Clear Solutions for Jazz Improvisers

by Jerry Coker (Artist)

Legendary jazz educator Jerry Coker's newest contribution to jazz enlightenment, Clear Solutions For Improvisers identifies all of the most common problems Jerry has encountered in his many students over nearly 50 years as a master teacher. In clear, easy to understand instruction and concise musical examples, Jerry first defines the concept, explains its purpose and then presents its traditional usage. Concepts include guide tones, tri-tones, the jazz language, turnarounds, polychords, slash chords, II/V7/Is, vehicle types, keeping your place, and much more. This book will greatly increase your understanding of the most essential jazz concepts all improvisers need to master. 248 pages. Originally published in 2005.

72 pages, Paperback

Published September 14, 2010

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading this again when teaching Jazz in a university setting made me like it even more. It provides answers to questions students might have about the concepts of jazz. The answers are succinct but students will need sufficient time to put the concepts into practice. That being said it cannot be used with beginning jazz students but intermediate and advanced levels will find it useful in the no-nonsense explanations.

[Liquidlasagna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jazz Guitar Lessons

Coker’s straightforward reference contains 20 very well written articles on a variety of topics. He chooses to go deeper into some nuanced details of improvisation. Really useful clarifications about melody and harmony and their different manifestations in jazz abound. A must for serious beginners and intermediate improvisers.