Jamey Aebersold Jazz, Volume 68: Giant Steps: Book & Online Audio

This volume doesn't coddle your advanced players; it demands they navigate modulation and unfamiliar harmonic territory while maintaining their time and voice leading. The inclusion of six essential standards in all 12 keys creates a systematic workout that forces real fluency rather than comfortable repetition in familiar tonalities.

Six essential standards presented not as museum pieces but as living material for study. The moderate tempos create space for thoughtful improvisation, but cycling through all 12 keys transforms familiar tunes into genuine challenges that demand both technical control and genuine harmonic understanding.

Advanced jazz instrumentalists ready to build real command over standard repertoire and harmonic flexibility. Serious students in their third year of jazz study or beyond, as well as college ensemble members preparing for improvisation auditions and internships.

• Start in the original key until the melody and changes feel secure, then move to a key a half-step or whole-step away rather than jumping randomly through the cycle. Building familiarity in adjacent keys prevents the progression from becoming too scattered.
• Lock onto the rhythm section's pocket before focusing on your solo conception. Mark Levine's piano voicings and Barry Ries's drum patterns establish clear reference points that make the key modulations audible rather than abstract.
• Record yourself going through a single tune across multiple keys in one practice session. Playback reveals which keys expose gaps in your knowledge and where your embouchure or fingerings need adjustment.

Use this as your advanced students' primary practice material during the second half of the school year or academic term, when foundational skills are solid and they can benefit from more demanding work. These six titles also serve as excellent audition and entrance-exam prep material for college jazz programs.

• Transposing and reading changes in all 12 keys with fluency
• Soloing over standard jazz progressions without relying on memorized licks
• Maintaining harmonic orientation during rapid modulation
• Developing independence from the melody while listening to the rhythm section
• Building endurance through longer improvisation sequences