Basics In Jazz Arranging, published by Hal Leonard, fully documents the journey one travels when first learning to arrange in the jazz style. This was the text Paris used for 25 years while teaching beginning jazz arranging classes at the University of North Texas, Basics has proven itself a valuable resource.
Writing music is a fascinating journey, one that should always reap emotional profits both for the composer/arranger and for those that perform and enjoy the music.
Whether in a classroom setting or individual study, Basics in Jazz Arranging is a guide through the essential elements of successful writing, chapter by chapter, as follows:
1. Making profitable and efficient use of one’s time and creativity is the “name of the game.” Chapter One leads the reader through the process - how and where to start, and more.
2. Having chosen a tune to arrange, its melody must be treated sensitively (whatever the sub-style) for the rest of the journey to be worthwhile. After choosing a performing ensemble, we select the best key and style (whatever area of jazz and/or pop) and create an outline the project so that our time is well spent. (This outline is a beginning, and is amended as we work!)
3. Harmony then enters the picture, serving carefully to enhance the product, and individualize our work. Decisions on how much of the original harmony to use or amend is a sensitive issue, since over-writing will compromise our work.
4. Composition is always present, whether in one’s original music or in the process of arranging. When we compose, we then arrange; when we arrange other composers’ music, we use the compositional process to enhance the product without altering unnecessarily the composer's original music.
5. Whatever the size and makeup of the performing ensemble, we search for the best idiomatic treatment of the music we arrange and/or orchestrate, including our own compositions! At some point by now, the act of transcribing proves itself quite profitable. Transcribing 16 to 32 bars from the recording of an arrangement the arranger has learned to love awakens the ear to new sounds and rhythms. Allowing these "new sounds" to enter one's chart without actually "stealing" is an exciting area of one's growth.
6. We then focus on giving the rhythm section (small or large) the information they need for the best possible performance. Having spent time listening to great recordings, we become more and more sensitive to the awakening of creativity in our own minds.
7. And finally, we make sure that the written product is accurate, with as professional an appearance as possible. Once a written project leaves our venue, it represents us forever!
Basics in Jazz Arranging includes a CD containing recordings of the music used in each chapter. Published by Hal Leonard.
From the ensemble audition process to the final performance and everything in between, The Vocal Jazz Ensemble covers every aspect of what it takes to organize and maintain a vocal jazz group. This book, published in 2008 by Hal Leonard Music, comes with a CD containing recordings of the examples found inside.
Chapter 1 - Perspectives (sound, environment, repertoire)
Chapter 2 - The Ensemble and its Director (makeup, auditioning, rehearsing, recording, vocal health)
Chapter 3 - Interpreting Vocal Jazz (the ensemble: eight examples)
Chapter 4 - The Vocal Jazz Soloist (early training, vibrato, repertoire and listening, improv basics, live sound and recording, career opportunities)
Chapter 5 - The Band (accompaniment vs. back
Chapter 6 - Sound Reinforcement (microphones, monitors and EQ, mixing console, amplifiers and amp racks, controlling hum, choosing and purchasing equipment).
(Please note - information on microphones and monitor speakers is now incomplete - many groups use cordless microphones to avoid the problems associated with mic cords on the floor. Expensive but profitable)!
Chapter 7 - The Performance (programming strategies, performance logistics, balancing the sound system, enjoying the performance)
As we all know, the world of music continues to evolve. The Vocal Jazz Ensemble, published in 2008, has valuable information about programming, auditioning, and leading the ensemble (repertoire, interpretation, etc.). Because of the ever changing options for sound reinforcement, chapter 6 (Sound Reinforcement) will be less applicable today than when written.