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The debut book of a voice professor and soul/jazz recording artist has received kudos from legendary songtress Roberta Flack.

“Vocal Improvisation (Techniques in Jazz, R&B and Gospel Improvisation)” is the work of Gabrielle Goodman, an associate voice professor at Berklee College who is a vocal artist herself.

Goodman has worked with the likes of Flack and Chaka Khan.

“Working with Chaka Khan and Roberta Flack opened my ears as a musician and helped me to think critically about the melodic approach to singing,” Goodman explains on her Berklee profile.

“From Roberta, I learned that you must really know the melody of a song before you add improvisational lines. From Chaka, I learned to push my melodic ideas beyond all limits. I try to teach my students to challenge themselves in that way. Sometimes they limit themselves.”

Goodman’s book focuses on teaching singers how to improvise in jazz, soul and gospel and includes exercises in the respective styles of Flack, Khan, Beyonce and Aretha Franklin and the gospel singers, the Clark Sisters.

“Leave it to Gabrielle Goodman, seasoned pro that she is, to come with all of the answers for aspiring singers,” Flack said in a statement. “It is her generous nature, having worked with so many musicians and being a great one herself, that makes it easy for her to ‘give it up.’ She holds nothing back. This is not a scanner, but a guide to improved performance and an understanding of the singing voice of others and most importantly, one’s own.”