Professor of Music and Coordinator of Jazz Studies at William Paterson University, David Demsey, offers his insight on one of the newest and hottest Jamey Aebersold Jazz publications, “Saxophone Solos. Vol. 2: Modal Classics” by Tony DaGradi. This book and CD set is recommended for Intermediate and Advanced jazz saxophonists looking to expand their vocabulary and style and is a powerful followup to DaGradi’s previous Aebersold release, “Sax Solos Over Jazz Standards.”
A very cool cat with an inborn jazz sensibility, Morgan Monceaux is the author of several books about the cultural and art experience of black America. In 1994 he wrote “Jazz: My Music, My People” to introduce children to jazz.
His illustrations fly off the page with their jewel-tone vibrancy and uniqueness. Monceaux also adds text as an artistic element. Example: jazz singer Nina Simone is encircled by the words “high priestess of soul” while curlicues of red, blue and yellow swirl behind and around her.
Monceaux painted Sarah Vaughan, whose sound reminded him of his mother’s voice and made him feel warm inside. Nina Simone, he said, set the pace for his understanding of the 1960s and the protest movement. And Nat King Cole, “one of the coolest male singers of his time,” brought jazz into the homes of millions of people with his own TV show.
“I have a love of the female voice,” he said in a recent interview. “This book was a way of remembering my mother who gave me a love of jazz. It gives a history of jazz to show how it has impacted today’s music.”
“Bessie Smith” by Morgan Monceaux with permission.
Maybe at one time the Pocono Mountains were renowned for those heart-shaped bathtubs – a honeymoon heaven and all that – but did you know the jazz scene there is absolutely going strong and had its roots in musicians “just passing through” or straight off their NYC gigs? It’s true. And the hub of jazz in northeastern PA is stuffed in a little corner called the Delaware Water Gap. One of the littlest towns that abuts the Appalachian Trail, the Water Gap has played host to the likes of Phil Woods, John Coates Jr., Bob Dorough (“Schoolhouse Rock”), Keith Jarrett, choral phenom Fred Waring (The Pennsylvanians) and many others. The crown jewel of the scene is the Deer Head Inn where many have pulled all-nighters trading solos since the end of WWII. The annual Celebration of the Arts (early September) brings established pros and young lions to fill the air with nothing but jazz. BEST QUOTE – Recently-passed Phil Woods said of his craft: “Music is never going to go away. We need it like we need fresh air and water. Jazz is the only thing that is uncontaminated. It’s not for sale.”
Since 2007, the website development of the jazzbooks.com has laid somewhat dormant in terms of the look and feel. The design worked, the functionality worked and jazzbooks.com has continued to produce and distribute the world’s best jazz educational materials. As a result, all was well and good and some would leave well enough alone. However, technology moves pretty quickly and it’s time we breathe new life into some of the functions, features, and over all presentation of both our products and services.
The goal of this particular set of articles is to keep those interested up-t0-speed with everything we are doing to better engage our customers and provide a more quality shopping experience. You may have already noticed our homepage has changed quite dramatically:
For those of you who keep up with the blog here at Aebersold Jazz, you will have noticed that it has been a while since we posted last. Fortunately (for us!) we have been fairly busy for the last few weeks around here. But, to tide you over until something more substantial, I thought I would share with you some of Jamey’s thoughts on Ear Training, as taken from the introduction of Jamey Aebersold’s Jazz Ear Training Book. Without further ado, here is what Jamey has to say!