ePub The Real Book - Volume IV: C Edition by Hal Leonard Corp. in Arts-Photography

Review

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Mark Harrison is a geniusBy Laurence H. LevinThis guy is such a genius in composing snippets of piano in an astounding variety of styles that are clearly evocative of the original artists work. I am a professional keyboardist and a piano hobbyist. These pieces are very challenging and rewarding.The accompanying CD is invaluable. You can listen to just the piano or just the accompanying band. If you put the music on your smartphone or tablet you can get apps to slow it down.Addendum: Its May 4; 2014; and Im finishing chapter 19 of 24 chapters. Some of the pieces are very easy; like a Paul McCartney style that sounds like "Let It Be." Some of the pieces have tripped me up for weeks. I found the "Crocodile Rock" sounding Elton John style deceptively difficult. While its true that the samples provided only superficially cover the represented artists; I am impressed with the variety of styles provided.11 of 12 people found the following review helpful. Good samplerBy Richard CotenasThe musical examples in this book are fun to play and instructive and I have no doubt that I will gain some insight into the playing of these artists. The examples are not identified as transcribed excerpts from actual songs; but pieces composed "in the style of" or using chord voicings and left hand patterns "typical" of these artists. However; if you are familiar with their work; you wont have any trouble identifying the songs on which the pieces are based. Youll find yourself playing things that sound like Georgia on my mind; Lonely avenue; Whatd I say; Bennie and the jets; Daniel; Jessica; Cantaloupe island; Maiden voyage; I guess thats why they call it the blues; This is my life; Africa; Rosanna; Whos crying now; Get back; What a fool believes; and Minute by minute. I cant tell you on which songs many of the examples are based because I am not familiar with those artists work; and that brings me to one criticism: I think that Harrison (or publisher Hal Leonard) is stretching the meaning of the word "pop" here. I know that music is marketed differently than it was in the days when I was listening to Top-40 radio and that the lines between musical genres have become blurred; but I resist calling the work of Herbie Hancock; David Benoit; or Jeff Lorber "pop"; yes; they are popular outside of jazz and jazz fusion circles and yes; they have influenced pianists who can be considered "pop"; but the word "crossover" was coined for a reason. Most of the examples in this book are jazz; smooth jazz; or contemporary RB (smooth jazz with vocals); unsurprisingly; because those styles are clearly Harrisons forte. The blues/rock/country side of pop is underrepresented in this book and I do not find the examples of the playing of one artist representing this side; Chuck Leavell; useful or typical of his playing. Not only are the artists in this book too diverse; but there are too many of them: can you really expect to get a "complete introduction" to the playing of 23 different musicians in 167 pages; an average of only seven pages per artist? In fact; this book feels more like a sampler than an actual attempt to give readers "a complete introduction" to the piano playing of these artists. I think the real purpose of this book is to get people to buy Harrisons other books. This impression is reinforced by the frequent reference to these books as places to learn more about particular techniques. Not that you could go wrong; studying these books; but cmon; Hal Leonard: just call this a sampler and dont mislead people. How one rates this book will depend on what one wants from it. If you are looking for examples of a wide range of techniques and chord voicings used by contemporary; jazz-oriented pianists and suggestions for where to learn more about them; youve come to the right place: four stars. However; If you are looking for real insight into the playing of any one of these pianists or for insight into blues; rock; or country piano styles; I would not recommend this book.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. i like this book a lotBy Diverse379i like this book a lot.if you work systematically through this material you willgain insights into playing that will emerge in your own compositions; and performances.