AN IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT JAZZ ENSEMBLE ARRANGEMENTS

Nearly all of my jazz ensemble charts feature improvisation opportunities for any player, including and especially complex tunes like Charlie Parker's Yardbird Suite and Freddie Hubbard's Up Jumped Spring. I've unapologetically abandoned the chord progression during the solo sections. Instead, players get a single pentatonic scale over just one or two chords. 

My philosophy is simple: jazz improvisation is for everyone. Our youngest and most inexperienced learners must be given a fun space in which to be immediately successful. With this in mind, my arrangements solve a prevailing issue in the print music industry - much of the standard jazz repertoire involves chord progressions beyond the understanding of young musicians. 

This does not mean that we give up on teaching advanced concepts. But it does mean that we can do a better job of welcoming ALL students to come on board. 

Students in beginning band and middle school need these "springboard" experiences to develop an appreciation for the art form. This newfound experience may then one day translate into a deeper study of jazz harmony.