Contemporary Jazz Guitar Solos

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  • Suggested Retail Price: $16.99
  • Format: Book
  • Pages: 112
  • Dimensions: 9x12
  • ISBN: 087639165X
  • SKU: 1123946
  • Publication Date: May 23, 2016

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Learn twelve contemporary jazz guitar solos from six of the greatest artists.

Each solo includes a technical introduction with analytical insights and references to its classic recording. The transcribed solos include:

  • Kurt Rosenwinkel, “How Deep Is the Ocean” and “Dewey Square”
  • Pat Martino, “Impressions” and “Oleo”
  • Bireli Lagrene, “Days of Wine and Roses” and “Donna Lee”
  • John Scofield, “All The Things You Are” and “If I Were a Bell”
  • Jim Hall, “Billie’s Bounce” and “St. Thomas”
  • Mike Stern, “Moments Notice” and ”There Is No Greater Love”

Michael Kaplan is a guitarist, transcriber, and educator. He is the director of the American Guitar Academy in Tokyo.

“The presentation of Contemporary Jazz Guitar Solos by Michael Kaplan is superb. His transcripts of my ‘Impressions,’ and ‘Oleo’ solos, taken from Live at Yoshi’s, prove exceptional in their accuracy. The complete work is an exciting addition to a valuable collection of guitar studies. Definitely refreshing.” 

—Pat Martino

“Michael Kaplan is a consummate professional who’s tireless attention to detail produces accurate and easy to follow transcriptions of even the most complicated musical passages. I’m excited to see what he does next!”

—Mark Whitfield

“A superb sequel to his Bebop Guitar Solos, Kaplan’s Contemporary Jazz Guitar Solos presents incredibly accurate transcriptions of some of today’s most respected modern jazz guitarists. Each solo features both standard notation and tablature that includes all necessary ‘guitarisms,’ as well as easy-to-understand analysis. I highly recommend this book not only for guitarists, but for all instrumentalists who are looking to update their playing and gain keener insight into the jazz vocabulary of this generation.”

—JB Dyas, PhD, VP; Education and Curriculum Development, Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz

“A sequel to his first book, Bebop Jazz Guitar, Mike Kaplan has researched and meticulously presented here a strong collection of modern jazz guitar solos. The guitarists chosen have made substantial contributions to jazz guitar performance and the study of their work can be of great benefit for those interested in understanding some modern developments in jazz improvisation. This text is a significant contribution to the study of jazz guitar improvisation and I highly recommend both books as part of one’s jazz guitar resource library.”

—Dr. Michael Di Liddo, Professor of Jazz Studies, Miami Dade College

Authors

Michael Kaplan

Michael Kaplan is the author of Contemporary Jazz Guitar Solos (Berklee Press, 2016) and Bebop Guitar Solos (Berklee Press, 2014). Currently, Michael…