The Jazz Handbook (Jamey Aebersold)
by Jamey Aebersold · Jamey Aebersold Jazz
Aebersold's free 56-page 'red book' PDF: chord and scale nomenclature, the Scale Syllabus, ii-V-I patterns, practice procedures, a listening list and transcription advice. The reference sheet to keep on the music stand while working through everything else.
More resources on Jazz Improvisation
Hal Galper's Master Classes
Filmed masterclasses on the rhythmic side of improvising: forward motion, beat center, syncopation, time and tone, the illusion of an instrument. Galper attacks why players fail to swing despite correct note choices, and what to change in the practice room. Covers the dimension Levine and the Omnibook both omit: time.
Charlie Parker Omnibook, Volume 1 (C Instruments)
Sixty note-for-note transcriptions of Charlie Parker's recorded solos with chord symbols and metronome markings, plus streaming accompaniments. Working through these gives you bebop vocabulary in its original form - the source material jazz educators assign for learning the language. This is the reference transcription collection, universally assigned in jazz programs.
How to Improvise: An Approach to Practicing Improvisation
Hal Crook's method splits improvising into when to play, how to play and what to play, isolating one variable at a time - space, phrase length, dynamics, range, rhythmic density. Includes graded exercises and a sample daily practice schedule you can actually follow. Its 'one thing at a time' structure is a mental model, not a lick collection.