2017/18 Repertoire List ~ JAZZ BAND
- Blue Suede Shoes
- Thriller
- Tropical Sunrise
- What Makes You Beautiful
- Oye Como Va
- Breezin'
- Thriller
- T.M.I.
- Drama For Your Mama
- No Clams, Just Oysters
The jazz ensemble is a group of advanced musicians from grades 5-8, which concentrates on the study, preparation, and performance of the various styles of jazz from past & present. We rehearse on Thursdays from 2:30 -3:45 pm. Students are expected to practice their music outside of rehearsal times and keep a folder of their jazz band music separate from other bands. They should be practicing a minimum of 4 twenty minute sessions on their own to prepare this music. The group performs at concerts, provides entertainment for community groups, and performs in regional festivals & contests for critique and awards.
Jazz Band is our top performing ensemble that will represent our school at both the community and state level. Students who choose this group are expected to be highly motivated and want to take their music to a very high level. They should be taking private lessons outside of school but it is not a requirement. This year we will base much of our music from Dean Sorenson's new book, "First Place in Jazz". This book is found in Smartmusic & uses the keys of Concert Bb, Eb & F with many different rhythmic styles ranging from Rock, Swing, Bossa, Funk & Latin. Listed below are some recordings I've made of songs from that book to assist you in your practicing. ENJOY!
In addition to preparing solos using the Concert Bb Blues Scale. Students will be learning to play the following jazz arrangements. You will see that recordings of previous years are still on this page. We may bring out older songs for some of our gigs!
(Listen to recordings of our music to help you practice!):
