An Approach to Jazz Piano, by Charles Austin
About the Book
Exploring chords, scales, voicings, progressions, style, function, and improvisation, this is a comprehensive approach for serious students of jazz piano. In this clearly written instructional text, Charles Austin draws on nearly fifty years of experience as a professional jazz pianist and thirty as a college instructor guiding hundreds of students in the fundamentals of jazz piano.
Of special interest is the in-depth treatment of source scales and harmonic function, invaluable to both students and professionals. Interspersed throughout with exercises and practice suggestions, the book is a complete guide to learning jazz piano and harmony for intermediate to advanced students. It is also a comprehensive resource for professionals, with thorough presentations of chords, source scales, slash chords, harmonic function, polychords, and more.
Of special interest is the in-depth treatment of source scales and harmonic function, invaluable to both students and professionals. Interspersed throughout with exercises and practice suggestions, the book is a complete guide to learning jazz piano and harmony for intermediate to advanced students. It is also a comprehensive resource for professionals, with thorough presentations of chords, source scales, slash chords, harmonic function, polychords, and more.
Table of Contents
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Reviews & Reader Comments
“...an outstanding book and I will definitely recommend it to students... covered a lot of territory in a very thorough manner.”
"I am an intermediate player who has been making a big push to get clear on the fundamentals of jazz harmony. A while back, I bought a bunch of books... None of them were giving me what I needed, which was a real overview... The book is excellent. If you are like me, an intermediate player with a lot of questions, this is the book to buy. I can’t speak for beginners or advanced players, or even piano players. But for intermediate guitarists, this book is great! There is a blurb for the book! Piano book, Intermediate guitarists love it! See what the publisher thinks of that!"
"An Approach to Jazz Piano is great resource. Mr. Austin’s book is a fresh, insightful approach to virtually every topic relating to jazz piano. An Approach to Jazz Piano starts with basic music theory, which I think is very helpful for beginning jazz students. It is safe to say that Mr. Austin’s approach addresses most of the concepts jazz pianists need to know about, starting with the basics and moving up through advanced theory concepts. One thought that occurred to me over and over again while reading the book was “I’ve never thought of it that way before.” I think Mr. Austin has a fresh take on MANY concepts... I’d definitely recommend An Approach to Jazz Piano. There are LOTS of great ideas, and the book is particularly strong with regard to theory and improvisational ideas/exercises, with some great voicing ideas as well." Read full review here
"A must have for jazz pianists, as Mr. Austin is highly regarded as an educator. Essentially containing a lifetime of ground-breaking harmonic exploration by an exceptionally gifted pianist, 'Charlie's' approach is itself a gift to those wanting to discover - or re-discover - the almost limitless possibilities of jazz piano." Steve Mallett “This is no armchair text! This text is another worthy example of terrific international jazz education publications.”
"...it does succeed where many others fail... the information is invaluable to a beginning student of jazz piano as well as to seasoned professionals..."
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