Rating: 
Summary: Thinking in Jazz gives a lot to think about.
Review: This book is 883 pages. It took me months to read. I couldn't have read it any faster because one page often would set my own imagination to work about the information that Berliner packs into this opus. He as researched and desrcibed obscure details of how jazz/musical learning actually takes place. His book covers a lifetime of learning (jazz often requires at least that much) that musicians experience. This information is useful to people who want to learn how to learn and/or study and play jazz.
Rating: 
Summary: best single study of jazz improvisation
Review: This is the single most comprehensive study that's been done of jazz improvisation, and perhaps of any kind of improvisation, period. Berliner interviewed over 50 working jazz musicians-including name players such as Gary Bartz, Lou Donaldson, Tommy Flanagan, Lee Konitz, Wynton Marsalis, Max Roach, and Red Rodney. He's also transcribed hundreds of musical examples, including rhythm section parts. Berliner discusses every fact of improvisation, learning the craft, influences, practice and rehearsal, riffs and patterns, repertoire, interplay, comping and soloing, emotional impact of performance, venues, the life of working musician, etc.Requires the ability to read music if you want to follow all of the examples, though there is much you can follow otherwise.
Rating:
Summary: best single study of jazz improvisation
Review: This is the single most comprehensive study that's been done of jazz improvisation, and perhaps of any kind of improvisation, period. Berliner interviewed over 50 working jazz musicians-including name players such as Gary Bartz, Lou Donaldson, Tommy Flanagan, Lee Konitz, Wynton Marsalis, Max Roach, and Red Rodney. He's also transcribed hundreds of musical examples, including rhythm section parts. Berliner discusses every fact of improvisation, learning the craft, influences, practice and rehearsal, riffs and patterns, repertoire, interplay, comping and soloing, emotional impact of performance, venues, the life of working musician, etc. Requires the ability to read music if you want to follow all of the examples, though there is much you can follow otherwise.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Content -- Useful Ideas -- Historical
Review: What a compendium, compilation, or collection -- whatever you want to call this! It is huge and vast. I have gained so much insight from this book, as a very experienced jazz bass player. This truly wonderful book is a rare look at how the the jazz greats really learned how to improvise. The book's value is that is it not an improv method or music theory book, but gives a larger view, where you can get into the heads of other jazz musicians. I loved it so much that I bought two more copies and gave them as gifts to my fellow jazz group members, it is very inspiring and motivational.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome Content -- Useful Ideas -- Historical
Review: What a compendium, compilation, or collection -- whatever you want to call this! It is huge and vast. I have gained so much insight from this book, as a very experienced jazz bass player. This truly wonderful book is a rare look at how the the jazz greats really learned how to improvise. The book's value is that is it not an improv method or music theory book, but gives a larger view, where you can get into the heads of other jazz musicians. I loved it so much that I bought two more copies and gave them as gifts to my fellow jazz group members, it is very inspiring and motivational.
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