Lookout Farm: A case study of Improvisation for Small Group Jazz

This book grew out of a very special relationship, both musically and verbally. “Lookout Farm” was a labor of love for all of us with much enjoyment coming from our continuing discussion of the technical facets of our music. We felt that by writing this book we could give people insight into the workings of a small jazz group and its own unique form of expression. Five men – playing and living together – work much like a team in sports. Key factors are teamwork and the sharing of responsibility. This book and our music are the results of these. The genesis of the book began with a great deal of material taken from tapes of several workshops we conducted in New York as part of a program for Free Life Communication, a musicians’ co-operative. We transcribed these workshop tapes and after several “edits”, organized the material into its present form. We are products of the 1960’s, both musically and sociologically. Our models were the groups of John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Bill Evans, Ornette Coleman and others. And, of course there was the music of the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix! As we were learning to play our instruments, we also were laying the groundwork for fusion of various musical styles. The body of the book focuses on five of our recorded works, representing a cross-section of our material. The level of comprehension is not aimed at beginners: we assume the reader's basic knowledge of improvisation. This new Kindle version comes with links to purchase the recordings discussed in the text. - David Liebman Read more