During the month of November, Sher Music is offering the digital versions of our world-classjazz theory books and practicing guides at 50% off of the physical book prices! If you want to experience a real leap forward in mastering your instrument, these books will be invaluable. Our holiday gift to you is unbeatable quality at unbeatable prices! See below for books included in this sale, including Mark
Levine's classic text, "The Jazz Theory Book."
1. The Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine
2. The Jazz Harmony Book - by David Berkman
3. Jazz Musicians' Guide to Creative Practicing - by David Berkman
4. Serious Jazz Practice Book - by Barry Finnerty
5. Serious Jazz Book II - by Barry Finnerty
6. Building Solo Lines from Cells - by Randy Vincent
7. Minor is Major! - by Dan Greenblatt
8. Forward Motion - by Hal Galper
9. Metaphors for the Musician - by Randy Halberstadt
MODE: Remote (via FarPlay), or in person for Bay Area students
COST: $50 to $65, sliding scale
TERMS: Any style of jazz, any level, any frequency (weekly to occasional), acoustic or electric bass.
CONTENT:
Beginners - I can get you solidly on the right path with information from my book, "Foundation Exercises for Bass." Ability to read music not essential. Lessons will be applicable to all styles of music.
Intermediate - I'll use my 50+ years of experience playing jazz (including a year and a half on the road with singer Jon Hendricks) to help you with whatever you need to work on. We'll use my book, "The Improvisor's Bass Method" for reference.
Advanced - My specialty here is soloing. I can improve your solos by helping you with the less developed aspects of your approach. We'll use my book "Concepts for Bass Soloing" as a reference, and also a tutorial I wrote on "Internalizing Tunes."
SAMPLE ENDORSEMENT - "I want to thank you for your great lessons. Working through your book,
"The Improvisor's Bass Method," along with your instruction, has
improved my bass technique and expanded my knowledge of music theory. My
musician friends and bandmates can hear the improvement
and have commented on it. I tell them, "I'm taking lessons now . . .
with Chuck Sher." It has made all the difference." - John S.
Chuck Israels and I have been working on this book for 6 months or so and I have to say I've gotten tremendous pleasure out of helping the other Chuck put his book in final form. What initially attracted me was an audio file he sent, his arrangement of "School Days." You can hear this and a bunch of other sample songs at https://www.shermusic.com/9780991077373.php. The feeling his group generated was something completely different than my normal emotional reaction to a new jazz piece. First, I was really impressed by the great playing of all concerned, especially trumpeter Charlie Porter. And then I realized that it evoked something like nostalgia in me --- not really for the past, but rather for the feelings of wistfulness, a childlike sense of simplicity and a feeling of homecoming somehow. Hard to put in words, but take a listen and you might see for yourself what I mean. Then watch the video of "Shenandoah," and be amazed at how Chuck Israels gives new life to this classic folk song. Jazz is a big tent and it just got bigger with the inclusion of a whole bunch of new vehicles for improvising. Enjoy! - Chuck Sher
Several of the composers of our latest Jazz Songbook Series, Vol.2 have been
interviewed on jazz radio. Interesting to hear everyone's stories, and
more to come. Series url is
https://www.shermusic.com/jazz-songbook-series-2.php
Rick Lawn has been working for several years to finish the second volume of his masterpiece, "Jazz Scores and Analysis" and it's finally up on our website for sale, both the physical book and digital downloads - https://www.shermusic.com/9780991077366.php. This second volume features jazz compositions with strings as part of the ensemble and ten great composers are included - Vince Mendoza, Oliver Nelson, Eddie Sauter, Chris Potter, etc. I'll let its webpage speak for itself but my own impression is that Rick is a unique author - his work is so well-thought out and comprehensive, his writing is erudite but not at all stuffy and he has a real grasp of the whole flow of jazz composition through the years. If you have any interest in the subject, don't miss this 438 page labor of love!
About a year ago Andy Narell approached me and asked if I was going to do anymore jazz songbooks. I hadn't planned on it but I love Andy's music and so I said, "Sure, why not?" So I started asking other great composers and the results can be seen at https://www.shermusic.com/jazz-songbook-series-2.php. One of the great moments in this process was when a package arrived from Benny Golson's publisher with copies of his original lead sheets, all yellowed and looking just like lead sheets used to look when I first started playing music 50+ years ago. It was like Christmas in February! And Benny's tunes, in particular, have been a ball to play with my various musical compatriots. Then I asked Enrico Pieranunzi and he was delighted to have a songbook of his compositions too. The same with Denny Zeitlin, Randy Brecker, Steve Khan, Larry Dunlap, Barry Finnerty and Doug Morton. I'm especially happy to put out The Dave Tull Songbook because Dave is the most soulful and also the funniest singer/songwriter in jazz, to my professional ears. Check out the sample songs on his webpage and I bet you'll agree. My great appreciation goes out to Matt Heister for helping with the graphics on this project and also my webmaster, Bob Afifi, who tirelessly did all the 'behind the scenes' work to get these songbooks up and running.
I just turned 75 and one would think that I should be at Shady Acres contemplating nature, but projects keep coming to me and I feel obligated to keep doing my part in promoting good music. Like Lot in the Bible, I think the Good Lord is only letting this show go on because, at any point, there are ten good tunes being played on the planet. So keep the music flowing!
Our friend and colleague, the great Mark Levine, passed away on Thursday, January 27, 2022 at the age of 83. May
he rest in Peace and may all the thousands of people whose lives have
been uplifted by his music and his unparalleled books say a
word of thanks to this Giant of Jazz as he enters the Big Band in the
Sky. We'll miss him...
Please leave your condolences or reminiscences here. We'd love to hear from you all - Chuck Sher
Sher Music fans - We had some trouble with our blog a year or so ago and stopped posting but that seems to have been resolved now so let me catch you up on the new books we've put out since then.
1. "Syncopation Companion" by Bryan Bowman - Bryan is a Bay Area drummer and bandleader and he approached me in 2020 to see if I wanted to publish his book, which expands the possibilities of Ted Reed's classic "Progressive Steps to Syncopation for the Modern Drummer." I'll refer you to its webpage for more detail, including a glowing endorsement from Peter Erskine - https://www.shermusic.com/9780997661781.php. All I want to add is that I've had the great pleasure of playing with Bryan on a bunch of COVID-safe outdoor gigs here in Petaluma and he is always swinging - so his method works! And a super-nice guy to boot!
2. "Drum Chart Supplement for the Real Easy Book 1" by Alan Hall - Another great drummer and former Bay Area musician, Alan Hall wrote drum charts for every song in the first Real Easy Book in this cool publication. In addition, there is very cogent instruction for beginning drummers on how to read drum notation, basic styles of contemporary drumming and advice on how to be a good team player. The webpage is here - https://www.shermusic.com/9780991077397.php, including videos of Alan performing each chart in both real time and slowed down.
3. "Contemporary Latin Jazz Guitar" by Neff Irizarry - Neff is a talented Finnish guitarist who is included in The European Real Book. He sent me a manscript last year on Latin jazz guitar playing that was super informative and well-organized, going from the basic rhythms of Afro-Cuban music and how they relate to playing guitar in a Latin rhythm section, all the way up to a 6-page transcription of a great Steve Khan solo! There are about 100 shorter transcriptions of guitarists from all eras of Latin music with analysis of why they sound as good as they do. A really well-done and comprehensive book that we are proud to publish - https://www.shermusic.com/9780997661798.php. (Comes with multiple videos of Neff demonstrating many of the exercises.)
4. "The Jazz Saxophone Book" by Tim Armacost - Tim is a leading voice in the New York jazz scene and quite a player. He approached me with an idea for a book on melodic soloing and I said, "Sure, but how about expanding it to include everything a person would need to be an accomplish sax player, like Mark Levine did in his "The Jazz Piano Book." He took on that challenge and the result is magnificent - a super helpful book for any improviser, really. Check it out at https://www.shermusic.com/9780991077380.php. Endorsed by Jerry Bergonzi, Bob Mintzer, George Garzone, Bob Sheppard, Jamey Aebersold, Steve Wilson, Walt Weiskopf, and his bandmate David Berkman.
Coming up - a) "Jazz Scores and Analysis, Vol.2: Strings and Things" by Rick Lawn and b) more great "Jazz Songbooks" from people like Andy Narell, Randy Brecker, Denny Zeitlin, Steve Khan, Duke Pearson, etc. Be well, stay safe and keep it swinging! - Chuck
Instruction from the masters and the icons of jazz is one
genre of literature that always has an eager audience. Whether it’s
learning how to improvise, a new take on well-loved chestnuts or how to
master the key changes, musicians need their fingers and their ears to
be in tip-top shape.
How does a music publisher today keep up with what
professional musicians and students hanker for as they develop their
art? Chuck Sher of Sher Music Company has some answers.
When did you start the business and why?
I started Sher Music Co. in 1979 because I got serious tendonitis and
couldn’t play bass for over a year. During that downtime, I collected
all the notes I had taken while teaching and put them together to create
my first book, “The Improvisor’s Bass Method.” It was very
well-received and at that point, I officially became a music book
publisher. Totally accidental (and yet foreordained in some way, I
feel).
I still consider myself a musician first and a publisher second. This
fact has been the bedrock of our “mission statement” here at Sher Music
Co., that our books are created by musicians, for musicians, and are
designed to be the best possible books on their given subject. Our
endorsements from dozens and dozens of the best jazz musicians ever –
including Chick Corea, McCoy Tyner, Joe Henderson, Ron Carter, Maria
Schneider, Esperanza Spalding, etc. – corroborate that claim.
How has your focus on books changed through the years if at all; instruction and technique, composition, theory, history, etc.?
From the beginning, we published both fake books and instructional
books. But now we are only publishing method books for the most part. In
terms of content, the major change happened in the ’90s because I got
bitten by the Latin music bug and so we published over a dozen books on
that fascinating music, including the only professional-level collection
of Latin music compositions, “The Latin Real Book.”
Talk about fake books. What trends have you seen here?
We started out publishing big fake books but it has been harder to
justify the expense of doing that when people can get any song they want
either for a few dollars or free (i.e. illegally) online. I find this
very sad because the charts in our fake books can help create more
beautiful music than the “white bread” charts available in most of the
other fake books or lead sheets out there. In addition, our fake books
are historically accurate. For just one of hundreds of examples, see
Miles’ classic arrangement of “‘Round Midnight” in the Standards Real Book,
something that is not available anywhere else. I’ve been blessed with
having two of the world’s greatest music transcribers work for us: Sky
Evergreen, who passed away in the ’90s, and since then, Larry Dunlap. I
couldn’t have put out our fake books without them and the jazz world
owes them both a big debt of gratitude. In any case, at this point the
only charts we are publishing are in our “Jazz Songbook” series of
digital-only books at www.shermusic.com, featuring one composer at a time, e.g. Kenny Barron, Alan Pasqua, Steve Swallow, etc.
What have you learned about your consumer, the musician or
hobbyist or just music lover, through the years in what they want to
learn?
I’m not sure what they want to learn has changed, only how they have
grown up getting that knowledge. The obvious thing is that one can learn
“licks,” technique, etc. on any subject on YouTube. I don’t discount
the immediate value of that, but there’s a depth of knowledge that one
can only get from a well-thought-out book. Superficial knowledge might
very well result in superficial playing, wouldn’t you think?
What goes into your decision of whether or not to carry a
book? Do you offer editing and marketing to authors? Talk about the
process of acquiring a title and what you do to publish it.
I am the publisher of all the books carried at shermusic.com
and I have also written or co-written a half-dozen of those books
myself. My decision to publish a book is almost always based on what I
consider to be its long-term musical value. I am a good editor and I
have had some input in most of our method books as well as selecting
almost all the songs in our fake books. I also do all the marketing from
here (with invaluable assistance from my webmaster, Bob Afifi), but
some of our authors are also helping with the social media aspect of
getting their books out into the world.
The authors of most of my instructional books sent me their
manuscripts initially and are glad to have the “Sher Music Seal of
Approval” on their work. Definitely a mutually beneficial relationship.
They also get paid more than the standard royalties, another fact of
which I am proud.
The process of publishing a book is a long one, too much to go into a
lot of detail here. But first I often help the author get their ideas
into presentable form, both graphically and/or content-wise. Once that
is done, I take the manuscript, have it proofread (often by several
people whose opinions I value), then re-do the layout as a result, then
send it to our printer and proofread it again before it goes to press.
Finally, we do a digital PDF version, which requires more graphics
expertise, then the book is ready to be released. Publicity is the next
step and that is an expensive and ever-evolving task, as the media world
keeps changing. Altogether, in order to be born, each book requires a
lot of blood, sweat, tears, persistence and love for the music, and I am
both proud and honored to have put out the most highly-respected
collection of jazz and Latin music books on the market.
How do authors learn about you and how do music lovers/buyers learn about you?
Sher Music Co. has been an established jazz and then Latin music book
publisher for over 40 years, so our reputation precedes us. How to get
the attention of the younger generation of musicians is a challenge and
we learn more about that with every book. We are now reaching out to
bloggers and podcasters, as well as Facebook and the traditional print
media.
Are you a musician, and if so, what do you play?
I’ve played bass since the ’60s. First upright bass and then electric
bass after I recovered from tendonitis, with the help of DMSO, by the
way (but do not use it without researching the safety precautions
necessary). I toured with jazz vocalist Jon Hendricks and his family for
a year and a half in the ’70s. That was a ball, getting to play with
all the musicians that would come and sit in with Jon: Al Jarreau, Joe
Williams, George Duke, Benny Carter, etc. Then I played for years with
the late bebop saxophonist Vince Wallace and drummer Michael Aragon, as
well as a hundred other players here in the Bay Area over the years.
This past year I organized and fronted a weekly COVID-safe outdoor
series of concerts here in Petaluma, CA with the best Bay Area musicians
I could find like Art Khu, Randy Vincent, Kendrick Freeman, Bryan
Bowman, Michael Aragon, Doug Morton, Bob Afifi, Ken Cook, etc. What a
ball that was, and will be again once the weather permits.
What words of encouragement would you give to the novice who is overwhelmed with all the literature available?
I would say pick educational material that has stood the test of
time, like Mark Levine’s “The Jazz Theory Book” or look for books that
have been endorsed by great musicians, like virtually all Sher Music
books have been. I also have a free tutorial of ideas for learning to
solo on standard tunes on our home page. Practicing can be a tremendous
amount of fun, so I would say keep at it, step-by-step, and enjoy the
process of watching yourself become a more accomplished musician.
Talk about Tim’s new book and why you have a connection with it?
Tim Armacost is the saxophone player in the New York Standards
Quartet, led by another author of ours, NY pianist David Berkman. They
put out a series of records that are state-of-the-art post-bop, so I was
very familiar with Tim’s playing. I remember hearing him play on their
arrangement of “Soul Eyes” and thinking, “That is an almost perfect
example of a great contemporary jazz solo.” (At my suggestion, a
transcription of that solo can be found at the end of Tim’s “The Jazz
Saxophone Book.”) Anyway, Tim approached me with a proposal to write a
book on creating melodic solos. My response was, “Sure, but how about
expanding it to cover everything a saxophonist needs to know to be an
accomplished jazz player, like Mark Levine did with his “Jazz Piano
Book”? Tim took up the challenge and created a masterpiece, I believe –
endorsed by Jerry Bergonzi, Bob Minzter, Bob Sheppard, George Garzone,
etc. You can buy it on our website at https://www.shermusic.com/9780991077380.php.
Other comments?
As the world gets crazier by the day, it seems, there are only a few
things that give me solace and inspiration to have my life be a net plus
for the world. One of them is love, specifically for my wife Sueann,
our two kids, and my close friends. And the other is the inexhaustible
beauty of music. Any universe that could end up with Bill Evans and John
Coltrane has to have been done with Purpose and Meaning behind it,
because it is too cool to be an accident, know what I mean? I’ve
actually written some decent poems, I believe, and paired them with
great recorded music that expresses these sentiments better than I can
do in prose. You can find those (no charge) at https://www.shermusic.com/inner-world-books/from-the-inner-world/index.html. Also check out a related CD project on our website, “Poetry+Jazz: A Magical Marriage.” Free samples are available at https://www.shermusic.com/1883217822.php.
High art, if you ask me. Finally, I have a jazz show on KRCB – public
radio here in Sonoma Co. – on the first Saturday of each month from 7 to
11 pm. And above all else, keep it swinging!
Photos courtesy of/with permission from Chuck Sher.
