Jazz Composition and Arranging in the Digital Age - Paperback

by Richard Sussman (Author), Michael Abene (Author)

Jazz Composition and Arranging In the Digital Age is a comprehensive and practical instructional book and reference guide on the art and craft of jazz composition and arranging for small and large ensembles. In this book, veteran composers and arrangers Richard Sussman and Michael Abene combine their extensive years of experience as musicians and instructors to demonstrate how advances in music technology and software may be integrated with traditional compositional concepts to form a new and more efficient paradigm for the creative process.

This book builds on material and issues treated in traditional jazz composition and arranging courses, including all the fundamental musical techniques and information associated with jazz arranging and composition instruction. In addition, each chapter of the book also contains specific examples demonstrating the effective utilization of music software as applied to the realization of these techniques. Software is employed both as both a learning tool in the form of examples and exercises, and as a practical tool illustrating how many modern day composer/arrangers are utilizing these techniques successfully in the real world. The book also offers several chapters devoted exclusively to the creative use of music technology and software. The extensive companion website provides listening examples for each chapter as well as enhanced software tips, expanded and additional music examples, and appendices of, basic principles and an expanded recommended listening list for further
study.

Author Biography

An accomplished jazz pianist, composer, and arranger, Richard Sussman has also achieved widespread acclaim as a jazz educator, clinician, and music technologist. He has been a member of the Jazz Composition faculty at Manhattan School of Music for over 25 years and is also recipient of the prestigious ASCAP award for Jazz Composition.

Michael Abene is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest living jazz composer/arrangers. In addition to teaching jazz composition and arranging at the Manhattan School of Music, Abene co-directed the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop for many years.