Jazz Inventions for Keyboard: 50 Etudes That Will Improve the Way You Play Jazz, Book & Online Audio

by Bill Cunliffe

Pianists all know the benefits of playing the "Two-Part Inventions" of J. S. Bach. Now, world-respected jazz pianist and composer Bill Cunliffe has written his own "inventions" that will benefit every player's understanding and performance of jazz. These great-sounding etudes explore the specific harmonic, melodic, and technical challenges faced by jazz keyboardists, including the ii-V and ii-V-I progressions, outlining changes, chord-tone ornamentation, playing in octaves, tonic patterns, block chords, polytonality, stride piano, and left-hand walking bass.

Pieces feature chord symbols, explanatory notes, and preparatory exercises, and each invention is performed on the CD by Bill Cunliffe. 123 pages.

" . . . perfect for daily warm-up, explores the harmonic and melodic intricacies of jazz, each etude targets a specific technical skill and includes performance notes, inventions gradually become more challenging and the harmonic progressions are varied and very musical . . . a musical feast."
-International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE)

124 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2005

Reviews

[Joshua VanCleave · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great, well written introduction into the realm of hammering in specific concepts in jazz practice routines. There are certainly some great, innovative exercises in this book no doubt. Where this book really is valuable is showing the many ways that one can practice concepts. However, if everyone practiced only out of this book all jazz pianists would sound the same. Nonetheless, great book.

[Richard Pohl · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far best collection of Jazz Etudes I've been checking out...