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Comments on the easier duets in this book
“Rich, I've got to hand it to you, man. These duets are great. They make excellent sight-reading studies. They include all of the standard jazz and commercial music rhythmic patterns that developing players need to learn to read and phrase. The easier portion of the book is technically simple enough for any decent middle school kid, but the musical values are not compromised in the least. Burnin'!”
— PAT HARBISON, Trumpeter & Professor of Jazz, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
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“These duets are pure FUN!!! If you like traditional New Orleans jazz you’ll love these - based on tunes like Bill Bailey, Baby Face, Bye Bye Blackbird, and When You’re Smilin’. My wife and I read through these duets in a little over an hour Friday night. I think we had to stop on the second page of every tune. Rich just loves throwing you a curve just when you think you've settled into a groove. These are very playable, note-wise; not a lot of accidentals, which is good fer the young ‘uns. But best of all, these tunes are just toe tappin’, go home whistlin’ fun.”
— STEVE EVANS, Trumpeter, Lykens, PA
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“I just bought these duets from Boptism publishing and they are awesome. Rich has written by far the best jazz duet books out there. His “easier” duets are challenging but at a perfect level for a talented middle schooler or for high school students looking to expand their jazz vocabulary. These have been printed on nice, high quality paper. I highly recommend these books to any teacher at any level.”
— BILL DUNN, Trumpeter, Washington, DC
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“I just had a friend over Saturday to sightread through Rich Willey’s “easier” duets. We had so much fun we did it again the next day. Played ‘em ‘till we were plumb blown out. Rich’s stuff was just right for us. Not too complex, but not too repetitive as some easier duet books can be. Range was not a struggle, not much over ‘A’ above the staff. We both thought these pieces were a great way to tune up our sight reading. Swung too! These are a solid investment for any 3-5 year (and up) trumpet student. I have no connection with Rich except that he provided me with an appreciated product for a fair price.”
— BOB KRIDLE, Trumpeter, Oakland, CA
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Comments on the harder duets in this book
“One of my students and I went through several bop duets just a couple of weeks ago. We found your duets to be VERY challenging to sightread as there are so many tricky and intricate figures throughout. A lot of these remind me of the old AMSDEN’s, some of which needed to be ‘worked out’ in order to make them sound good. I WILL use your books as part of my ‘humility training’ in the area of sightreading!”
— BOBBY SHEW, World-renowned trumpet student
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“If you like the Bugs Bower book (my copy’s been abused for years) but you’re looking for something a bit more up-to-date (not to mention challenging), you NEED Rich’s duets. I love ‘em. What a great concept, writing ‘improv’ duet lines over the changes to standards. Spend a little analysis time and you'll get an education.”
— STEVE EVANS, Trumpeter, Lykens, PA
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“I played through these duets with my son the other day, and we enjoyed them very much. The duets are dripping with the bebop language and all have a nice flow to them. They swing and are quite lyrical at the same time. I would recommend these duets for players young and old. I think there is something there for everyone.”
— BOB MINTZER, Saxophonist, composer & arranger, leader of Grammy Award-winning Big Band, professor at Manhattan School of Music
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“They're swingin’ and challenging. Great titles too. Can’t wait to do it again!”
— STEVE BLEIFUSS, Trombonist, Tarrytown, NY
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“Very well written – very interesting – very playable at all levels; good job Rich . . . Bravo!”
— LEON MERIAN, Trumpeter, Bradenton, FL
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“Rich’s Bop Duets are an amazing achievement, in my opinion. Far from being merely an updating of Bugs Bower’s efforts, Willey’s Bop Duets offer a multitude of help to all players: 1. Challenging lines, with intricately-contoured - yet witty - melodic twists and turns; 2. Technical workouts; 3. Stylistic challenges; 4. Large warehouse, if you will, of logical and creative statements in the bebop-and-beyond jazz language (sort of a newer Omnibook); 5. More duet/sightreading material – there really is something beyond Amsden! Seriously, these books are top-notch and should be in the library of all trumpet players – teachers and students alike. But my above list left out one very important factor: these duets are fun!”
— BILL SCHMID, Trumpet and Jazz Studies, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA
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“Rich Willey is a wonderful instrumentalist and jazz composer. Anything he puts on paper I trust 100%.”
— CLAUDIO RODITI, Trumpeter, South Orange, NJ
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“Rich Willey, why you been holdin’ out on us, bro? On your website I see there are now more of these tremendously well-written and fun duets. I suspect they'll be worth buying just so I can languish in the punning titles (groan)!”
— PAT HARBISON, Trumpeter & Professor of Jazz, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
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“Rich Willey’s jazz duets are both challenging and motivating. They are also valuable tools for the development of sightreading. I recommend these duets to any instrumentalists wishing to further their knowledge of the bebop language.”
— KENNY SHANKER, Saxophonist, New York, NY
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“Hi Rich, I love your books!”
— RON ROMM, founding member of the Canadian Brass, www.MusicRomm.com
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“Just wanted to drop a quick note to give my ‘endorsement’ for Rich Willey’s jazz duets. Figuring out the ‘real’ names of the tunes is enough fun already without even playing a note! The duets are written extremely well, easy enough to play but challenging enough to give your sightreading chops a bit of a workout. Rich’s duets are a nice change of pace from Amsden’s, Arbans, etc. Check ‘em out!”
— JAMI DAUBER, Trumpeter, New York, NY
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“I met Rich when he was living in NYC and want to recommend his jazz duets. They're medium level diffculty, quite musical, and right down the middle as far as the mainstream jazz idiom is concerned. Good particularly for students who are trying to get a feel for the style. I wish stuff like this had been around when I was trying to figure things out.”
— SAM BURTIS, Trombonist, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY
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“I have had the good fortune to use Rich Willey’s duets for myself and for my students for the purpose of teaching jazz phrasing and for sight-reading. I haven’t found anything that comes close to the well written ‘exercises’ (compositions) in his books. Not only are they well written, but also very challenging and very musical in every way.”
— CECIL BRIDGEWATER, Trumpeter, composer, arranger, producer; professor at Manhattan School of Music, New School Jazz Program, Jazzmobile, Brooklyn Conservatory
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“These duets are great. They have provided me with new insight in constructing bebop phrases. I have already incorporated some of the ideas into my soloing. It is apparent that a lot of work and thought went into these books.”
— DAVE SHERMAN, Trombonist, Wakefield, RI
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“My trumpet studio is pretty much legit, but I have found Rich’s duets to be a very valuable reading and style resource in lessons and find myself using them more and more! Nice way to end the end of semester lessons!”
— DAVID GREENHOE, Trumpet Professor, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA
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“I was weaned on Bugs Bower. Although a lot of fun, they were/are fairly challenging at the suggested tempos. If you are trying to develop a vocabulary related to written changes, too bad. No chord changes there. Some of Rich’s compositions are also quite challenging, but others are very accessible. They have a context in the standard repertoire which makes them much more useful. And he has the changes written down. This is fun, interesting and useful material. For the practice freaks, think of them as etudes for two trumpets. Or forget the duet and play the lines separately in all keys. Your ears & chops will thank you.”
— LARRY MADSEN, Trumpeter, Grand Junction, CO
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“I have played many jazz duets, but Mr. Willey’s books are by far the best. This collection not only teaches standard chord progressions, they teach style, rhythm, melody, and unique bebop lines. I would recommend these books to any educator or professional musician.”
— BILL DUNN, Trumpeter, Washington, DC
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“Rich Willey’s jazz duets belong in every trumpet player’s library. They are great for developing & improving sightreading skills, time, articulation, and jazz vocabulary. These books were written intelligently, allowing players of virtually all abilities to enjoy them.”
— JIM YEDLOUTSCHNIG, Trumpeter, Cedar Grove, NJ
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“Rich Willey’s jazz duets greatly aid one’s ability to develop jazz sightreading skills. They are based on standard chord changes and are eminently lyrical studies in the bop tradition, but also employ modern harmonic devices that push the ear as well as the eye.”
— CHRIS BATTISTONE, Trumpeter, Silver Spring, MD
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“If you are an aspiring jazz musician, you owe it to yourself to get hold of Rich Willey’s jazz duets! These have REAL changes to REAL tunes with REAL lines that can be taken out of the practice room and on to the stage. With a fresh look at the bop tradition, Mr. Willey has summoned a technical challenge and paired it with a true musical experience. I recommend these books without hesitation!”
— TIMOTHY J. McGINLEY, Trumpeter and Music Educator, Boston, MA
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“I recently bought a copy of Rich’s jazz duet book. The book is nicely printed; the duets are very playable and challenging (don't let Rich's tenure with MF cause consternation — the highest note is just high C), and work the changes thoroughly — meaning they’re good for theory analysis (chord changes are shown) as well as just having fun.”
— GIRARD “GIZ” BOWE, Trumpeter, Richmond, VA
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“These are great duets. Although somewhat advanced, many of my younger students have benefited from them. I am a huge fan of ‘Bop Duets’ by Bugs Bower, and Rich’s duets continue that tradition. The harmony is advanced, but over standard tunes. The lines are always challenging with sometimes odd intervals that don’t lay so well on the horn, which is what we should all be practicing.”
— ERIC BOLVIN, Trumpeter, Arranger, Composer, Keyboards, SF Bay Area, CA
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“In my lessons with high schoolers and collegiate students, I am extremely impressed with Rich Willey’s jazz duets. The lines are great in both parts, the harmony is advanced while not being too extreme for lesser trained jazz players, and the range is perfect for duet playing. I highly recommend them to any of you who are looking for some more duet material.”
— TRENT AUSTIN, Trumpeter, Melrose, MA
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“Great job writing these duets — great stuff and fun to play! Much more melodic, lyrical and accessible than other bebop-based studies. Using well known songs and including the changes adds another dimension to the material. I picked up a number of new insights during my first couple of times sightreading some of the duets, and I learned some new stuff just reading through the first couple of lines from the first duet I played.”
— GEORGE WEST, Trumpeter, San Jose, CA
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