Jazz Composition and Orchestration

Rating:
Summary: The fault lies in the title . . .
Review: Bill Russo is a major figure in the world of jazz composition and arranging. His writing and his place in the trombone section contributed significantly to forming the sound and identity of the Stan Kenton band. This book's title and its sheer weight imply much more than is delivered. It is by no means satisfactorily extensive in its coverage of either composition or orchestration. For the most part it fails to 'teach' either of these subjects, rather it presents aspects of them through Mr Russo's own personal filter, a fact which he states in his Preface. The accompanying CD of musical examples, which by its inclusion also seems to suggest great value, is of little use because the excerpts are generally far too brief to enable their intentions to sink in. Also, the lack of indexing on the CD makes locating any specific example impossible. The reason I believe this book warrants at least a 4-star rating is that it's an excellent coffee table book for accomplished arranger/composers. Those of us who fall into that group can pick up the book and mentally applaud or denounce the author's statements and opinions while being aware that he is a musician who believes in what he does and who does what he does very well. On the list of the book's nearly-unforgivables is the discussion of strings by dealing only the with 'cello, which Mr Russo justifies by saying that whatever applies to 'cello pretty much applies as well to viola and violin. The fact that he encountered a specific situation in which using four 'celli was a better choice than utilizing standard string quartet is not sufficient reason for excluding violin, viola and contrabass from the discussion. Mr Russo has certain opinions - clearly labeled as such - with which many will argue. What is highly commendable is the fact that he does not present his personal preferences as being rules. As I mentioned above, he does what he does, and he believes what he believes. In spite of what I consider to be the faults of this book, I do not regret spending the money to purchase it. For me it's fun and interesting to peruse. Neophyte arranger/composers may want to look at it as representing places they may someday wish to go, but they must search elsewhere for their basic knowledge. Finally, there can be no serious criticism of the author's use of his own music to demonstrate his theories at work. William Russo drew from scores with which he is very familiar and he doesn't have to pay royalties to any other composers for their presence in the book. Bob Freedman

Rating:
Summary: not recommended
Review: I had borrowed this text at least five times from our public library and decided, after the fifth time, that I needed to own this book.

The scope implied by the title, "Jazz Composition and Orchestration", is narrow enough to be slightly misleading. The actual content is so vast and complete that it could almost be considered the answer to the question, "What is music?". I've learned many things from this book about music in general which actually don't fall within the scope of the title. And yet, each of these THINGS is presented in a way which greatly enhances my concept of "Jazz Composition and Orchestration".

I am making certain to do all of the exercises after each chapter. Doing so in the context of my own writing projects has helped me to write some of my best works to date.

Rating:
Summary: Far too academic.
Review: This book could have been written much more simply. Instead of referencing so many of his own obscure compositons, Russo could have illustrated his concepts with dozens of more recognizable works. Definitely not recommended as a primary arranging text.

Rating:
Summary: not recommended
Review: This is more a compendium of the author's prejudices and rantings, defensively rendered, than a book about arranging. All the examples are from his own works--he is not recognized as a significant composer. I learned much more from "Inside the Score" by Rayburn Wright, and I recommend this book instead.

Also recommended: PENTATONIC SCALES FOR THE JAZZ-ROCK KEYBOARDIST by JEFF BURNS.