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Rating: 
Summary: Jazz Piano and Harmony - An Invaluable Guide! A Winner!
Review: Being "raised on rock" I continuosly heard things like - "if you don't know jazz - you'll never know jazz", "if you don't feel it (jazz) - you'll never feel it". Mr. Ferraras book "Jazz Piano and Harmony" has proved them all wrong! My experience after reading and applying the concepts outlined in this book can only be compared to "scales falling off my eyes".I was immediatly able to add new colors and creativity to my playing. The chapters "Voice Leading Concepts" and "Improvisation Techniques" explained to me techniques I had been envious of other players for years! The chapters on "Spread Voicings" and "Tensions" were also a joy to read and apply. ( I should add I am a part time "rocker" but a full time Church Organist/Liturgical Composer/Choir Master and I wish Bach could hear me now!) It will come as no surprise that the author is a former professor from the Berkley School of Music. A part of me wished I could go back and attend his courses during my formative years (and yet - I feel I have attended his lectures after reading this book). My daughter has just begun college majoring in music this fall and she is planning on sharing this book with her classmates. I have nothing but praise for this book! Great for all levels and especially for those with a hunger to learn what the Jazz Masters live! Looking forward to Mr. Ferrara's next offering. As a side note I must mention that I purchased this book from Amazon after a simple search on "Jazz Piano" and they made the purchase VERY easy. It was delivered to my home in 48 hours! Thanks Amazon!
Rating:
Summary: Jazz Piano and Harmony - An Invaluable Guide! A Winner!
Review: Being "raised on rock" I continuosly heard things like - "if you don't know jazz - you'll never know jazz", "if you don't feel it (jazz) - you'll never feel it". Mr. Ferraras book "Jazz Piano and Harmony" has proved them all wrong! My experience after reading and applying the concepts outlined in this book can only be compared to "scales falling off my eyes". I was immediatly able to add new colors and creativity to my playing. The chapters "Voice Leading Concepts" and "Improvisation Techniques" explained to me techniques I had been envious of other players for years! The chapters on "Spread Voicings" and "Tensions" were also a joy to read and apply. ( I should add I am a part time "rocker" but a full time Church Organist/Liturgical Composer/Choir Master and I wish Bach could hear me now!) It will come as no surprise that the author is a former professor from the Berkley School of Music. A part of me wished I could go back and attend his courses during my formative years (and yet - I feel I have attended his lectures after reading this book). My daughter has just begun college majoring in music this fall and she is planning on sharing this book with her classmates. I have nothing but praise for this book! Great for all levels and especially for those with a hunger to learn what the Jazz Masters live! Looking forward to Mr. Ferrara's next offering. As a side note I must mention that I purchased this book from Amazon after a simple search on "Jazz Piano" and they made the purchase VERY easy. It was delivered to my home in 48 hours! Thanks Amazon!
Rating:
Summary: Sophisticated without being overwhelming.
Review: If you've been considering studying jazz piano, this is the book you must definitely own...I first purchased Mark Levine's Jazz Piano book, and though this is a fantastic reference source on the stylistic history of jazz piano with many examples, it is a bit overwhelming to manage from a practical standpoint. There is just so much, one doesn't know where to start.
Mr. Ferrara, on the other hand, has a gift for focusing the student on critical areas. His chapter on voice leading is so enjoyable and wonderful to work through that it is both inspiring and demystifying.
For [the money], you get the book and CD, in which Mr. Ferrara lectures and plays some tasty examples...
Here is what you get:
1.) Step by step chapters on chord construction: You begin with triads and work your way through four-part chords.
2.) Voice Leading techniques: as you play chords, your transitions can be creative and smooth. Mr. Ferrara takes you through this with a tasteful progression that is fun to play--that is, IT DOESN'T FEEL like an exercise. My teacher had me apply a bass line to it while doing the voice leading in the right hand. I've also applied other apporaches (i.e. stride with voice leading). Better yet--you can use this in actual tunes--and you will be playing as a professional does. I can't tell you how happy you'll be to hear yourself voicing chords this way. I have plenty of books, and I rarely see other authors address the topic with the clarity that Mr. Ferrara does. Some ignore it altogether.
3.)Diatonic Chord Substitution: this is usable theory that is easy to understand and apply.
4.) A Complete listing of the II-7--V7--Imaj7 progression in all keys: This is fantastic practice--and critical.
5.) Spread Voicings: beautiful voicing ideas. You'll be constructing chords by spreading their notes over different registers of the piano.
6.) Secondary dominants.
7.) Improvisation note palettes.
8.) Blues progressions and scales.
9.) Tensions with an accompanying chart to show how and where to apply those 9ths, 11ths, and 13ths. I should also mention that certain sections are designed like a workbook. You label chords, write them in note by note (great reading practice), develop progressions, understand substitutions, and more. This means you can also practice away from the piano. For [the money], you get enough to keep you busy and entertained for a while. Mr. Ferrara's book is easily worth twice as much. I already have his second book, and it looks just as promising. I'm still working with this one, and I am so convinced of its quality that I wanted to recommend it to others who may be confused about what resources to use. You won't be sorry if you purchase this. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Jazz Pizzazz
Review: Jazz Piano and Harmony written by John Ferrara is geared to beginners and intermediate players, especially classical players who want to learn jazz piano basics. Chords, inversions, diatonic harmony, and improvisation techniques are all covered in a well-organized, progressive manner. Three and four part chords are shown to be related to a major scale which is actually the basic way improvisational melodic lines are derived: from chord scales. The discussion on inversions illustrates how left hand voicings can move smoothly from one chord to another utilizing common tones. The bottom line is that it gives you a way to construct left hand accompaniment to a melodic line. For classical players who are primarily note readers, this removes a lot of the mystique from the concept of playing a chordal arrangement with only a melodic line and chord symbols. The chapter on chord scale construction shows how simple it is to create chord scales that will work over diatonic and non-diatonic structures. This gives you the option of playing and thinking linearly, rather that playing around the chord tones which most untrained players tend to do. The written exercises are excellent in helping the student assimilate the material. I would highly recommend this book which has been designed to help a good pianist become a great musician!!
Rating:
Summary: Jazz Pizzazz
Review: Jazz Piano and Harmony written by John Ferrara is geared to beginners and intermediate players, especially classical players who want to learn jazz piano basics. Chords, inversions, diatonic harmony, and improvisation techniques are all covered in a well-organized, progressive manner. Three and four part chords are shown to be related to a major scale which is actually the basic way improvisational melodic lines are derived: from chord scales. The discussion on inversions illustrates how left hand voicings can move smoothly from one chord to another utilizing common tones. The bottom line is that it gives you a way to construct left hand accompaniment to a melodic line. For classical players who are primarily note readers, this removes a lot of the mystique from the concept of playing a chordal arrangement with only a melodic line and chord symbols. The chapter on chord scale construction shows how simple it is to create chord scales that will work over diatonic and non-diatonic structures. This gives you the option of playing and thinking linearly, rather that playing around the chord tones which most untrained players tend to do. The written exercises are excellent in helping the student assimilate the material. I would highly recommend this book which has been designed to help a good pianist become a great musician!!
Rating: 
Summary: Good reference - not for a beginner
Review: This book has some great information in it, but the concepts are not explained thoroughly enough for a beginner, especially the later chapters. Furthermore, I found the CD to be pretty much worthless - it gave me the impression that he was just winging it without having thought out his presentation.
Rating:
Summary: Doesn't go deep enough
Review: This book is a pretty good introduction to jazz theory. However, some issues are well explained and presented - and some are not:
The (basic) material regarding chord construction, inversions and voice leading is pretty adequate, and the chapters about tensions, secondary dominants and cadences are also well explained.
But some other chapters are simply a waste of time and paper, they give just a very small taste which is not very helpful, unless you're familiar with the subjects (and then you don't really need these chapters...). These include the improvisation palettes and techniques, spread voicing and blues. Even the better chapters should've gone deeper for my opinion, since this book was probably meant to be a self-learning one. In many cases, a short sentence is used to explain a big issue, and you have to figure out by yourself what do with it. And - much more examples should've been given throughout the book. As it is, it's a pretty boring theory book. More real jazz tunes and examples would've made it more attractive. Nonetheless, it would be a pretty good introduction (for some of the issues) for beginners in jazz, and a pretty good reference guide (the tables regarding chord construction and tensions are quite useful). And the CD gives some nice ideas about what to do with the issues covered
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