Breaking Down the Cat

A training manual or primer on jazz improvisation intended for beginning to advanced student musicians, "Breaking down the Cat" combines silly anecdotal humor with historical tie-ins in a study guide for students in a discussion that goes to the level of a manifesto on American freedom and equality. The historical-constructive method of the book tries to unearth the utilitarian facets of the interaction of the jazz style in history in order to inform the approach to jazz soloing of those learning, with possible