

Four books that will take you deep into your exploration in Jazz Improvisation


May be purchased numerous places online including Hal Leonard.com , Amazon.com, JWPepper.com

Jazz Theory Resources, Volume 1

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Jazz Theory Resources is a jazz theory text in two volumes.


Volume I includes: review of basic theory, rhythm in jazz performance, basic tonal materials, triadic generalization, diatonic harmonic progressions and harmonic analysis, substitutions and turnarounds, common melodic outlines, and an overview of voicings. 



JAZZ THEORY RESOURCES, VOL. 1 

# HL 00030458

ISBN: 9780634038617

UPC: 073999676440

316 pages
Jazz Theory Resources, Volume 2

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Jazz Theory Resources is a jazz theory text in two volumes.


Volume II includes: modes and modal frameworks, quartal harmony, other scales and colors, extended tertian structures and triadic superimposition, pentatonic applications, coloring “outside” the lines and beyond, analysis, expanding harmonic vocabulary. 


Included is a complete transcription and analysis of the following classic jazz improvisations: Billie's Bounce (Charlie Parker), So What (Miles Davis), Freddie Freeloader (Wynton Kelly), All Blues (Cannonball Adderley), Blue in Green (John Coltrane). Appendices on chord/scale relationships, elaborations of static harmony, endings, composing tips, and theory applications.


JAZZ THEORY RESOURCES, VOL. 2 

# HL 00030459

ISBN: 9780634038624

UPC: 073999320428

208 pages
 Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony   

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Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony examines common lines used by all great jazz artists to connect harmony in jazz improvisation and composition. Harmony is treated as a linear rather than vertical. The book is based on hundreds of examples from great jazz artists that are examined, analyzed and categorized. Graduated exercises, etudes, and ear-training tips help you develop your own voice.


So many books on music begin by stating a principle or rule and then illustrate it with an example created by the author. This has always seemed backwards to me. In this book, I have begun with actual examples from great jazz solos and then extracted principles. The actual musical examples are the source and authority. There is an list of jazz artists below.


Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony, is available from Houston Publishing, distributed by Hal Leonard, Inc. 

# HL 841077

ISBN: 9780793561933

UPC: 073999729023


[EXCERPTS from these Artists: Cannonball Adderley, Ashley Alexander, J. S. Bach, Chet Baker, Randy Brecker, Clifford Brown, Donald Byrd, Paul Chambers, John Coltrane, Lou Donaldson, Bill Evans, Art Farmer, Red Garland, Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Giuffre, Dexter Gordon, Scott Hamilton, Tom Harrell, Jimmy Heath, Freddie Hubbard, Milt Jackson, Booker Little, Blue Mitchell, Thelonious Monk, Wes Montgomery, Lee Morgan, Fats Navarro, Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins, Mike Stern, Sonny Stitt, Clark Terry, and Josef Zawinul.]
Comprehensive Technique for Jazz Musicians 

EATE SPACE BY WHITE TEXT?• Anthology of Technical, Compositional & Exercises


• Anthology of Musical Examples


An incredible presentation of the most practical exercises an aspiring jazz student could want. All are logically interwoven with fine 'real world' examples from jazz to classical. This book is an essential anthology of technical, compositional and theoretical exercises, with lots of musical examples.


COMPREHENSIVE TECHNIQUE for JAZZ MUSICIANS 

# HL 30455

ISBN: 9780634001765

UPC: 073999304558

REVIEWS

 “after 37 years of teaching improv and jazz theory, your books completely changed my approach. 
You explained things with level of clarity and precision that I had never encountered, and 
you caused me to re-think concepts that I thought I knew. 
I am forever in your debt, as are countless [former] students.”


CONNECTING CHORDS with LINEAR HARMONY
  • after I worked through most of [Connecting Chords] I went from not really being able to solo to being able to solo...
  • Connecting Chords with Linear Harmony is a great study of how to create coherent solos and well-structured melodies by playing the changes and connecting the tones.
  • I truly wish this was the first book on jazz I had read. The presentation is so logical and clear that I read in a half an hour what took a year to learn through other sources. I give this book my highest recommendation to anyone interested in learning jazz.
  • Bert Ligon has truly written a very useful and insightful work. He helps aspiring and established jazz players to understand why jazz lines (melodies) work. He gives us a window into a complex art form and helps us get a real handle on jazz's conventional wisdom that might have gone undetected. The book is well researched and the examples and exercises are quickly applicable.
  • Finally a jazz educational book that explains how bebop lines work. 
  • All theory is supported by examples from jazz solos.
COMPREHENSIVE TECHNIQUE for JAZZ TECHNIQUE
  • Once a decade, a theory treatise is written for jazz educators, the Comprehensive Technique for Jazz Musicians is such a text as it contains an anthology of technical, compositional and theoretic exercises as well as an anthology wealth of musical examples.—IAJE JOURNAL
  • This book is masterfully done. —IAJE JOURNAL
  • An incredible presentation of the most practical exercises an aspiring jazz student could want. All are solidly based in theory interwoven with "real world" examples. This book is an anthology of technical, compositional, and theoretical exercises.—ELDERLY INSTRUMENTAL BOOKS
JAZZ THEORY RESOURCES, Vol. 1 & 2
  • This book is by far the best resource I have ever come across on jazz theory.
  • Another of Ligon's strengths is that he is knowledgeable of the classical tradition, and gives examples and commentary which show that the principles of good melody are universal, from Bach to Bird. 
  • Bert Ligon has made a great contribution to jazz education with several definitive and unique jazz theory publications by classifying performance and theoretical expectations together. This latest publication, Jazz Theory Resources, is an incredibly well-written, useful, two-volume theory treatise that offers a wealth of information for composers and improvisers at the college, graduate school, and professional levels. —IAJE Journal

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