Top products from r/jazztheory

Keith Waters wrote a pretty exhaustive book on this.

https://www.amazon.com/Recordings-Quintet-1965-68-Studies-Recorded/dp/0195393848

There are some instances where a soloist (or the entire group) plays what Waters calls "time no changes." Basically, they are still playing the correct number of measures for the form but not following the changes.

Music theory in a spot with "time no changes" makes me want to focus on motifs, rhythm, or interplay between the musicians.

Jazz guitarist Steve Kahn has a great write up and transcription of "Pinnocchio" from the Nefertiti record.

http://www.stevekhan.com/pinocchioa.htm

I run a Herbie Hancock blog with transcriptions and analysis. At the moment I only have two posts from the Miles Davis second great quintet ("Seven Steps to Heaven" and "The Sorcerer"). Those are some of my favorite years for Herbie's playing though. More posts are always on the way.

http://www.actualproofblog.com/p/posts-by-chronological-recordings-date.html

kinda tangential but have you checked out this Monk biography? Its super dense with info, but really well written so you don't get bogged down.

Also does anyone else like to listen to whatever album an artist released/was working on when reading about that time in their life? I highly recommend it anyone who hasn't.

This book by Porter is a superb biography of Coltrane - http://www.amazon.com/John-Coltrane-Michigan-American-Series/dp/047208643X
It is the best biography of any musician I have read, and since it covers in compelling detail both Coltrane's life and music, it also covers his spirituality and religious convictions in detail, looking at their development and the effect it had on his music.
There's nothing like a great book to open up a musician for you, and this book gifted me with a love for Coltrane, I cannot recommend it highly enough. Hopefully you can find a copy in a local library.

Here you go: https://www.amazon.com/Improvising-Jazz-Fireside-Jerry-Coker/dp/0671628291

It's jazz-centric so feel free to skip some of the chapters where you find it not relevant, but there are good sections on getting a group off the ground and how to practice chord progressions as a group, from beginner to advanced topics. Quite an easy read. I think it helps to start with the jazz framework and then tailor them to meet your expectations.

-Find some piano players you like, acquire all their recorded music and listen to it all as much as humanly possible.
Thelionus Monk, Horace Silver & McCoy Tyner are some of my favorites. But its not like you could ever go wrong with Bill Evans, Art Tatum, Fats Waller, Oscar Peterson or many other famous names.

-Get a private teacher. Find the best one you can afford.

-Get the Jazz Piano Book

-Practice everyday. Work on technique, transcribe solos (a teacher will help with that), create your own exercises, etc.

EDIT: Practice with a metronome. Think of the beat of the metronome being on beats 2 & 4. So, if its set to 60bpm, you're actually playing at 120bpm. You're simply thinking of the click of the metronome as being on beats 2 and 4. Feel it, practice this like its going out of style. Beat this concept into your brain & bone marrow.

1-2(click)-3-4(click)

ask your teacher or see what books are in your public library. A lot of jazz theory books are firehoses of info, so maybe books like Bouchard that are gentler. Work thru them slowly/methodically/in small bites, read a little and be able to really hear/play what they're writing about.

jazzadvice.com has some beginner oriented stuff and Jens Larsen's youtube channel is great also


https://www.amazon.com/Intermediate-Jazz-Improvisation-Developing-Soloists/dp/1562240668

I have Exploring Jazz Arranging by Chuck Israels and like it. He does say in the book that not all that much has really changed harmonically since the days of Bach, so you'll definitely want to read up on traditional counterpoint as well. Besides that, maybe transcribing and analyzing full scores of arrangements you love? It'd be a lot of work, but you'd learn a ton.

It's not free, but I've heard a ton of people recommend this book. I haven't even gotten partially through it yet and I've learned a lot.

http://smile.amazon.com/Jazz-Theory-Book-Mark-Levine/dp/1883217040/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452998111&sr=8-1&keywords=jazz+theory+mark+levine

This one is amazing, but it requires some maturity and dedication.

The Salsa Guidebook would probably be what you're looking for.

Salsa Guidebook: For Piano and Ensemble https://www.amazon.com/dp/0961470194/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_uNgBzbDZ21R6R