Phil Rizzo: First Step to Improvisation A Modern Music Workbook Supplement

Description

ABOUT PHIL RIZZO:
Google
Phil Rizzo jazz
and you'll find references not only to his work with Stan Kenton as an arranger and manager for the Kenton Jazz Clinics in the 1970s, but cross references to the many teachers, arrangers, and performers who were students of his at that time in the Cleveland, OH area. He was a jazz education pioneer underappreciated in his home town, and his self-published books were foundations of jazz pedagogy as it exists today.
ABOUT THESE BOOKS:
Long out of print, we have a quantity of these and several other of Phil Rizzo's books (see our store inventory) deposited with us by a friend of Phil's who got his remaining stock after his passing. The prices on these are the same as the final prices he charged for them years ago--not some "rare find" inflated number, and as such many are less expensive than similar books today! All are paperbound/softcover.
This book,
First Step to Improvisation
, is organized in two parts: Part I is a compendium of scales, intervals, chords, compositional devices, etc. that are the building blocks of improvisation. Part II (the latter 2/3) is examples and exercises based on the Part I principals.. Each of the 45 pages is chock-full; a modern book would run twice as long with normal size and spacing.
About "vintage" jazz study books:
In the 1970s there were no major publishers producing jazz books, and small one-person companies filled the void with largely typewritten text and hand-notated examples, (early Berklee books are prime versions of such publications) cut-and-pasted into a volume that seems raw or quaint by today's standards. There was no Finale notation program, no word processors, and even the IBM Selectric font ball typewriters were pretty high end. It took real effort--a labor of love--to produce even a single title, let alone front the money to have a quantity printed, advertised, and sold via mail order. With that in mind, all these books support that "hand crafted" vibe, but the content is there--the same content that nurtured a generation of jazz professionals when guys like Peter Erskine played drums with Kenton's band.
Further, to show you the "cottage industry" that existed to sell these books, Phil sold them
himself
from ads in
downbeat
and other magazines, by word-of-mouth, and at Stan Kenton Clinics all over the country. They were stored in his garage, and some will have rust on the staples in the binding, some soil on the cover, and the occasional dogeared corner. We plan to ship the best copies first, so order now if the cosmetics of the book(s) are important to you.
(All copies have all pages unblemished, and many are pristine. When there's an issue, it's the cover or spine affected.)
IF YOU ARE BUYING MORE THAN ONE COPY OR TITLE OF PHIL'S BOOKS, wait for us to invoice you with a combined shipping cost to save money.
These are vintage books, but new and unused from someone with access to the original source. Other than that, only people with an old (likely well-worn) copy seem to be selling them. Ask questions if you have them, but understand that we may not have access to additional stock once these are gone, and all sales of Phil Rizzo books are final.
ABOUT SKYLINE MUSIC:
Skyline Music
has been serving the needs of beginning, recreational, and professional musicians in the Cleveland area since 1987. We occupy about 3000 square feet of space in the Dover Village Shopping Center in Westlake, OH. Into it we’ve squeezed seven lesson studios that house over 400 students each week, over 10,000 printed music titles, repair facilities, and of course, a lot of instruments and accessories. Visit our website at (skylinemusic -dot-com) for a look at some of our activities, or feel free to visit if you're in the Cleveland, OH area!
About our Auctions:
We use ebay to offer specialty items that do not fit into our store’s normal merchandise or other gear, memorabilia, or oddities that appeal to a wider audience than our home market. While a vintage item may show up, we are not a vintage specialist, so our knowledge, repair expertise, and access to additional items is limited. We try to research the best we can, but feel free to help educate us.
From time to time, we will also offer closeouts, dealer collateral (like brand signs, posters, and other swag that we just need to clear out) for the brand fanatic, and used consignments from our customers.
We do not end our
auctions
early, and once this item is listed, your transaction must be completed within ebay via PayPal. If an item does not sell, we may list an unsold item in our Outlet Store inventory at a fixed price. We carry many other products in our physical store. If you need something else, please contact the store.
Please note that we do NOT ship outside of the United States, and Ohio residents should be prepared to pay sales tax.