ABOUT THE BEBOP GUITAR IMPROV SERIES

Developed over a 10 year period by its author and used as an instructional method in various music schools, The Bebop Guitar Improv Series consists of two volumes with multi-media materials. It is intended as a guide to lead both the player with little or no formal improvisation skills, as well as the player who does so exclusively by ear, on the journey to becoming a seasoned jazz improviser. Each volume is comprised of 3 books: the Lesson Book, Workbook, and Scale & Arpeggio Book.

VOLUME 1 is devoted to teaching the rudimentary principles of jazz improvisation in theory and practice. It initially focuses on learning how to systematically develop a vocabulary to improvise over chord changes from a guitar-oriented technical perspective. A variety of essential harmonic progressions found in jazz are covered in order of difficulty. Each new progression is taught through a series of short etudes, and gradually introduces one or more of the chord/scales required to improvise over most jazz standards. Various melodic concepts and syncopated rhythms commonly used in the swing/bebop idioms, are covered as well.

VOLUME 2 builds on the principles explored in Volume 1 and explores various applications over Rhythm Changes, as well as standards based on major, minor and extended tonalities. The technical focus is on multi-positional playing using the entire fretboard.

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About the Author: Richie Zellon, guitarist, composer, and music educator, has held teaching positions as professor of jazz guitar at Florida International University (Miami) the University of South Florida (Tampa) The Music Workshop (Orlando) and his own venue, Miami Jazz Guitar. With several critically acclaimed recordings under his name, Zellon has recorded and/or performed with some of the most influential musicians both in the mainstream and Latin jazz genres. Among them, Paquito D' Rivera, David Leibman, Jerry Bergonzi, Sam Rivers, George Garzone, Danilo Perez, Jeff Berlin, Abraham Laboriel, Alex Acuna and Ignacio Berroa to name a few. Due to his innovations in the field of jazz and latin music he has been profiled in several important books such as "The Great Jazz Guitarists" by Scott Yanow, "The Jazz Guitar: Its Evolution, Players and Personalities Since 1900" by Maurice J. Summerfield,"El Diccionario de Latin Jazz" by Nat Chediak, "Caliente: A History of Latin Jazz" by Luc Delanoy and "Jazz Jews" by Michael Gerber. For almost a decade, he wrote an instructional column for Jazz Improv magazine. In addition to his dedication to mainstream jazz, his ongoing research on the music of various Latin American cultures and their fusion with contemporary music has been a sought after topic by musicians at international clinics and workshops as well.