Lately I am Listening to...

Lately I have been listening to:

Johnny Hodges
Miles Davis
John Coltrane
Chick Corea
McCoy Tyner
Clifford Brown
Freddie Hubbard
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
Pat Metheny
Marsalis' family-together and with their individual groups
George Harrison Tribute
Gustav Mahler Sym. 2
Olivier Messien-Turangalila Symphony

Sometimes I feel like I don't listen enough, but I guess I am doing alright.
Any suggestions? Thanks

Books I Use to Learn about Jazz theory

I have played music for many years. I studied music at some fine universities and had a decent dose of music theory along the way, or so I thought. One thing that has taken me a while to get my head around is the jazz theory. Below I have listed some of the books that I use for practicing patterns and learning jazz theory.

·      Hexatonics by Jerry Bergonzi http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Hexatonics-Vol-7-book-CD/17447091

·      Pentatonics by Jerry Bergonzi http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Pentatonics/3813438

·      Various Jamey Aebersold books and play-along cds. http://www.jazzbooks.com/

·      The Jazz Piano Book by Mark Levine http://www.shermusic.com/new/0961470151.shtml

·      The Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine http://www.shermusic.com/new/1883217040.shtml

·      Jazz Keyboard Harmony by Phil Degreg http://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Keyboard-Harmony-Phil-DeGreg/dp/B000FKE4WU

·      Modern Jazz Voicings by Ted Pease and Ken Pullig

·      Jazz Composition Theory and Practice by Ted Pease

·      Arranging for Large Jazz Ensemble by Dick Howell and Ken Pullig.

The last three books listed are all part of the Berklee School of Jazz curriculum. They are available from the Berklee Press.  http://www.berkleepress.com/

If anybody has any other suggestions, please let me know. 

First Day of Blogging about Jazz

Hello Everyone:

My name is Jeffrey Harrison. I am a French Horn player from New Orleans, currently living on post in Uganda with my wife who works for the UN. We are moving to Nairobi, Kenya soon however.

Basically, I have had a keen interest in learning about jazz since I was in high school....yes, a long time ago. In any case, I did not choose to pursue playing/learning about jazz until about 10 years ago. Over time, I have increasingly become more committed to becoming conversant in the jazz language.

Recently I formed a jazz quartet here in Uganda. I found a very good bassist, pianist and sax player. The bassist is from the US, the pianist from the UK and the sax player from Uganda. We played a gig or two but now, as mentioned we are moving to Nairobi. Anybody know of any good jazz musicians in Nairobi? If so, please let me know.

I hope to provide regular posts about my experience learning jazz.