jazz uke

calde

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kiyoshi koybayashi jazz song book why so expensive ??:mad:
 
Import? Limited print run? Supply and Demand?
 
Mainly postage rates (they're only published for the Japanese market), but the Jazz book seems to have become sold out as well, in most places. His 'pleasant' and 'bossanova' books are more commonly available, and therefore much cheaper.

Ukulelejapan, Amazon.co.jp, Kinokuniya Books and CD Japan are your best chances of finding a copy.

UPDATE: the ukulelejapan website says it has contacted the publisher for a possible reprint.
 
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This raises an interesting question. What is the difference between playing jazz and learning to sound as though you are playing jazz?
 
kiyoshi koybayashi jazz song book why so expensive ??:mad:

He must have a program that writes books. Enter a few ideas for the topic, and the program does the rest. : )

Look at all the books he's written, many on physics. Amazon has sixty-six!
https://www.amazon.com/Books-Kiyoshi-Kobayashi/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n:283155,p_27:Kiyoshi Kobayashi

As for the high prices, that's hard to explain. When a book is out of print, a seller can ask anything he wants, but these are not out of print. Highly technical books (with a limited audience) are generally expensive because of the knowledge needed to write them and the small number of people who might buy them.

This book comes from Tokyo, and it has about thirty songs, so you're paying over a dollar a song. If Jim Beloff's books cost that much, you pay $366 for his Daily Uke book. Since it's written in Japanese, maybe they send a translator with it. : )

https://www.amazon.com/模範演奏CD付-ウクレレ...516064&sr=1-1&keywords=kiyoshi+kobayashi+jazz
 
kiyoshi koybayashi jazz song book why so expensive ??:mad:

I've accumulated a collection of 5 books written by Kiyoshi bought on Ebay from a Japanese seller. It's free shipping but works out to be $70 dollar book Canadian (cheaper if you're US) after all said and done.
Yes it's expensive for international buyers but let me tell you it's worth it. His arrangements are advance beginner to intermediate and for me it's just at that sweet spot when you learn a song you feel proud of yourself!! From his books alone my playing has progressed a lot and mainly with the aid of his performance CD.

I've bought a ton of books from Amazon Fred Sokolow, James Hill, Abe Lagr., Ukulele Jazz for Tenor uke, IZ authentic tab book etc... and I find Kobayashi the most enjoyable for me.

Now that I think of it from all the books I've bought I could have bought a high end Ukulele. But what's the use of a high end ukulele when you can't play it all that well. That's why I think it's more worth it to spend money on other materials that will help you progress as a musician. Mind you, I wish my aural skills were better, learn by ear, and just write my own arrangements but not all of us can have that talent :)
 
He must have a program that writes books. Enter a few ideas for the topic, and the program does the rest. : ) Look at all the books he's written, many on physics. Amazon has sixty-six!
https://www.amazon.com/Books-Kiyoshi-Kobayashi/s?ie=UTF8&page=1&rh=n:283155,p_27:Kiyoshi Kobayashi

Unfortunately the man, a wonderful artist who is especially adept in arranging swing jazz to the ukulele, has a very generic full name. Kiyoshi, his given name, also means 'teacher'; Kobayashi, meaning 'little bush', is one of the most widespread family names in Japan... His books don't need any translation, they're simply wonderful arrangements of standard jazz tunes (or bossanova, or classical) written down in staff and tablature. No actual lessons or explanations, although a CD with is included with his performance of the tunes.
 
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This raises an interesting question. What is the difference between playing jazz and learning to sound as though you are playing jazz?
I am not sure of the answer to that, but my first goal is to sound as though I am playing Jazz. (Fake it to you make it). Maybe one day I will transition to actually playing Jazz. I am reading about Jazz and beginning to understand a bit more all the time. I am not sure when my musical skills and knowledge will allow me to just go improvise on the fly. That’s my ultimate goal.
 
That's an interesting and honest answer. Actually, I wasn't really expecting an answer - it was more of a rhetorical question, just intended to stimulate thought. I suspect there could be as many answers as there are players.

John Colter.
 
This raises an interesting question. What is the difference between playing jazz and learning to sound as though you are playing jazz?

Having spent the better part of a year learning jazz, or trying to at least, I will say that unless you can play a number of standards you are not a jazz player. That's the first step, after that it's mostly learning theory and chord voicings until you've got so much knowledge in your head you can't even remember how much you've forgotten :) Or at least that's my experience.

John
 
Jelow1966,

Don’t forget that you should also be able to play any song in any key, make substitutions for every chord, and play appropriate modes while improvising over any progression, and do it all with soul and beauty.
 
Jazz is improvisation.

There are many, many forms in the genre that is jazz. From Dixieland to Big Band, Bop, Hard Bop, Free Jazz, etc. A huge mountain of musical knowledge and various skills.

When asked, the common thread that many famous performers, composers and historians all stated that jazz is all about improvisation.
 
Jelow1966,

Don’t forget that you should also be able to play any song in any key, make substitutions for every chord, and play appropriate modes while improvising over any progression, and do it all with soul and beauty.

Too true ;)

John
 
Jazz is improvisation.

There are many, many forms in the genre that is jazz. From Dixieland to Big Band, Bop, Hard Bop, Free Jazz, etc. A huge mountain of musical knowledge and various skills.

When asked, the common thread that many famous performers, composers and historians all stated that jazz is all about improvisation.

That is true, but it is improvisation within the genre. A jazz solo will sound very different then a metal one although the two are being blended together now some. I don't regret for one minute trying to learn jazz just because it has opened me up to so many new ideas and concepts but I'll be the first to admit that I still can't play a 'jazz' solo. A good one, yes, but it's not jazz per se because i can't think that fast and play yet.

John
 
This raises an interesting question. What is the difference between playing jazz and learning to sound as though you are playing jazz?
If I learn a Charlie Parker (Insert the name of any jazz player here) solo, note for note, I will sound as though I am playing jazz.
If I improvise my own solo, I am actually playing jazz. (not necessarily good jazz)
 
Sadly I don't know how to improv ...

But i'm happy just playing other peoples arrangements and standards. None the wiser for the average audience :)
 
Jelow1966,

Don’t forget that you should also be able to play any song in any key, make substitutions for every chord, and play appropriate modes while improvising over any progression, and do it all with soul and beauty.

Some keys are avoided. A truly versatile player can play any key, but you don't have to be fluent in any key to play jazz.
On a Charlie Christian album, there's a cut made while the musicians were warming up and waiting for Benny Goodman to arrive at the session. You can hear one musician say, "Hey Charlie, let's play the blues. Let's play the blues in B." Charlie starts playing and after a few bars, you can hear a musician (probably a horn player) say, "What the hell's he playing in B for?"
 
I see the foundation of jazz more in comping with a myriad of tetrad chords (as opposed to the limited number of triad chords in "traditional" music). So the uke with its four strings really is perfect for this as it allows clean playing of many of those "jazz" chords. Now I just wish I had the patience learn this stuff too ...
 
I see the foundation of jazz more in comping with a myriad of tetrad chords (as opposed to the limited number of triad chords in "traditional" music). So the uke with its four strings really is perfect for this as it allows clean playing of many of those "jazz" chords. Now I just wish I had the patience learn this stuff too ...

Good point. We should realise that there are more than one correct way to harmonise a melody.

A folkie like Burl Ives might play Oh Sussanah with these changes:
A ,A ,A ,E ,A ,A ,A ,E ,A .
A folkie like James Taylor might changes something like this:
AMa7 Bm7 ,C#m7 F#m7 ,A F#m7 ,Bm7 E7, AMa7 Bm7, C#m7 F#m7 ,C#m7Cm7 Bm7 ,A .
 
Some keys are avoided. A truly versatile player can play any key, but you don't have to be fluent in any key to play jazz.
On a Charlie Christian album, there's a cut made while the musicians were warming up and waiting for Benny Goodman to arrive at the session. You can hear one musician say, "Hey Charlie, let's play the blues. Let's play the blues in B." Charlie starts playing and after a few bars, you can hear a musician (probably a horn player) say, "What the hell's he playing in B for?"

That's a funny story, I'll have to check out the album. I love listening to Charlie Christian play. And of course you're right and not all keys even work well on a uke but it is still good to know standards in multiple keys if you're planning on playing with others.

John
 
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