William Russo believes in the importance of the jazz orchestra's contribution to modern music. And he believes that the compositional nature of the jazz orchestra is as important as jazz improvisation: that the jazz orchestra presents a compositional medium of vast potential.

This text, the first of its kind, deals with some of the problems to be faced. It discusses the new trend of musical thought that jazz has brought about - the new combinations of instruments, a different harmonic and melodic language, a new and lively view of inversions and voice-leading, resolution and cadence, and an intriguing approach to ensemble writing.

This is a technical book, full of material that is meant to be used by students. Although the writing is brief and practical, the book has a distinct point of view and represents current jazz orchestra procedures, many of which were initiated by Mr. Russo himself.

CONTENTS:
Alphabetical Chord Symbols; The Six Types of Chords; Elaboration of the Six Types of Chords; Basi Harmonic Considerations; The Ranges of the Instruments; Voicing; Close Position Voicing [1], [2], [3]; Open Position Voicing [1], [2], [3]; Non-Chordal Tones; Harmonization of Non-Chordal Tones [1], [2]; The Thickened Line; The Widened Line; Percussion; The Double Bass; The Guitar; The Piano; A Preliminary View of the Ensemble; The Basic Ensemble Method; The Four-Toned Ensemble Method; The Percussive Ensmble Method; Brass Mutes; The Background; The Planning of Orchestration; Combinations of Instruments; Identities; Chords Derived From Scales; The Progression of Chords Derived From Scales; Mixed Voicing; Mixed Ensembles

WILLIAM RUSSO is director of the Contemporary American Music Program at Columbia College, Chicago. His Symphony No. 2 in C (Titans) was awarded the Koussevitsky Grant. Much of his work in the jazz field was written for the Stan Kenton Orchestra, to which he contributed a large body of material in the 1950s.

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