Reviews for John Stockton

The average rating for John Stockton based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-03-21 00:00:00 Peggy Morrison Pretty good book... Gives an OK insight into some of the harmonic, rhythmic and melodic concepts that you will have to wrap your head around if you're entering the Jazz world. Don't get too caught up on some of the semantics and history because a lot of it isn't 100% accurate (for example, Mark constantly espouses major scale harmony as the best way to learn changes, claiming that the chord tone/non chord tone based approach that Dizzy and Bird used is inferior). The listening suggestions are exceptional. The book fails to comment on any technical aspects of playing, so there is an assumption of proficiency. And one last thing - the best thing that this book can't sell you w/r/t jazz is a set of ears. Honestly, investing in ear training through transcription and aural work will be worth the weight of this book in gold 100 times over... All the secrets are in the music (and the cynic would note that Mark Levine is hardly a world renowned jazz musician). But, if you need a solid reference tool, or some suggestions for improvisational concepts that you might not have encountered before, this book is unsurpassed.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-03-27 00:00:00 Nick Henny Very good and very dense book dealing with the theory and practices that go into jazz piano. As a classical musician, I found it challenging but not overwhelming. That said, it is going to take some careful re-reading, along with applied practice. I do not recommend this book at all to anyone who is a beginning pianist. This is best for the pianist accomplished in general technique, who reads music, and wants to explore this genre.