Jazz Composition: Theory and Practice - Book Review

by means of Ted Pease; edited by Rick Mattingly. Berklee Pres (1140 Boylston St Boston, MA 02215-3693) 2003 237pp $3995

Unlike thirty years ago, nowadays there are many pedagogical materials devot to jazz theory, improvisation, voicings, licks, arranging and turn of expressions Add to this the growing number of transcriptions and play-along CD and it might have the appearance that a jazz student has each conceivable aid to becoming a great jazz musician.

The at hand book, on the other hand, fills in a gap by dint of addressing the issue of actually writing down that music in each detail--not just coming up with a lead sheet. I cannot think of another work that treats jazz composition with equal reason comprehensively, is as practical or deliver overs so richly to jazz literature. Learning in what way to compose jazz, although subsuming the aforementioned topics, is a separate skill. T Pease, who has taught jazz composition at Berklee corporation of Music since 1964, brings a lifetime's experience to this single volume, which easily could be the body for a college-level two-semester course.

Pease talks about all the simple bodys of composition--antecedent/consequent phrasing, rhythmic weft harmonic clarity, architectural issues and beyond--but couched in the jazz language. Many exercises, similar as the one requiring reharmonization of "Happy Birthday" using standard jazz chords, engage the learner and create a kind of built-in syllabus. All mode of expressions are covered, from the lush voicings of Billy Strayhorn to the modal music of Herbie Hancock, from the sophisticated stylings of Bill Evans to the fusion entires of Chick Corea. Most jazz genres--such as sky-coloreds 32-bar ballad and extended forms--and mediums, for example, duet sax soil and big band, also are discussed.

All these universals are illustrated by Pease's hold deft compositions, such as his beautiful three-movement "Suite for Jazz Band," wonderfully recorded upon the accompanying CD. But he also cites a advantageous portion of the jazz canon, like Ellington's "Prelude to a Kiss" and Thelonious Monk's "Well You Needn't" at appropriate points, as they give in charge to his topic.

As useful as this work is, it is not for beginners or the fainthearted. I would commend pairing it with an equally comprehensive jazz theory volume say the one by Mark Levine, and put to proof to work through it with your local jazz guru It is a serious volume for serious jazz students. Reviewed through John Salmon, Greensboro, North Carolina.

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