Jazz and the Spirit of Sharing

Jazz players tend to be good sharers and good listeners—the qualities are virtually obligatory in often spontaneously conceived ensemble music. And the respect that the best players command can frequently be measured by the behavior of their fellow professionals in the audience.

Bob Berg: The Saxophonist

Bob Berg, the lean, flint-featured American saxophonist, often received that kind of attention. Berg's particular skill was the kind of high-energy, tenor-sax style that became ubiquitous after the 1960s, an avalanche of hard-edged sounds, dissonant high-register brays, and a dense, accumulative melodic approach.

Berg's technique, though not the equal of his contemporary Michael Brecker, was good enough to avoid emphasizing the idea that any of this was an effort (thereby relieving it of grandstanding effects). But, like Sonny Rollins (whom he often resembled), Bob Berg's unaccompanied soliloquies and intros could be among his most remarkable achievements—a little drier and less inclined to quotation and irony than Rollins, but almost as full of heart and surprise.

Berg had developed a saxophone style ideally suited to a groove-based but melodically freewheeling music. Through it all, Berg's solos combine clear virtuosity with vivid thematic construction. Eminently accessible without sacrificing integrity, Remembering Bob Berg serves as a bittersweet reminder of a loss that, sadly, is greater than many truly realize.

This book covers new concepts regarding post-bop and cutting-edge jazz improvisation in a practical way. It is aimed at intermediate to advanced students. It provides new tools for performance in contemporary jazz improvisation. It covers all of my previously published books and adds brand new exercises and line phrases from transcriptions.

Chromatic, linear, intervalic, arpeggios, extensions, and passing tones in accordance with the chord and scale at any given time are included. Each exercise is transported to be played in all 12 keys.

Always remember, JAZZ IS ALIVE.