It seems that the mandolin is getting a lot of popularity within the jazz realm. Don Stiernberg, who’s released a number of sessions on his own, has put together a first rate book/cd via Mel Bay to get past the basic strumming of the intricate instrument and cross over into the world of improvisation. The book gives some general guidelines about tones, intervals and alterations before throwing you into the world of songs that are based on tunes like “Dark Eyes” and “Cherokee” but with different titles, as in keeping with the jazz tradition. A whole other section is dedicated to the chords and permutations of “I Got Rhythm” before going through a series of chord melodies on which to use as a jumping board for improvisation.
As Stiernberg points out, the beauty of the mandolin is that to simultaneously play the melody and harmony. This book keeps that in mind so that the student can use this fascinating instrument to its best effect.
www.melbay.com