Practicing the Jazz Vocabulary a book of exercises for the improvising musician.

Practicing the Jazz Vocabulary, by Dan Hesler, is a book for any single-line instrumentalist from high school players to advanced professionals. The book includes 112 pages of musical exercises, divided into 12 chapters on major chords, minor chords, ii V I progressions, turnarounds, cycles, chromatic stuff, chords in pairs, and "Fun with #9 Chords." There is a 27-page chapter entitled "Slippery Stuff" which consists of things that jazz musicians play when they are not necessarily trying to stay within changes.

No matter where you are as a player, this book will provide you with something interesting and challenging to work on. Much of the book is based on the existing vocabulary of the jazz language, and much is owed to the musical titans who have developed and furthered that language over the last 70 years.