STYLISTIC
II/V7/I VOICINGS FOR KEYBOARDISTS
by Luke Gillespie 
(book, $14.95, published
by Jamey Aebersold Jazz, 2000, www.jajazz.com, www.jazzbooks.com)
"This book is a welcome addition to the jazz keyboard
literature and offers a clearly presented, well-organized approach
to understanding
and playing this most essential harmonic formula."
- David Baker
Chair, Jazz Studies Department, Indiana
University
President, International Association of Jazz Education
"Luke's
book on chord voicings is a gem.
The information is not only relevant, Luke shows you how to put
it into practical 'streetworthy' application. Particularly
impressive are the book's 'readability' and the various
practice routines which are offered... a great contribution to
that enigmatic netherworld
of 'How To Comp'."
- Frank Mantooth, jazz pianist/composer/arranger
"I am sure that this compendium
will be passed around by musicians because it is so valuable as a resource
for the voicings we constantly hear. It is easy to read, fun to play
and extremely useful for all instrumentalists. Every musician will
get something out of this work from the most basic to complex. Luke
has done
a great service for the jazz community."
- David Liebman, jazz saxophonist/composer/educator
"I've worked with Luke
Gillespie in person and I find his approach to be quite inventive and
inspiring. Like any great teacher, he can articulate very advanced concepts
into the realm of possibility for everyone, regardless of level or experience.
This is the stuff they don't teach you in school."
- Geoff Keezer, jazz
pianist/composer
"This book is a wonderful contribution
to the compendium of jazz voicings for piano that not only will help
the student, but also will benefit the professional musician. I wish
Luke wrote this book years ago."
- Danilo Perez, jazz pianist/composer
"You may never think of a II-V progression
the same way again. It's not just the sheer quantity of different approaches
to this ubiquitous pattern that makes this book a standout, it's the
logic and musicality behind them. Gillespie takes you way beyond the
basic "A
and B" Bill Evans voicings, delving deep into the rich depths
of minor II-Vs and altered chords. Voice leading is always explained,
as
are the scalar origins of altered notes. This'll keep you going for
years. BEG-ADV"
- KEYBOARD magazine, Nov 2003 issue
"Covering the most essential topic
in jazz keyboarding, Stylistic II/V7/I Voicings for Keyboardists is
an extremely well-organized book for pianists. From the preface onwards,
Luke Gillespie addresses the pedagogical points of this book with 15
questions that every pianist should consider. For example, why do you
practice ii-V7-I chord voicings, and what voicing do you play on a
ii-V7
chord progression? Also, the book aims to build reliance on the ear
and to move you off the printed page as quickly as possible. The book
progresses
by level with lessons 1 to 6 designed for the beginning or intermediate
jazz keyboardist and lessons 7 through 10 designed for the intermediate
to advanced player. This text offers a complete study in jazz voicings,
including ii-V7-I chords, scales, and ii-V7-I voicings with dropped
notes, altered dominant chords and scales, rootless ii-V7-I chord voicings,
minor ii-V7-i chord voicings, ii-V7-I tritone substitutions, quartal
and quintal ii-V7-I chord voicings, contrapuntal ii-V7-I chord voicings,
and bitonal ii-V7-I chord voicings. The layout of the book is also
user-friendly
as each page contains about two to six lines of text, followed by multiple
musical examples. This book is a player's dream."
- Dr. John Kuzmich for
JAZZ EDUCATION JOURNAL, July / Aug 2002 issue
"The
most interesting aspect of Stylistic Voicings is the variety of jazz
voicings that are thoroughly described -- from basic voicings to drop-two
voicings, quartal and quintal harmony, the use of optional counterpoint
during a ii-V-I progression, and bitonal voicings. The book covers
chord substitutions, including tritone substitutions, minor third substitutions,
and modal sequencing. Examples of ways to use the chord changes in
John
Coltrane's well-known jazz piece "Giant Steps" are also included
with many of Bill Evans's variations, along with examples of the use
of the ii-V-I progression in other jazz standards. Every jazz piano
student wants to learn idiomatic voicings, and Gillespie's reference
will help
them get started, and provide food for thought for advanced students."
-
James Sellers for CLAVIER magazine, May / June 2001 issue
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