Postbop Contemporary Strategies

Contemporary jazz asks the improviser to move fluidly between the stable and the unstable — to establish a groove inside the changes and then push against tonality for that sophisticated postbop edge. Postbop Contemporary Strategies is a hands-on guide to that art, drawn directly from the transcription solos of Bob Berg, Jerry Bergonzi, Michael Brecker, and Chris Potter.

Olegario Diaz frames every idea around the full chord — not just the lower structure (1-3-5-7) but the upper-structure tensions (9-11-13) where consonance and dissonance live. From there the book develops the concrete techniques these masters share: Bergonzi's inside-outside pivots and symmetrical scales, Berg's rhythmic shout notes, Brecker's linear runs and stacked fourths, and Potter's bitonal superimposition and polyrhythmic development — including the practical 70/30 balance of inside-to-outside playing.

Written for all instruments and designed to be practiced in all twelve keys, the material moves from scales and 7th-chord approaches through fully notated lines, phrases, and exercises transcribed and adapted for the modern improviser. Intermediate to advanced players will find a lifetime of practice-room vocabulary here. Because JAZZ IS ALIVE.