Jamey Aebersold Jazz, Volume 81: Contemporary Standards and Originals: Book & Online Audio

Liebman's arrangements strip away the predictable and rebuild these standards from the ground up. The harmonic reharmonization and metric inventiveness mean your ensemble won't sound like every other group tackling this repertoire, and the accompanying rhythm section (Markowitz, Juris, Marino, Hadda) is stellar enough to push players toward genuine musical conversation rather than note-reading.

These arrangements feel like stepping into a room where standards are being rebuilt in real time. Liebman respects the melodies enough to keep them recognizable but disrupts familiar progressions with unexpected harmonic turns, creating a listening experience that stays fresh across repeated plays.

Advanced jazz musicians and serious ensemble players ready for harmonic complexity and metric independence. This volume rewards players with strong fundamentals who want to deepen their understanding of reharmonization and contemporary groove language.

• Study the odd meters and groove changes before the first rehearsal. These arrangements demand rhythmic clarity, so isolate the trickier passages and lock them in isolation before running full tunes.
• Listen to each track multiple times without your instrument. Liebman's harmonic choices are sophisticated; hearing them clearly first builds better instincts for phrasing and landing chord tones.
• Lean into the fusion and waltz grooves with rhythmic specificity. The percussion and bass work together tightly, so match their precision rather than approximating the feel.

Use this as repertoire for a jazz workshop or semester-long ensemble focused on advanced improvisation and reharmonization study. The collection works equally well for small group coaching or as a capstone repertoire for musicians preparing for collegiate jazz auditions and intensive programs.

• Navigating odd meter changes and metric modulation
• Hearing and executing reharmonized chord progressions
• Responding to rhythmic precision in fusion and contemporary grooves
• Improvising over non-traditional harmonic movement
• Listening and conversational interaction with a recorded rhythm section