Improvising Jazz gives the beginning performer and the curious listener alike insights into the art of jazz improvisation. Jerry Coker, teacher and noted jazz saxophonist, explains the major concepts of jazz, including blues, harmony, swing, and the characteristic chord progressions. An easy-to-follow self-teaching guide, "Improvising Jazz" contains practical exercises and musical examples. Its step-by-step presentation shows the aspiring jazz improviser how to employ fundamental musical and theoretical tools, such as melody, rhythm, and superimposed chords, to develop an individual melodic style.

CONTENTS:
Introduction; The Improvisor's Basic Tools; An Introduction to Melody; The Rhythm Section; The First Playing Session; Development of the Ear; Further Study of Chord Types; Swing; The Diminished Scale; Analysis & Development of Melody; Chord Superimposition; Functional Harmony

With forewords by Gunther Schuller and Stan Kenton.

JERRY COKER, a tenor saxophonist and a noted jazz educator who has developed jazz curricula for a number of universities, is a professor at the University of Tennessee. He has been a featured soloist with Stan Kenton, Woody Herman, Clare Fischer, Frank Sinatra, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and is the author of more than half a dozen books on jazz.

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