Jazz Arranging & Composing - A Linear Approach
Many different possibilities for harmonizing the same melody are illustrated and analysed, using techniques by such influential arrangers and composers as Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Oliver Nelson, Gil Evans and Clare Fischer. Techniques of melody harmonisation, linear writing and counterpoint for 2, 3, 4 and 5 horns. A chapter on writing for the rhythm section clearly illustrates the techniques commonly used by jazz arrangers and composers. Six complete scores in concert key are ideal for analysis, for playing the horn parts on the piano or for following the performances on the CD. An extensive chapter on form and development deals with extended compositional forms and the use of compositional techniques in writing for the small jazz ensemble A useful discography is included at the end of each chapter. Review from Clare Fischer Jazz Arranging and Composing: a Linear Approach is a welcome and greatly needed addition to jazz educational literature. It is the first book to provide a clear and logical bridge from the more basic techniques of arranging and melody harmonisation to the more advanced linear methods employed by some of the most interesting and influential jazz arrangers and composers. The musical examples and scores are well organized and the analysis is clear and accessible. I have long known Bill's unique abilities as a gifted pianist and composer, and I highly recommend this most recent contribution to jazz writers at all levels of experience.