Table of Contents
Come join us now, and enjoy playing your beloved music and browse through great scores of every level and styles!
Can’t find the songbook you’re looking for? Please, email us at: sheetmusiclibrarypdf@gmail.com We’d like to help you!
Hal Crook – Set Me Free (Live at Berklee 2016)
Best Sheet Music download from our Library.
Trombonist Hal Crook ’71, saxophonist Chris Cheek ’91, pianist Leo Genovese ’04, Lionel Loueke ’01, drummer Antonio Sanchez ’97, and vocalist and bassist Esperanza Spalding ’05, perform Hal’s original “Set Me Free” live at the Berklee Performance Center.
“Set Me Free” (H. Crook) Saxophone: Chris Cheek Guitar: Lionel Loueke Piano: Leo Genovese Bass/Vocals: Esperanza Spalding Drums: Antonio Sanchez Trombone, Arranger & Musical Director: Hal Crook Recorded live at the Berklee Performance Center Executive Producer: Tom Riley & Rob Rose Video Producer: Reggie Lofton Video Associate Producer: Ken Shifman & Jin Choi Camera Operators: Eli Chess, Simon Benegas, Joseph Marchuk, Pamela Hrncir-Van Metre, Max Harchik Editor: Nicole Egidio Mixing Engineer: Simon Katz Mastering Engineer: Jonathan Wyner.
Please, subscribe to our Library.
If you are already a subscriber, please, check our NEW SCORES’ page every month for new sheet music. THANK YOU!
Browse in the Library:
Or browse in the categories menus & download the Library Catalog PDF:
Who is Hal Crook?
Hal Crook (born 1950) is an American trombonist, composer, arranger, and jazz educator, widely recognized as one of the leading figures in modern jazz improvisation pedagogy.
Career and Background
- Instrument: Trombone (also piano and keyboards).
- Style: Primarily jazz, with deep involvement in modern, post-bop, and contemporary improvisation.
- Education: He studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he later became one of its most influential professors.
- Teaching: Crook taught at Berklee for over 30 years, mentoring generations of musicians. Some of his well-known students include Esperanza Spalding, Antonio Sánchez, Lionel Loueke, and many others who became major names in contemporary jazz.
Contributions to Jazz and Education
- He is especially respected for his innovative approach to improvisation, focusing on creative development, interaction, and spontaneous composition.
- Crook has published several influential books on improvisation, such as:
- How to Improvise
- Ready, Aim, Improvise!
- Beyond Time and Changes
These works are considered essential by many jazz students and educators worldwide.
- His teaching methods emphasize practical application over theory, encouraging musicians to go beyond scales and chords to achieve authentic, personal expression.
Performance Career
- As a trombonist, Hal Crook has performed internationally with artists such as Phil Woods, Tony Bennett, Clark Terry, Joe Henderson, and Buddy Rich.
- He has also led his own groups, blending modern jazz idioms with innovative improvisational techniques.
Later Work
- After retiring from full-time teaching, Crook shifted focus to composing, performing, and writing.
- He is also a novelist and has written fiction in addition to his musical texts.
Hal Crook is both a highly respected jazz trombonist and one of the most influential improvisation teachers of his generation, with a legacy carried forward by many top contemporary jazz musicians.
Search your favorite sheet music in the category of Jazz, Blues, Soul, & Gospel.
Great — here’s a full article on Hal Crook, blending biography, music style, teaching methods, published works, and legacy.
Hal Crook: Trombonist, Composer, Educator, and Innovator in Jazz Improvisation
Early Life and Background
Hal Crook was born in 1950 in Providence, Rhode Island (USA). Drawn to music from an early age, he gravitated toward the trombone, an instrument that would become both his expressive voice and vehicle for exploration in modern jazz. While the trombone often carried a traditional role in big bands and swing-era jazz, Crook would push its boundaries into the domain of modern, post-bop improvisation and spontaneous composition.
He studied at Berklee College of Music in Boston, one of the world’s leading jazz institutions, where he developed a foundation not only as a performer but as a thinker deeply invested in the philosophy of improvisation. What began as a student’s pursuit of musical knowledge evolved into a lifelong career as both a performer and one of Berklee’s most influential professors.
Performance Career
Although best known today as an educator, Crook’s career as a trombonist, composer, and bandleader is extensive. His trombone playing is characterized by:
- Fluid, linear improvisation – focusing on long melodic arcs rather than short, percussive phrases.
- Advanced harmonic vocabulary – often weaving through complex chord changes with precision.
- Textural versatility – able to adapt from big band settings to intimate small ensembles.
Over the years, Crook has performed and recorded with a wide range of artists, including:
- Phil Woods (alto saxophonist)
- Clark Terry (trumpeter, known for his lyrical swing style)
- Tony Bennett (legendary jazz/pop vocalist)
- Joe Henderson (renowned tenor saxophonist of the post-bop era)
- Buddy Rich (big band drummer and bandleader)
He also led his own ensembles, which often highlighted his vision of jazz as a laboratory for interactive improvisation.
Berklee and Teaching Career
Crook became a professor at Berklee College of Music in the early 1970s and taught there for over 30 years. During this period, he profoundly shaped the development of countless students who later became leading figures in contemporary jazz. His classes were legendary for their intensity, creativity, and rigor.
Some of his notable students include:
- Esperanza Spalding (Grammy-winning bassist, vocalist, and composer)
- Antonio Sánchez (drummer and composer, known for the score of Birdman)
- Lionel Loueke (Beninese guitarist and composer, long-time member of Herbie Hancock’s band)
- Donny McCaslin (saxophonist, bandleader, and collaborator on David Bowie’s Blackstar)
Crook was known not just as a teacher but as a mentor, challenging students to move past formulas and into the deeper realm of expression, risk, and spontaneity.
Pedagogical Philosophy and Books
Hal Crook’s reputation as a pedagogue rests on his groundbreaking approach to teaching improvisation. While many methods focus on scales, chord–scale relationships, and memorization of patterns, Crook emphasized:
- Spontaneous composition: treating improvisation as real-time composition, where each note and phrase carries intention.
- Interactive improvisation: prioritizing listening, reacting, and co-creating with other musicians.
- Beyond theory: stressing the why behind improvisation, not just the how.
- Freedom within structure: encouraging students to develop discipline while also breaking free of formulaic playing.
His published works are now standard references in jazz education:
- How to Improvise – perhaps his most famous book, presenting step-by-step exercises and concepts.
- Ready, Aim, Improvise! – exploring deeper creative processes and mental approaches to improvisation.
- Beyond Time and Changes – pushing improvisers to think beyond typical rhythmic and harmonic structures.
- Additional works include Creative Comping for Improvisation, Jazz Counterpoint, and more.
These texts have been adopted by musicians and institutions worldwide, praised for balancing practical exercises with philosophical insights.
Musical Style and Improvisational Language
Hal Crook’s trombone playing is rooted in jazz tradition but shaped by a modern sensibility. Key aspects of his musical style include:
- Linear Melodicism – Long, flowing improvised lines that treat the trombone almost like a saxophone or piano.
- Advanced Harmony – Use of upper extensions, substitutions, and reharmonization in solos.
- Rhythmic Complexity – Phrasing that plays against the beat, creating polyrhythmic tension.
- Interactive Energy – Crook’s solos often reflect and develop ideas from his fellow musicians, emphasizing collective improvisation.
Other Creative Work
Beyond jazz, Crook has also written novels and creative prose, showing his artistic scope extends beyond music. His interest in storytelling and creativity informs his teaching, reflecting his belief that improvisation is essentially another form of narrative.
Influence and Legacy
Hal Crook’s impact on modern jazz is disproportionately large compared to his public profile. While not a household name like some performers, his influence permeates through:
- His students, many of whom are shaping contemporary jazz at the highest levels.
- His books, which remain some of the clearest guides to improvisation available.
- His teaching philosophy, which continues to inspire educators around the world.
He is sometimes compared to figures like David Baker (Indiana University) or Jerry Bergonzi (also Berklee) in terms of educational impact. However, Crook stands apart because of his strong emphasis on creative risk-taking and the idea that improvisation is not about reproducing licks but about expressing authentic, in-the-moment ideas.
Selected Works and Discography
While Crook’s discography is not as extensive as some peers, it includes both his own projects and recordings with others. His focus leaned more on live performance and teaching, but available recordings showcase his skill as a modern jazz trombonist and bandleader.
Some notable releases include:
- Trio I (with Bill Vint and Dave Zinno) – an example of his interactive group concept.
- Creative Comping series (educational recordings accompanying his books).
- Performances with Phil Woods, Joe Henderson, and others (live recordings and collaborations).
Hal Crook is a rare figure in jazz: a virtuoso trombonist, a profound thinker about improvisation, and an educator whose influence has spread globally. His trombone playing represents a forward-thinking approach to modern jazz, but it is his teaching, books, and mentorship that secure his place as one of the most important figures in jazz education.
For generations of musicians, Crook’s work opened the door to new ways of hearing, thinking, and creating. His philosophy of improvisation as spontaneous composition has become a cornerstone of modern jazz pedagogy. Though perhaps less known to the general public than some of his contemporaries, Hal Crook’s influence resonates every time one of his students takes the stage — keeping his legacy alive in the ongoing evolution of jazz.