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A CHROMATIC APPROACH TO JAZZ HARMONY AND MELODY - DAVID LIEBMAN

(173 page book)

Book $25.00 CD $14.95 Book with CD $39.95

This book should be seen as a method to help the artist to develop his or her own way when trying to improvise chromatically. Through the concepts and examples offered, the improviser should be able to use this material alongside already familiar tonal  ideas. Specifically, the book serves as a guide for organizing chromaticism into a coherent musical statement meant to satisfy both the intellectual and emotional needs of artistic creation. The reader will be introduced to more than one way of conceiving chromatic lines and harmonies. There is nothing theoretically complex or new in the text, it is the organization of the material as well as many musical examples and transcriptions (Bach, Scriabin, Coltrane, Shorter, Hancock, Beirach, Liebman plus others) which should serve to inspire musicians to expand their usual diatonic vocabulary. This book also provides insight into the style of playing that David Liebman is known for. In addition the book contains 100 assorted solo lines and 100 chord voicings.

"To me this book is one of the most fascinating and illuminating books ever written on the subject of improvisation. The first day after I got it I practiced with it for about six hours straight. I love the way it just sort of opens up your mind to look at harmony in such varied ways. All of the musical examples are stimulating, and Dave's essay on related topics are as elegant and insightful as anything I've ever read about improvised music. For musicians looking to expand their harmonic and melodic vocabularies, this is the book! Congratulations!" (Pat Metheny)

 

 

THE IMPROVISER'S GUIDE TO TRANSCRIPTION - DAVID LIEBMAN

DVD running time 1 hr. 38 min.

$39.95

This tape provides a detailed description of this process encompassing elements of ear training, notational devices, instrumental technique and musical analysis. Topics covered include the overall concepts and benefits of transcribing, saturated listeni ng, vocalizing the solo, playing along with the recording, suggested methods of analysis, exercises to expand and individualize the material, categorizing and varying ii-V lines, choosing a solo to work on and more. The emphasis is upon using transcripti on as a tool towards finding one's own individual voice.

Understanding Jazz Rhythm The Concept of Swing

 

$29.95

DVD Running time 56 Minutes for all levels

In jazz the concept of swing if often alluded to, but rarely described in details. On this video, noted saxophonist and educator David Liebman discusses some basics of jazz rhythm as the phrasing of eighth notes and how to practice them. Also covered are subtle aspects like playing on the top and bottom of the beat as well as metric modulation and more.

 

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO SAXOPHONE SOUND PRODUCTION - DAVID LIEBMAN

DVD running time 2 hrs. 23 min.

$59.95

This is a video which details the process of playing the saxophone with clear descriptions of the exact mechanisms involved in sound production. Including exercises and demonstrations, it is meant for all styles of saxophone playing.

DEVELOPING A PERSONAL SAXOPHONE SOUND - DAVID LIEBMAN

$19.95

This book describes the physiology of sound production and the mechanics involved. This book is geared towards unlocking a saxophonist's creativity. Included are specific written exercises and diagrams.

SELF PORTRAIT OF A JAZZ ARTIST - DAVID LIEBMAN -- Musical Thoughts and Realities

(220 Page Book) $19.95
Completely revised and enlarged '96 edition.

This book focuses on the process of being a jazz artist. Written from the creator's perspective, the book covers subjects that jazz musicians frequently discuss amongst themselves including the creation of music and insightful observations on the jazz scene itself. Liebman meticulously discusses soloing, the role of the sideman, the recording studio, leading a group, practicing and finding work, as well as other related topics.

"...an absolute must for anyone who studies or listens to jazz...a penetrating, eloquently expressed view of the artistic process of jazz improvisation, written by a brilliantly creative and accomplished player who capably relates the music to literature, visual art, culture, history, philosophy and spirituality...uniquely loaded with candid truths and sobering facts of significant value."
(Jerry Coker)

"A rare insight into the workings of music by one of the leaders in the field of creative music."
(Jamey Aebersold)

 

MILES DAVIS AND DAVID LIEBMAN

JAZZ CONNECTIONS

by Larry Fisher

With a Foreword by Phil Woods

$19.95

This is an oral history based on conversations with David Liebman about his musical career and his association with Miles Davis. Chapter One examines Liebman's background and early influences (Elvin Jones and Miles Davis). Two - information about Liebman and his band, artistic objectives, interaction with an audience; teaching and aesthetics. Three - Liebman's place in the jazz spectrum; performance style; musical and language communication; the ideal audience. Four - Lifestyles and attitudes of jazz musicians; the jazz musician as a businessman and world traveler; the student musician and careers in jazz today. Five - David Liebman on Miles Davis, May 28, 1991, a few months before Miles' death. Six - David Liebman on Miles Davis, Oct. 16, 1991, shortly after Miles' death.

Half of the book's interviews focus on Lieb's insights on Miles. Some excerpts:

"Miles did not doubt his instincts. If he felt you should play, you played then!! It wasn't like there was ever a moment of indecision."

"Miles was always the guy who could play the wrongest note and make it sound great. He could play a C# on a C chord, but the way he would interpret it, bend it, place it. blow it, would make you say, that doesn't sound wrong!!"

"you almost want to cry, especially when you hear the ballads. The guy had a sound. He had a way of expressing beauty and poignancy that was so touching to whomever listened. This will above all remain as a beautiful, lyrical voice. There have been a few others: Stan Getz, Chet Baker, Bill Evans--but combined with his incredible perspective over several generations and the influence that the sidemen have had, the cumulative effect is staggering. When it boils down, it is the beauty and lyricism above all that shines through and makes people remember someone. He had the beauty."

"It is an asset that Larry Fisher is an educator and a saxophonist as well as one of the most well-versed music historians I have met. His ability to skillfully guide interaction between the two of us made this series of interviews the most significant in which I have participated." - David Liebman

"Dr. fisher is an active participant in jazz, our native music, and his penetrating and intelligent questions propel this interview and give it a strong sense of forward motion." - Phil Woods

"With the passing of Dizzy Gillespie, David Liebman may be the leading, living exponent of jazz as an international music." - Jazz Times

"David Liebman has the ability to touch the soul, eking from his soprano saxophone an extraordinary depth of emotion and dramatic range." - Downbeat Magazine

"Liebman has mastered the soprano (saxophone) so thoroughly that he resists the temptation to become infatuated with the source of his formidable technique." - Leonard Feather

(Liebman can speak about) "the vagaries to the jazz life with remarkable aplomb'... "a seminar without David Liebman is somehow not a seminar." - International Herald Tribune

 

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