( 3 reviews )
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Posted: Nov 17 2008
This is an excellent collection of tabbed out licks over minor, major, Dom 7, Dom 7 altered and then a treasure trove of beatiful major 2-5-1 licks. The extra added bonus is they're all tabbed out and the tab for the most part is good. The key is C so you'll need to transpose but for me that's better than those lick books that contain 10 licks translated to 12 keys and call themselves 120 licks. I won't mention any titles but they do exist and if you buy one it may leave a sour taste. This book however shouldn't. I still recommend 1001 jazz licks by Cherry Lane Publishing because you get conventional and unconventional lines. There's no tab or CD for the Cherry Lane book but there is tab and a CD for this book. I confess I haven't even listened to the CD. Unless you are a beginner or insecure in you're ability to translate a lick from the page a CD may or may not help. For me a CD wasn't necessary. I hear from another reviewer it's a keyboard. That doesn't bother me at all. I'd just as soon had them omit the CD and drop the price 5 bucks. It's still worth it though.
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Posted: May 28 2005
This is an exellent book for someone who knows jazz theory and can already play jazz, and just wants to add some lines to his/her vocabulary. Take one or two lines a day and start using them over the standards that you play. These lines are in the style of jazz guitarists. This is strictly a dictionary of licks in the style of bebop guitar players... No analizing of their styles. If you want an in depth analisis of a certain player then go buy a book on that player. If you want to add new ideas into your playing this is for you. There are PLENTY of ideas. Say for example if you want a new minor idea, flip to one of the minor pages and just choose one. Maybe check off the ones you have learned. Play them lots so they sink in. The "lick of the day" philosiphy works here for learning these ideas. There are plenty of ideas in this book to keep anyone who just wants some (a lot of) new licks happy. Very straight forward book. You should however know your theory and be able to play over standard chords, (Maj7, mi7, dom7...) then just plug these ideas in to your playing. Good addition to any jazz guitar book collection.
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( 9 of 9 found this review helpful ) Posted: May 23 2003
If this book had been marketed for what it is, I would not have been so disappointed. The book contains hundreds of licks in the key of C major against II-V-Is and turnarounds. It also contains a CD playing most of these licks on an electric piano, not a guitar. Some of the licks are very good but not hearing a guitar play them is disappointing. One of the benefits of being a guitarist is that when someone plays a lick on a guitar, you can magically see it being played in your head. To call this "A Dictionary of Melodic Ideas for Improvisation", however, is inaccurate. There is no explanation of how or why the licks work and there is little musical theory contained in the book. Furthermore, the marketing states "Over 800 Licks in the Styles of Tal Farlow, Pat Martino, Wes Montgomery" etc. There is, however, absolutely no examination of these guitarists' styles or musical phrasing. None of these Titans are even mentioned in the book, except on the cover.Overall, the book is economically priced. In my opinion, if you are an intermediate jazz guitarist only interested in grabbing some licks in a new style, buy it.
