Keith Jarrett's Transformation of Standard Tunes: Theory, Analysis and Pedagogy

大学の先生の論文だが、まず文字が非常に小さく読みにくい。私のように若い頃近視であった人はまだしも、遠視の高齢者にはルーペが必要だろう。楽譜は比較的大きく掲載されているのに文字だけが小さいのは何故なのかだろう。また、この本の価格は高いと感じる人もいるだろう。しかし、私は音楽理論には詳しくないが、読み進むほどに面白かった。著者は有名なスタンダード曲を細かく分析した上でキースが原曲をもとにどれほど凄いことを演っているかを理論的に明らかにして行く。著者はキースのスタンダード曲導入部の演奏は全くの即興であると考えており、また、キースの演奏全体の中では作曲と即興が絡み合っていると感じるとも言っている。私も同感である。最後に著者がキースの演奏を分析した理論をもとにスタンダード曲を即興で演奏した曲のスコアを掲載しているが、私には期待したほどにはキースらしく聞こえなかった。キースの演奏をそうたらしめているのは著者自身が記しているように、キースに特有のハーモニーとメロディに関する能力と洗練された音楽センスにある、と私も思う。キースのファンにはとても興味深い一冊である。

First off for $100 it should be at least hardback book, like Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization, the print is also way to small making it difficult to read. CD should be included as much of the material has no copy write. Since I am not a keyboard player it makes it hard for me to know if it really sounds like Keith Jarrett. From music theory perspective it is useful, a good complimentary book when compared to Jerry Bergonzi Hexatonics book, I would say Bergonzi is better. But this books looks at Hexatonics from a different angle which i found very refreshing, especially the part on chords, which is left out of all the other books I have on Hexatonics. Hexatonics is awesome subject, I have no idea if Keith Jarrett thinks this way or not. My guess is he is aware of the subject and it may influence him some of the time. Most books approach it from triad pairs where as this book is more scale related. The stuff on page 161 -204 is cool but for not sure if is worth the price tag for some people, for me yeah because I am music theory freak, but I am not sure if this if for every one. It is sort of deep and freaky like Masaya Yamaguchi or George Russell. Personally I like Bergonzi approach the best lots of samples less talk. I may change my mind later as I read it more carefully. The book has very useful transcriptions of Keith's approach to standards, the material inside the book I would give 5 stars, my main problem is small print, cheap softcover book with no CD.

'Keith Jarrett's Transformation of Standard Tunes: Theory, Analysis and Pedagogy' by Dariusz Terefenko is a an academic treatise in which the author:1. Applies Schenkerian analytic methods to standard tunes, ostensibly to enable jazz musicians to better grasp and internalize their structural design.2. Presents his particular concept of the hexachord (a collection of six discreet pitches) in an attempt to:a. Persuade the reader that the hexachordal unit is a more economical, precise, and creative basis for navigating chord changes and creating fresh and interesting harmonic structures than conventional seven and eight-note-based scales/pitch collections.b. Demonstrate that jazz-piano legend Keith Jarrett (consciously or otherwise) developed his own harmonic language on the basis of hexachordal theory (In the chapter presenting a few transcriptions of Jarrett's piano solos, the author points to some of the chord structures to "prove" this contention).There is little doubt that the book's dry and pedantic tone and style will appeal to the academic ivory-tower-dwelling crowd. The author obviously possesses a highly analytical mind which just may be capable of convincing snobbish music-conservatory professors that jazz is (or can be) as (or almost as) complex and worthy of study, even at university, as classical music. But, as a practical text for helping the jazz musician better understand jazz tunes and more creatively perform them, it falls incredibly short. Part of the reason for this undoubtedly stems from the fact that creative musicians (which all good jazz players are) are by nature highly intuitive and tend to absorb concepts (including the structure of Great American Songbook tunes) by listening to, experimenting with, and performing them. One could well argue that if one must internalize and apply the Schenkerian analytic method in order to deeply comprehend the structure of jazz tunes, one may as well either stick to classical performance or go into another field altogether.As a professional jazz pianist (who is also an eternal student of improvisation and composition), I am not aware of any jazz musician, living or dead, who bases his/her conception of harmony on the author's hexachordal theory. I'm not saying that no jazz musician does/did this, I'm just not aware of any (I've certainly never heard any jazz great-- and I know a few jazz greats personally-- talk about utilizing a hexachordal approach). I'm always on the lookout, however, for different perspectives on and approaches to improvisation and composition that may help enhance my creativity, and perhaps incorporating some of the author's hexachordal concepts into my work (or at least playing around with them and seeing where they may eventually lead me) might be helpful in this regard. But, as a basis for harmonic conception? No. I don't think so. And, I am not persuaded that Keith Jarrett's entire harmonic conception stems from the author's hexachordal approach either. Maybe I'm wrong (Anybody have Keith's cell number?).In the spirit of creative exploration,I wouldn't necessarily discourage jazz musicians from checking out this book... but at nearly $100, one would probably be wise to check it out from the library before adding it to his/her personal collection (Also, especially given the hefty price tag, it would EXTREMELY helpful if one could at least examine a few pages before taking the plunge... hint, hint, Amazon!)