The chord progressions of these studies are based on celebrated jazz standards. As for the melodies, some are inspired by the standard repertoire and others by the phrasing of some of our favorite jazz soloists.
Odd Meter Escapades contains an 80-minute CD with 28 tracks: 14 of them correspond to the own author playing the studies, and the other 14 are play alongs with the rhythm section accompaniment, so the fun is guaranteed when studying these odd time signatures.
The CD also includes an additional track with a solo improvised by Kase on the changes of one of the studies, with transcription and analysis.
Here are a couple of examples so that you hear how it sounds:
It would be hard to find a more enjoyable way to study something so complex.
Odd Meter Escapades is a true luxury. The book — published by Mountain Peak Music — is in English and Spanish, has a prologue by Brian Lynch, and the introduction includes twelve pages of text that analyze the content, with brief musical examples taken from the studies for illustrative purposes.
Here is what some well-known trumpeters have to say about it:
Odd Meter Escapades will greatly enhance your odd time signature playing and conception. These pieces are expertly played by Chris on an accompanying CD. The only way to gain proficiency in odd time signatures is to play constantly in them, and this book affords you that opportunity!
Randy Brecker (Trumpet Soloist and Recording Artist, United States)
Odd Meter Escapades challenges those of us who are more comfortable in 4/4 than with rarely visited time signatures like 5/4, 7/4, 9/4 and 11/4, all of which get a good workout here. If you are a jazz instrumentalist looking for new ways to expand your rhythmic comfort zone, Odd Meter Escapades is highly recommended, as is the entire Chris Kase catalogue.
Mike Metheny (Flugelhorn Soloist and Recording Artist, United States)
This is a wonderful book with many great pieces for students and pros to learn from! Playing in odd meters is a challenge, so any book that addresses this issue is a welcome tool.
Joe Magnarelli (Trumpet Soloist, Recording Artist, Juilliard School of Music and Rutgers University faculty, United States)
Finally, a jazz method for odd time signatures! This is a great book for both students and professionals to gain more experience playing in less common time signatures. This is fantastic sight reading material, but it’s also fun and challenging to improvise with the backing tracks. A must for all who want to better acquaint themselves with unusual time signatures. This is yet another great publication from Chris Kase.
Matthew Simon (Professor of Jazz Trumpet, Catalonia College of Music, Spain)
A gift from the universe, in the form of this book. I haven’t been able to put it down. This edition by Chris Kase is not only a brilliant study of odd metered time signatures, it is a masterful and ingenious method for developing the ability to add harmony to improvised rhythms during a jazz improvisation. This method is a must-have for any serious jazz trumpeter.
Bill Lucas (Assistant Professor of Music, University of Michigan Dept. of Jazz and Contemporary Improvisation, Trumpet, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, United States)
We leave you with this video where Chris Kase himself presents his book: