What do you think?
Rate this book
Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Art of Improvisation
A landmark in jazz studies, Thinking in Jazz reveals as never before how musicians, both individually and collectively, learn to improvise. Chronicling leading musicians from their first encounters with jazz to the development of a unique improvisatory voice, Paul Berliner documents the lifetime of preparation that lies behind the skilled improviser's every idea.The product of more than fifteen years of immersion in the jazz world, Thinking in Jazz combines participant observation with detailed musicological analysis, the author's experience as a jazz trumpeter, interpretations of published material by scholars and performers, and, above all, original data from interviews with more than fifty professional bassists George Duvivier and Rufus Reid; drummers Max Roach, Ronald Shannon Jackson, and Akira Tana; guitarist Emily Remler; pianists Tommy Flanagan and Barry Harris; saxophonists Lou Donaldson, Lee Konitz, and James Moody; trombonist Curtis Fuller; trumpeters Doc Cheatham, Art Farmer, Wynton Marsalis, and Red Rodney; vocalists Carmen Lundy and Vea Williams; and others. Together, the interviews provide insight into the production of jazz by great artists like Betty Carter, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Coleman Hawkins, and Charlie Parker.Thinking in Jazz overflows with musical examples from the 1920s to the present, including original transcriptions (keyed to commercial recordings) of collective improvisations by Miles Davis's and John Coltrane's groups. These transcriptions provide additional insight into the structure and creativity of jazz improvisation and represent a remarkable resource for jazz musicians as well as students and educators.Berliner explores the alternative ways—aural, visual, kinetic, verbal, emotional, theoretical, associative—in which these performers conceptualize their music and describes the delicate interplay of soloist and ensemble in collective improvisation. Berliner's skillful integration of data concerning musical development, the rigorous practice and thought artists devote to jazz outside of performance, and the complexities of composing in the moment leads to a new understanding of jazz improvisation as a language, an aesthetic, and a tradition. This unprecedented journey to the heart of the jazz tradition will fascinate and enlighten musicians, musicologists, and jazz fans alike.
1254 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 17, 1994
105 people are currently reading
758 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
October 8, 2021
Jazz has been a part of my life, constantly but not very intimately—like wallpaper you only occasionally notice—since the beginning. This is almost entirely due to my dad, who is a jazz fan and an amateur bassist. When he is not having a jam session of his own, the music can often be heard from his stereo; and we have gone to our fair share of jazz concerts together. Indeed, even this book is from his house.
Paul Berliner came to jazz through a side door. A professional ethnomusicologist, he specialized in the mbira (thumb piano) of Zimbabwe. He approached this project with the same anthropological method: immersing himself in the music by listening to and learning it as much as possible. He attended concerts and took trumpet lessons from professional musicians. He also conducted in-depth interviews with dozens of practitioners, resulting in thousands of pages of notes. Berliner performed musical analysis, too, by transcribing a great many solos. This is, in a word, a thorough book.
Berliner attempts to take the reader through the many stages of jazz improvisation—from beginner to advanced—as well as the many conceptual levels that comprise it: melody, harmony, rhythm, motivic development, interacting with other players, and so on. More than most genres of music, playing jazz requires an extremely high level of technical competence. Beyond merely being able to manipulate the instrument, a soloist must have a firm grasp of fast-moving, complex harmonies in order to compose an appropriate solo. And since every solo is supposed to be fresh and original, soloists cannot overcome the difficulty by planning out their solos beforehand.
In his classic study of oral poetry, Albert Lord contends that ancient bards (like Homer) were able to “improvise” enormous poems by combining lines of pre-memorized poetry that fit the meter. I thought jazz might be the same way. But even though Lord’s work is referenced by Berliner, this framework seems only partly applicable to jazz improvisers. True, they can familiarize themselves with the harmonic structure, and memorize licks, phrases, and melodies that can be combined or modified to form the solo. However, unlike the tradition Lord describes, in jazz there is a very strong emphasis on spontaneous composition, and Berliner relates many negative reactions to soloists who over-rely on prepared material. Novelty is more highly valued than consistency.
Jazz, then, is democratic in one sense (every player helps to collectively compose the piece) but undemocratic in another (a great deal of training is required to play it at even a basic level). For my part, although I have musical training and understand the basics of music theory, I found myself daunted by the many challenges Berliner describes. Could I make a solo that was melodically attractive, harmonically accurate, rhythmically interesting, stylistically appropriate, and—most importantly—genuinely new, day after day, night after night? No, I very much doubt I could. Let those braver than I make the attempt.
Berliner did his best to make this book accessible to a layperson. The musical transcriptions are confined to the back, so the text can be read straight through. And he mostly refrains from using academic jargon or technical terms. However, though clear, Berliner is unfortunately not an engaging writer. The prose is cumbersome, lifeless, and dry. If not for the direct quotes frequently interspersed—inevitably more engaging and colorful—this book would be painful to read.
Style aside, this is a thorough and intelligent study of an extraordinary music tradition. Berliner has done an admirable job in putting to paper processes and activities (the many skills involved in making music) that are fundamentally not linguistic, and therefore elusive. I will be surprised if a better ethnomusicological treatment of jazz appears anytime soon.
Paul Berliner came to jazz through a side door. A professional ethnomusicologist, he specialized in the mbira (thumb piano) of Zimbabwe. He approached this project with the same anthropological method: immersing himself in the music by listening to and learning it as much as possible. He attended concerts and took trumpet lessons from professional musicians. He also conducted in-depth interviews with dozens of practitioners, resulting in thousands of pages of notes. Berliner performed musical analysis, too, by transcribing a great many solos. This is, in a word, a thorough book.
Berliner attempts to take the reader through the many stages of jazz improvisation—from beginner to advanced—as well as the many conceptual levels that comprise it: melody, harmony, rhythm, motivic development, interacting with other players, and so on. More than most genres of music, playing jazz requires an extremely high level of technical competence. Beyond merely being able to manipulate the instrument, a soloist must have a firm grasp of fast-moving, complex harmonies in order to compose an appropriate solo. And since every solo is supposed to be fresh and original, soloists cannot overcome the difficulty by planning out their solos beforehand.
In his classic study of oral poetry, Albert Lord contends that ancient bards (like Homer) were able to “improvise” enormous poems by combining lines of pre-memorized poetry that fit the meter. I thought jazz might be the same way. But even though Lord’s work is referenced by Berliner, this framework seems only partly applicable to jazz improvisers. True, they can familiarize themselves with the harmonic structure, and memorize licks, phrases, and melodies that can be combined or modified to form the solo. However, unlike the tradition Lord describes, in jazz there is a very strong emphasis on spontaneous composition, and Berliner relates many negative reactions to soloists who over-rely on prepared material. Novelty is more highly valued than consistency.
Jazz, then, is democratic in one sense (every player helps to collectively compose the piece) but undemocratic in another (a great deal of training is required to play it at even a basic level). For my part, although I have musical training and understand the basics of music theory, I found myself daunted by the many challenges Berliner describes. Could I make a solo that was melodically attractive, harmonically accurate, rhythmically interesting, stylistically appropriate, and—most importantly—genuinely new, day after day, night after night? No, I very much doubt I could. Let those braver than I make the attempt.
Berliner did his best to make this book accessible to a layperson. The musical transcriptions are confined to the back, so the text can be read straight through. And he mostly refrains from using academic jargon or technical terms. However, though clear, Berliner is unfortunately not an engaging writer. The prose is cumbersome, lifeless, and dry. If not for the direct quotes frequently interspersed—inevitably more engaging and colorful—this book would be painful to read.
Style aside, this is a thorough and intelligent study of an extraordinary music tradition. Berliner has done an admirable job in putting to paper processes and activities (the many skills involved in making music) that are fundamentally not linguistic, and therefore elusive. I will be surprised if a better ethnomusicological treatment of jazz appears anytime soon.
February 5, 2019
This is a fantastic "how" AND "why" book (https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/oPEWy...) for learning jazz. As best I can tell, Mark Levine's The Jazz Theory Book is a good "what" book.
Thinking in Jazz is a well-structured collection of interviews with jazz musicians, focusing on commonalities in their responses. It gives a fantastic insight into where jazz skills come from, what they're made up of, and how many of the world's best practitioners got where they are. I'd strongly recommend the first five chapters to any aspiring musician.
Thinking in Jazz is a well-structured collection of interviews with jazz musicians, focusing on commonalities in their responses. It gives a fantastic insight into where jazz skills come from, what they're made up of, and how many of the world's best practitioners got where they are. I'd strongly recommend the first five chapters to any aspiring musician.
April 8, 2022
A truly indispensable work on the art of jazz improvisation, a continuum of study, practice, and sharing/performance that makes at least one way of constant being and becoming possible, living freely within a realm of poetic relations.
November 3, 2015
The best book on jazz music and how to play it I've yet read. Lots of information. lf you play you should read it.
June 16, 2018
Very good and detailed account of how jazz musicians learn (and continue learning over a lifetime) their craft, and the various challenges they face.
The only reason I'm not giving this five stars is that it really needs chapter summaries, e.g., a set of bullet points at the beginning or the end. These chapters are really long and really dense.
Something else that might have been nice would have been a major section in the book that was just the interviews (or highlights) with each person. As someone working on guitar, I was really interested in what (the late) Emily Remler had to say, and ultimately would have liked more than just the few sentences sprinkled throughout, and I'm sure the author has lots more of her interview in a file box somewhere.
So in summary: really interesting, but I selfishly wish that it was presented in a way that would make it more useful as a reference.
Spent nearly a month and a half on this...it's a pretty dense book.
The only reason I'm not giving this five stars is that it really needs chapter summaries, e.g., a set of bullet points at the beginning or the end. These chapters are really long and really dense.
Something else that might have been nice would have been a major section in the book that was just the interviews (or highlights) with each person. As someone working on guitar, I was really interested in what (the late) Emily Remler had to say, and ultimately would have liked more than just the few sentences sprinkled throughout, and I'm sure the author has lots more of her interview in a file box somewhere.
So in summary: really interesting, but I selfishly wish that it was presented in a way that would make it more useful as a reference.
Spent nearly a month and a half on this...it's a pretty dense book.
May 10, 2024
Did not just learn about the culture and the community of Jazz but a surprise to learn the technical skills required for this art.
Someone who is very new to music in general it’s also interesting to learn the difference between western music and Jazz specifically regarding creativity, approach and ultimately what is considered their highest form of artistic expression.
One critique; there are similar chapters covering the same concept with slightly different context which makes the book longer than it needs to be.
Didn’t read part 5 as I don’t know how to read music. Might review that part later on.
Someone who is very new to music in general it’s also interesting to learn the difference between western music and Jazz specifically regarding creativity, approach and ultimately what is considered their highest form of artistic expression.
One critique; there are similar chapters covering the same concept with slightly different context which makes the book longer than it needs to be.
Didn’t read part 5 as I don’t know how to read music. Might review that part later on.
July 16, 2011
Not for the musically uninitiated (or those like me, who can't read music), the book nevertheless is an interesting study of how jazz musicians develop over the course of their careers. A process of life-long learning, the development must of necessity involve musical knowledge, technical ability, generational communication, and cultural involvement. This book simply counters any naive notion of what jazz improvisation is. Not the free flowing, spur of the moment creation, it's a product of the continuing learning process that it jazz itself. I may not be able to read a musical score, but that didn't stop me from understanding the point of this study or appreciating its point about what make jazz improvisation so special. And, knowing that improvisation isn't just spontaneousness personified, doesn't make it any less spectacular when you hear and see it in a great jazz performance.
August 20, 2008
A precious resource. Incredibly thorough and well-researched. Makes important theoretical claims and then fills in the little nuts and bolts of real musical life with wonderful detail. Perfect for the disinterested observer who would like to get into the mind of the performer AND vise versa.
December 12, 2008
I usually don't put text books on my favs, but this one is good, if long. Extremely well researched and well written. Also includes interview smippets with a former colleague (Akira Tana), so thats something.
August 21, 2019
This book is a must read not only for jazz musicians, but for anyone who is interested in how musicians learn to do what they do. Berliner breaks down the process of learning how to play jazz without destroying it along the way. Essentially, this is a work of analysis that adds to the learning process rather than abstracting it.
March 1, 2017
Very interesting read, but too technical at times. I skipped part V as I don't play anymore and never could read partitions anyway. Skipped anything beyond as well as my reader wouldn't let me go through notes easily.
A dense read, will have to read it again sometime in the future.
A dense read, will have to read it again sometime in the future.
January 6, 2019
As a guitarist, and a more-or-less working musician since 1972, and as someone who spent 8 years in the record store business, I had dabbled in jazz a little. Oh, sure, I really liked "Kind of Blue" and "A Love Supreme", and occasionally strayed off to things like Return To Forever, or Kazumi Watanabe (brilliant guitarist!), but generally, not much into jazz. My wife brought "Thinking in Jazz" home thinking I would like it. I tore through it in a couple sittings, and it, helped to lighten my wallet, and, more importantly, tipped me into jazz - hook, line, sinker, lock, stock and barrel. That was late 1994 or early 1995. Those things that previously seemed opaque, like, what is jazz, anyway? What is jazz improvisation? What are the jazz improvisor's musical signposts? Techniques of the great improvisors in jazz - what is Sonny Rollins actually doing on tunes like "Blue 7", or "St. Thomas", or Wes Montgomery on "Four On Six". And, most of the answers to these questions come directly, and from the mouths of those jazz musicians who practice the art of improvisation by way of Berliner's many interviews with them. Is a lot of musical knowledge required to appreciate this book? Not necessarily; some knowledge of basic music theory helps, but it is in listening - actively listening - to the examples, the musicians, and their recorded music that will reward the average reader. Highly recommended.
September 14, 2013
I've just started re-reading an ebook version of this, as I like to have some jazz reading on my ereader, and this is a great one to dip in to. I don't think I quite finished it last time around either. It's probably fair to say it is a little dry in it's style, but nevertheless it's very thorough, and is considered to be the best book on the subject. The paper. version is a hefty weight, so it's perfect for the ebook medium
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews