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    by Doc Dosco
    http://www.docdosco.com

    Garrison Fewell has a jazz improvisation book that I think is well worth
    checking out. Both Jim Hall and Howard Alden give it glowing reviews. I
    went through some examples and checked through the CD several times.
    Garrison covers a lot of material in this 140 page book about his
    melodic approach to playing jazz lines using triadic shapes. Berklee
    Press succinctly describes the contents of the book in the following
    write-up. This is a great learning tool for those who want to expand
    their knowledge using ‘a melodic approach’.

    From Berklee Press:

    Jazz Improvisation for Guitar: A Melodic Approach
    by Garrison Fewell

    Improvise better solos by using triads and melodic extensions. Melodies
    based on triads and melodic extensions sound more natural and musical
    than ones developed exclusively from scales. Triads-the fundamental
    building blocks of harmony-are a simple and effective remedy for scale
    dependency in improvisation. Explore the potential of triads and their
    melodic extensions, and learn to connect them using guide tones. You’ll
    learn to create solo phrases in the styles of some of the world’s finest
    jazz guitarists-Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Grant Green, Kenny
    Burrell, and Pat Martino.

    In Jazz Improvisation for Guitar: A Melodic Approach, world-renowned
    jazz guitarist Garrison Fewell offers an organized approach to creating
    expressive and melodic jazz solos and accompaniments. This book includes
    numerous triad and melodic extension examples and exercises to help you
    achieve the most expressive jazz feel and rhythm.

    * Broaden your melodic palette using triads, melodic extensions, guide
    tones, and altered notes.
    * Expand your agility on the fretboard, throughout the range of the guitar
    * Learn the intervals that make up melodies
    * Add articulation to your phrases by playing excerpts in the styles of
    the masters of jazz guitar
    * Use guide tones to connect your melodic lines and play the changes
    * Get the rhythmic skills essential to jazz phrasing
    * Use guide tones to build voicings for comping
    * Tablature included

    Develop a more melodic way of thinking about harmony, and learn the
    improvisational tools that will help you create your own approach to
    soloing over chord changes.

    The included play-along CD features outstanding musical examples and
    rhythm-section tracks performed by a top-flight trio: Garrison Fewell
    on guitar, Steve LaSpina on bass, and John Riley on drums. A special
    bonus track explores the techniques you’ve learned throughout the book.

    http://www.berkleepress.com/catalog/product?product_id=3702025

    Garrison’s Online Bio

    Renowned for his mature, melodic sound and elegant, lyrical style of
    writing and playing, guitarist Garrison Fewell has established himself
    as a distinctive voice throughout his 30-year career. Critics have
    called him “one of today’s most personal guitar players” (Boston
    Phoenix), “an assured stylist with a strong sense of tradition” (The New
    Yorker), “a player of virtuosity and swinging intensity” (UPI), and
    “refined, passionate, and inspiring” (Guitar Player). His diverse
    discography, beginning with 1993’s Boston Music Award-winning “A Blue
    Deeper Than the Blue” (Accurate), counts multiple titles ranked on best
    of the year lists in publications like Coda, Guitar Player, Musica Jazz,
    and his hometown Philadelphia Inquirer. The long list of prominent
    Fewell sidemen on record includes pianists Fred Hersch, Jim McNeely and
    George Cables, bassists Cecil McBee and Steve LaSpina, and drummer Matt
    Wilson to name just a few.

    In the last several years, Garrison has expanded beyond the
    modern-mainstream sound to play “free” and improvised music with artists
    such as vibist Khan Jamal and saxophonist John Tchicai. He has recorded
    an upcoming release, “Big Chief Dreaming”, for Soul Note Records,
    featuring John Tchicai.

    As a leader, Garrison has performed at NYC’s Blue Note and Birdland Jazz
    Clubs, and toured in the US, South America, Africa, Caribbean, Canada
    and Europe. He has played at major jazz festivals such as Montreux,
    North Sea, Umbria, Clusone, Veneto Jazz, Copenhagen, Krakow, Budapaest,
    Quebec, Cape Verde, Africa, and Asuncion, Paraguay. He has performed
    with renowned artists such Tal Farlow, Larry Coryell, Benny Golson,
    Billy Harper, John Tchicai, Zbigniew Namyslowski, Steve Grossman, Herbie
    Hancock, Fred Hersch, Hal Galper, George Cables, Cecil McBee, Buster
    Williams, Miroslav Vitous, Steve LaSpina, Cameron Brown, Harvie Swartz,
    Michael Formanek, Tim Hagans, Cecil Bridgewater, Kenny Wheeler, Jimmy
    Owens, Dusko Goykovich, Khan Jamal, Norma Winstone, Jay Clayton, and
    Slide Hampton.

    An internationally respected jazz educator, Fewell has been a Professor
    of Guitar and Ear Training at Boston’s Berklee College of Music since
    1977 and has given clinics at more than 40 prestigious conservatories in
    Europe alone, authored a textbook called Jazz Improvisation, and served
    as a lesson contributor to Guitar Player, Guitar Club and Axe magazines.

    See: http://garrisonfewell.com/index.html

    Doc Dosco is a jazz guitarist, composer and audio consultant living in
    Los Angeles, CA. His website is located at http://www.docdosco.com,
    where you can find more information on the ‘What’s Hot with Jazz Guitar’
    columns, audio clips of Doc’s playing, and many additional features. Doc
    endorses Heritage Guitars and is a featured artist on their website. He
    also endorses the new Pignose Valve Tube Amps — great for jazz (and anything else!)

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