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Two for Brazil Play the Standards

Two for Brazil Play the Standards

by | Aug 7, 2020 | Albums

Two for Brazil is, as its name suggests, a duo: tenor/flautist Greg Fishman and guitarist/vocalist Paulinho Garcia. Although their playing is extremely economical by necessity, its emotive effectiveness fills up the date with luscious melodically percussive sensuousness. A delightful guitar-flute junction beautified by mature, earthy and relaxed vocals on “Tis Autumn” validates such claims. The flute solo is precise, playful, well breathed, melodically rich and harmoniously enriching –as are all the sax versions throughout the record. What’s more, both musicians manage to make you hear what’s not there. You can feel a rhythm section, for example, where there’s none. That’s not easily achieved –it takes discipline not to fill the actual or perceived gaps in a performance by overplaying to compensate for them. Good music needs to breathe freely at its own pace and such delicate balance requires talent, discipline and maturity. Two For Brazil have this kind of vision.

The 16 tunes in the recording dwell within proverbial Brazilian musical precincts such as bossa nova and samba, with plenty of eased romance on the arms of jazz standards. It’s a concept and a performance that works very well. Plenty of familiar beauty on this album.

Visit Two For Brazil on the web.

Track Listing

1. Fascinating Rhythm 2. We’ll Be Together Again 3. Tis Autumn 4. Song of the Jet (Samba Do Aviao) 5. Daahoud 6. Embraceable You 7. Hello Dolly 8. Mam’selle 9. Round Midnight 10. On Green Dolphin Street 11. Black Orpheus 12. Indian Summe 13. Angel Eyes 14. Thanks For The Memory 15. All The Things You Are 16. There Will Never Be Another You

Personnel

Greg Fishman: Tenor Saxophone & Flute. Paulinho Garcia: Acoustic Guitar & Vocals.

Jazz Trumpet Etudes

Jazz Trumpet Etudes

by | Aug 7, 2020 | publications

These jazz etudes, originally written for saxophone, are lyrical, fun to play, and will help trumpet players understand voice-leading and jazz phrasing.

Greg Fishman has done a great job of keeping the range of these etudes accessible for all players. The top note found in this book is an “A” above the staff, which is well within the range of developing trumpeters.

These etudes lay well on the trumpet, but there are also challenging intervals and fingerings that will make even the most accomplished player take a second
look. I like the idea of thinking outside the comfort zone for a particular instrument. Aside from the technical challenges found in these etudes, the player will also learn about solo development, melodic phrasing, variations on a theme, and leading tones. We need to challenge our skill-set on a regular basis if we are to go to the next level. Once these lines feel comfortable, smooth and swinging, you’ll most likely find the typical jazz or big band trumpet literature much more fun and interesting.

I hope you’ll enjoy playing these etudes as much as I enjoyed recording them. Many thanks to Greg Fishman for helping all of us get to the next level!

–– Wayne Bergeron
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Intervals in Action

Intervals in Action

by | Aug 7, 2020 | publications

Intervals in Action by Greg Fishman & Greg Alper

Intervals in Action provides a fun and creative way to train your ear to hear intervals in many different harmonic contexts. This will help you create and play musical phrases that accurately portray your feelings and emotions through your instrument.

Intervals in Action features the most popular intervals and presents them four different ways:

Section 1 – Intervals in the Cycle: These exercises are designed to help your ear get familiar with the intervals from minor seconds through major thirteenths.

Section 2 – Interval Placement by Chord Type: This section features each interval, from minor seconds through major sevenths, placed within CMA7, C7, Cmi7, Cmi7b5 and Co7 chords.

Section 3 – Intervals over Descending Chords: This section takes each interval and applies it to many different chord types. The roots of each chord descend with each new measure. The two notes that comprise the interval do not change. They are common tones for every chord listed on the page.

Section 4 – Intervals in Action: This section features musical excerpts from Greg Fishman’s popular jazz saxophone books, including: Jazz Saxophone Etudes, Hip Licks for Saxophone, Jazz Phrasing for Saxophone, and Jazz Saxophone Duets. These music examples demonstrate Fishman’s favorite applications of each interval.

Working with Intervals in Action as part of your daily practice routine will expand your harmonic awareness, giving you an increased ability to tap into the melodic and harmonic possibilities hidden within each interval.

“It’s an interval thesaurus!” —David Morrison, Saxophonist

Highlights of Intervals in Action:

• 314 Applications of the Most Popular Intervals
• Organized for Maximum Practice Efficiency
• An Excellent Resource for Ear Training
• Systematically Teaches You to Hear Intervals in Harmonic Context

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The Lobster Theory

The Lobster Theory

by | Aug 7, 2020 | publications

A new approach to learning the language of jazz.

It’s a book of musical concepts brought to life through the use of analogies, beautifully illustrated by New Yorker cartoonist Mick Stevens.

Through eighteen chapters, this educational book shares fresh, creative approaches to the following topics:

• Practicing
  (“Lifting Weights”)

• Ear training
  (“The School Bell”)

• Harmonic awareness
  (“Ketchup on a Brownie”)

• Phrasing like a pro
  (“The Bus”)

• The importance of chord study
  (“Polishing the Silver”)

• Common tones
  (“Dual Citizen Notes”)

• Keeping your solos fresh and spontaneous
  (“The Lobster Theory”)

• Hearing in harmonic context
  (“Harmonic GPS”)

• Pacing your solo
  (“The Waiter”)

• How to memorize major scales & key signatures.
  (“Alligators, Elephants & Clowns”)

• Using chord substitutions
  (Harmonic Turn Signals)

• Infusing your notes with life and energy
  (“The Bobber Theory”)

• Using taste to differentiate the sounds of chords.
  (“Apple Chords” – includes spellings for the 60 most common seventh chords)

• Two great ways to sequence a musical idea
  (“The Snake”)

• Connecting with your listener
  (“Tasting Harmony”)

• Organizing your musical furnishings
  (“The Music House”)

• Scale note selection
  (“The Kid and the Cupcake”)

• Transformative practice strategies
  (“Running with the Pro Dogs”)

Notated musical examples, jazz etudes, and educational chord graphs are featured throughout  the book  to further illustrate and teach the musical concepts

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Jazz Phrasing

Jazz Phrasing

by | Aug 7, 2020 | publications

“This new book of Greg’s is the DNA of jazz education and the best of its kind to date. I played through it and without a doubt, it is enjoyable on every level. Highly educational and something our world needs.” – Tim Price, Professor of Saxophone, The New School, New York

Jazz Phrasing Studies Volume 1 features the same great songs as Jazz Phrasing for Saxophone Volume 1, but in a universal edition! Includes transposed parts for all C (treble clef), Bb, Eb and C (bass clef instruments).

This book is perfect for individual and ensemble use. Band directors can order multiple copies, hand out the books to the entire band, and they’re set for the entire year with ten great songs that can be used for daily warmups, phrasing studies, sight-reading, intonation training, section balance, etc.

These songs are also great for concert performance, and they’re easily opened up for multiple soloists. Chord progressions for the songs are based on popular standards, with harmonies similar to Satin Doll, Autumn Leaves, Summertime, etc.

The play-along CD features demonstration tracks of all songs, played by Greg Fishman on alto (3 songs) and tenor saxophone (2 songs), Victor Garcia on trumpet (3 songs) and Russ Phillips on trombone (2 songs). With this great variety of instruments demonstrating the tracks, everyone gets a chance to play and blend their sound with multiple instruments. CD also includes rhythm section-only tracks, perfect for soloing over the chord changes.

This book is also fantastic for saxophonists to work on their “doubles” of flute and clarinet.

Each volume of Jazz Phrasing for Saxophone includes ten songs and two play-along CDs. Saxophonist Greg Fishman demonstrates each song on both alto and tenor, backed by a world-class rhythm section featuring pianist Dennis Luxion, bassist Eric Hochberg, and drummer Phil Gratteau.

• Includes rhythm-section-only tracks to practice soloing over the chord progressions.
• The rhythm section is recorded in two different keys, allowing all saxes to read the same written part, ensuring that each song lays perfectly on all saxophones.

Perfect for improving:
• Tone
• Pitch
• Phrasing
• Articulation
• Swing-feel
• Sight-reading Skills

Jazz Phrasing for Trumpet  and  Jazz Phrasing for Trombone feature ten melodic pieces which are easy to play, yet convey the essence of mainstream (Swing/Bebop/Bossa) jazz vocabulary. The pieces are catchy and melodic, demonstrating the use of sequence and voice-leading to make a musical statement.

The Phrasing for Trumpet book includes a play-along CD featuring trumpeter Victor Garcia playing each song with a world-class rhythm section, while Phrasing for Trombone features trombonist Russ Phillips. The CD’s also include tracks featuring Greg Fishman demonstrating each song on alto saxophone, giving trumpet and trombone players the option of playing along with trumpet or alto saxophone.

In addition, there are play-along tracks featuring just the rhythm section. These tracks are great for practicing the songs, chords, scales, voice-leading lines and soloing over the chords progressions.

These books will provide valuable insights into a melodic approach to jazz improvisation. This book is recommended for players of all levels who wish to improve their tone, articulation, phrasing, and understanding of thematic development.

– Special Features of Jazz Phrasing for Trumpet and Jazz Phrasing for Trombone:

• Suggested Use Section – Detailed instructions on a variety of ways to work with the book.
• Style & Analysis Section – Clear, concise explanations of sequence, variation and voice-leading
• Thematic Index – Lets you compare the opening themes of all ten songs in a convenient two page “at-a-glance” format. Also includes detailed information on the opening interval of each song, as well as harmonic context of the opening interval.

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