Reviews (2)

"Mr. Super Hip" is makes the whole CD worth it
Suffice it to say that this is an excellent tool for beginning improvisers. More experienced players who have a fondness for the seventies rock/Fender Rhodes sound will LOVE Mr. Super Hip. It's just cheesy enough to be cool, and this sus chord thing at the end of the form was so juicy it just about made me bang my head into a wall. Highly recommended for all beginners and anyone like me with an open mind toward the retro thing....

A Good Start
This CD provides a good start for people at the beginning of the journey that is jazz. It is a tool that is able to be used at both beginners level with the option of putting more complex scales over the top at a later stage. A very useful teaching aid and good to have a blow over when you find the time. A must get for all jazz teachers. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Got me up and running
I'm an intermediate level bass player backing up a praise band at church and a company sponsored big band, but I'd never soloed or played a melody till I took a jazz class that used this book.

Melody lines in the tunes are very readable, even though I did not know most of the songs, and had never played any of them. Tempos are moderate for a productive learning experience--our jazz band performs "Impressions" a lot faster than Aebersold teaches it. And his improv technique got me up and playing pretty quickly. Now I know what in improv solo is and how to get there. It improved my backup skills as well, and overall improved my confidence to step out more even in the backup role. Had a great time, and I'm headed back for another class with another Aebersold book.

A First Class Learning Aid
This is a terrific purchase for intermediate level players. The selections are in relatively slow tempos and there is a wealth of information if you are a multi-instrumentalist. The CD recording is good and allows you to mute either the bass or piano acoompaniment as they are recorded on separate channels. There is a recommended discography for each track. My only criticism is that it would be better to have the tracks recorded twice, once with just piano,bass and drums (what you get now) and recorded again with a lead instrument playing the notated themes in the supplied booklet.

FABULOUS-
Professional backup for you to solo in whatever key- c, bflat, eflat, your instrument is in. really fun to improvise and learn the "art" of jazz. This is a must for anyone wanting to learn how jazz musicans improvise. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Essential Took When It Comes To Learning To Hang...
Remember when you walked into your first Jam session (or perhaps you're still yet to) and you were simply baffled how the cats knew just about (if not every) tune thrown at them... and in any key called... and you were thinking, "Jeez, how the heck did they do that ?" Well, this book attempts to answer that question. The answer in a nutshell is that tunes tend to follow forms... certain changes, certain bridges, and tunes with the same changes as other tunes... if you know those forms, and someone calls a tune you don't know, you lean over, and the cat next to you says, "Oh, its just * * changes..." - - The leader counts, and everyone is amazed how you were able to play it on the spot.

If you're already to the point where you understand how to play tunes - - you know your II V progressions, can play Blues, Rhythm Changes, handle a fake book, or are well on your way to it, but find yourself struggling when tunes are called, this book is might be what you need. It will break you free of simply reading chords from the book, and get you seeing where things are going - - at which point, rather than learning one tune at a time, every tune you learn will be like learning a 100 others (of course, if you hang out at the same session long enough, you'll find out that everybody calls the (...) same dozen or so tunes week after week... so maybe you don't have to memorize the basic 100 or so anyway...)

Whatever the case, if you've ever found yourself sweating on a gig or at a session, this book might be just what the doctor ordered - - and even if you're like me, and have the memory retention of a pet rock... it'll still make it easier to follow the written changes when they're thrown at you... definitely an essential learning resource for the aspiring student of Jazz ! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent learning tool - - Essential Jazz Form
As both a musician and a teacher, I've found myself going through two stages in life - - one getting annoyed with students who've spent a little too much time in those Aebersold play-a-longs and another, annoyed with musicians who *need* to get their hands on some of them and learn some Jazz essentials.

From a gigging perspective, beyond mastering the II V I progression there are three major Jazz forms that are essential to know before you hit the bandstand... major blues, minor blues and rhythm changes - - If you don't know how to play them by now, this book is an excellent starting point.

One of the great things about the minor blues is that there are so many ways of altering them and stretching them out... you can use substitute chords, passing chords, experiment with interesting colors and voicings... and eventually apply what you know to other tunes in minor keys. Fans of hard bop BETTER have them down solid... They also provide a great opportunity to practise your half diminished scales too... so if you need some schooling on the minor blues, this is definitely a nice place to start ! ... Read more

Reviews (1)

You Better Git To This ! ! !
Different towns have different Jam Session standards that you're sort of expected to be able to handle (or get off the bandstand.) In my home town OLEO, (an uptempo Rhythm Changes usually in Bb) is definitely one of them. What I like about this volume is that it actually has the hipper chromatic style Rhythm Changes, not just the I VI II V turn back ad infinim.

The inclusion of two different blues and funky Rollins style tunes like Airgin and St. Thomas obviously make this a good work out... and I do say funky... because its a pretty cookin' rhythm section that should offer either delightful accompaniment or a nice challenge featuring Dan Haerle on Piano, Rufus Reid on Bass and Johnathan Higgins on drums. - - One tip for players of all instruments I'd offer incidentally is to listen to Rufus Reid's basslines... he's playing some hip changes - - if you have any means, regardless of your instrument try to slow it down and transcribe it then key in on Haerle's comping... they're playing hipper changes that you're not necessarily going to get from the book - - if you can understand them, you'll really find yourself taking off.

Final word : If you are tempted to use these CDs on a bandstand instead of hiring real musicians, you're probably the type of person who likes to break wind in the bathtub and pop the bubbles for fun. Knock it off... 'K ? .... and tell everyone else to as well... ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great Resource for Aspiring Jazz Students...
The Aebersold Play-A-Longs are a great and safe part to beging to put all that "theory" to practise.

If you've reached the point where you're ready to start applying all those scales, chords and patterns, want tunes that are fun to play, hip enough to add to your reprotoire, but not discouragingly difficult, this volume is on the money.

In addition to the melody and the chords, the play-a-long book also has the scales that go with the chords, and additional information on how to tackle the tunes. - - The only criticism I have of the Aebersold method is that it puts too much emphasis on modes and scales and not enough on linear harmony (deriving melodies directly from chords, and approaching the notes through the changes), however, this is the trend of modern Jazz education.

If you still need to learn the rudiments, earlier volumes of this series offer help, and I highly reccomend books such as Jimmy Amadea's Harmonic Foundations for Jazz and Pop, and Marc Levine's Jazz Theory and Jazz Piano books. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

So good I am ordering my second one
Melodies on all the tunes are wonderful; played through the danzon, bolero, and the first track with a friend who is a professional trombonist/arranger. I play vibes and intend to woodshed this one alot. A genuine contribution for any level player. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great practice CD!
Some great tunes to work on with bass, piano and drums. I would like to be able to separate out bass and drums on one side (i.e. remove piano) for maximum exposure -- for guitar to have to carry the song, but couldn't do it on my stereo. I wonder, too, if the band had a guitarist they were playing with -- sometimes they get kind of carried away as if no one was playing the melody/solo.

All in all, though, you can't beat this setup: CD with your own personal sidemen, and a well annotated songbook. All you need is to have the master's originals in your mind as something to strive for.

A golden collection. Thankyou Mr. Aebersold! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

I can sing better than this CD - and thats not saying much
This CD is awful. The entire disk is arranged very poorly. I'm not sure where the "10 Lessons" in the title came from. I think there are a total of about 3 songs among the 60+ "lessons" on the entire CD - the rest are brief vocal exercizes, alternately sung by a cheesy, wannabe-the-lead-in-Cats male voice and a female voice that is downright painful to listen to at times. Some last for about 10 seconds. There is absolutley no direction or consistency as to how its presented. The accompanying book is less than worthless.

Do not waste your money! Stick to singing in the shower or at least accompanying the radio in your car.

It is good
You need a few lessons before you will get a lot out of it, but it is good. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Does anyone know where I can get this out-of-print item?
If you know where to obtain this box set and music, please let me know. I'm desperate to obtain this fine collection, with the cool organ background.

Thanks. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Excellent
Great for guitar or any other stringed instrument. I used this book and a mandolin chord book to learn to play rythmn mandolin. The excercises are easy for a beginner. You also learn a lot more guitar chords and how they work together in progressions than other beginner books that I've used. You can play along with the CD for the 50 rythmn tracks that are taught. It also seemed like a lot more than 10 lessons so you feel that you are really getting your money's worth. I love it! ... Read more