Jamey Aebersold
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Jamey Aebersold (born July 21, 1939) is an American jazz saxophonist and music educator. His "Play-A-Long" series of instructional book and CD collections, the first of which was released in 1967, are an internationally renowned resource for jazz education. As of 2007 more than 120 of these collections have been published by Aebersold, who currently teaches musical improvisation at the University of Louisville. He is also an adept pianist, bassist, and banjoist. He also holds membership in Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the oldest and largest music fraternity in the world.
[edit] Play-A-Long Series
Most of the volumes in Aebersold's "Play-A-Long" series feature a selection of 10-12 jazz standards, though some focus on scales, standardized chord progressions (like the blues), or original compositions by Aebersold's collaborators. The books contain charts for the tunes in question, transposed as necessary for instruments in C, B-flat, E-flat, and bass clef. The recordings normally feature a professional rhythm section (typically piano, bass, and drums, occasionally including guitar) performing an improvised accompaniment (or "comping") to each song. Melody instruments like saxophone and trumpet are omitted, enabling a jazz student to practice playing the song's melody, and improvising over the song's chord changes, with accompaniment. (Related examples of this format include the "Music Minus One" series and the popular pastime of karaoke.) The piano and bass tracks are typically panned to opposite channels, so that a pianist or bassist can easily omit the recorded piano or bass part by muting the appropriate channel.
Perhaps the most well-known feature of the "Play-A-Long" series is Aebersold's distinctive voice, which counts off the tempo for each track on most Aebersold recordings. [1]
