Since the arrival on the jazz
scene of John Coltrane, more and more guitarists are looking to
incorporate colors into their language which are more dissonant than
those generally heard within the realm of jazz guitar. As improvisers,
saxophonists and all woodwind players have a certain advantage in that
the keys on their instruments are arranged linearly with one or two
chromatic pitches associated with each finger. Compared to the sax, the
note locations on the guitar fretboard are much less intuitive. It seems
a natural process then, for guitarists to gain fluency in improvisation
by studying saxophone lines and articulation techniques.
Kevin
Miller has studied with several stellar teachers including Vic Juris
and Rodney Jones. His knowledge of jazz history and the linear and
harmonic techniques of non-guitarist giants of jazz like McCoy Tyner and
John Coltrane is truly impressive. He is also very adept at
transcribing and analyzing the harmonic concepts and articulation
techniques used in saxophone solos and making them palatable to
guitarists in notation and tablature.
Miller
brings it all to bear in this book, focusing on giving you new options
originating from jazz masters such as John Coltrane and McCoy Tyner, for
dealing with common harmonic situations within the world of jazz such
as a stagnant minor chord or II-V-I. These options venture “outside” of
the basic harmonic framework, but usually settle back into the core
harmonic territory. Not only is the information made accessible through
numerous transcriptions of saxophone lines and techniques, Miller
provides ways to internalize this material so it can be used “in an organic way while improvising".