Jazz For Baby

Does your youngster get excited about hearing music, or “reading” along with you?  Here are four picture books,  each including a CD that goes along with the book.  The books have heavy card stock pages with colorful illustrations.  Each page has a corresponding song on its CD.  The players in the  jazz band recording are some of New York City’s hottest young jazz players.

“Duck Ellington Swings Through the Zoo” is about Duck going to the zoo to relieve the boredom of the zoo animals with his jazz piano.  Things certainly liven up!  “Charlie Bird Counts to the Beat” tells the story of Charlie Bird playing his sax and counting up to ten.  Three Happy Hippos playing harmonicas never sounded so good!  “Mingus Mouse Plays Christmastime Jazz” is about Mingus Mouse, who, upon arriving at home for Christmas, realizes he hasn’t brought a present for his mom.  After a little brainstorming, he solves the problem.  (Sorry. You have to read the book.)

In “Nursery Rhyme Jazz“, we meet the main jazz characters, which include Ella the Elephant and a few more we haven’t mentioned, yet.  You have never heard nursery rhymes quite like this!  Delight your little one(s) with one or more of these wonderful books.  For more information about these, or other children’s books or songbooks, please contact us at 1-800-42-MUSIC, email us at keyboard@stantons.com, or visit our website, www.stantons.com.  Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

Music joke-o-the-month…

A professional orchestra committee was discussing repertoire for the upcoming season, and The Lt. Kiji Suite by Prokofiev was mentioned as a possibility.  The conductor was reluctant to program it because they would have to hire a saxophonist for the concert, and he just didn’t trust saxophone players.  After all, they played music in smoky night clubs, probably dabbled in drinking and drugs and their reliability seemed questionable since they stereotypically seemed to have a rather flippant “jazz attitude.”  The Personnel Director assured the conductor that he could find a reputable saxophone player that would be satisfactory, so it was agreed that they would program the piece.

At the first rehearsal for Lt. Kiji, the conductor was impressed that the saxophonist who had been hired was there before anyone else, waiting patiently while reading a music business periodical.  When it came time to play his part, he did it flawlessly, and added a level of musicality to the orchestra that they rarely exhibited.  Every rehearsal was the same, and the conductor’s respect for saxophonists and jazz players in general increased with every run-through.

After the dress rehearsal, the conductor happened to run into the saxophone player in the hallway backstage.  The conductor took the opportunity to thank the saxophonist for his professional posture and immense talent, adding that he had been admittedly reluctant to hire someone of the jazz ilk, but his worries had been eliminated by the excellent work ethic that had been exhibited.

The saxophonist replied, “Thanks, man!  I ‘preciate it.  By the way, I can’t make the gig, but I’ve got a sub coming!”

Preview New Music from Home!

As you begin looking at planning your Spring concert program, remember that you can preview music from Stanton’s before you decide to buy! We know that it’s difficult to tell if a particular piece of music will fit your needs without actually reading it through, so similar to checking things out from a library, you can “borrow” resources from our store using the “21 Day Trial” program!

Each of Stanton’s departments has slightly different guidelines about what/how many items can be sent on “21 Day Trial,” but in general we can send printed sheet music that is currently in stock. You can request items for trial by phone, email, fax, online or in person—any of the ways that you can place a regular order—but make sure that you specify “21 Day Trial.” You can list the music you’d like to peruse, or you can give us some specifications (like “Patriotic easy piano solos,” “SSA choral music on the theme of friendship,” or “new publications for 8th grade jazz band”) and Stanton’s knowledgeable staff will find some suggestions for you!

We require account or credit card information so that if you choose to keep the music we can charge you accordingly, or return the music within 21 days of your invoice date and you’ll never be charged! (You’ll just have to pay return shipping to get the music back to us.)

Contact us now to request your trial, and then you won’t have to rush around once you’re done with Contest or back from Spring break! Shop Stanton’s for all your sheet music needs!

Jazz Road Trip!!

2 guys, 1 van, and about 50 boxes of jazz!

Stanton’s Sheet Music exhibited at the 4th Annual Jazz Education Network Conference at the Hyatt Regency Peachtree in Atlanta, GA on January 2-5, 2013. Ben (The Jazz Guy) and Ken from our instrumental department filled a van with big band charts, Real Books, and jazz play-alongs and headed south the day after New Year’s for the annual jazz hang.

Thursday morning was load-in and booth set-up, with an Exhibitors’ Welcome from 5:30-7:30 p.m., followed by two solid days of exhibition. Students, educators and jazz luminaries alike perused and purchased jazz books and charts from the Stanton’s booth.

We saw many friends from Columbus and around Ohio, – you know, all the Ohio jazz people head to Atlanta to see each other! – as well as publisher friends from Hal Leonard, Alfred, Kendor, and Mike Carubia of Smart Chart Music.

Musically we got to check out Kris Berg and the Metroplexity Big Band on Thursday night, hear bits of the ChiArts Jazz Sextet (these 16-17 year olds can not only play, but play with maturity!), and caught part of the rehearsal/sound check with Bob Mintzer and Jeff Coffin with the University of Kentucky saxophone ensemble. We also each got to take in a session – Ben went to Dave Liebman’s session on chromaticism in jazz playing, and Ken attended Jeff Coffin’s session on listening to classic saxophone recordings from Coleman Hawkins to Ornette Coleman.

Jeff Coffin

Other highlights included meeting Wycliffe Gordon and Victor Goines (Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra/Wynton Marsalis Septet), pianist Lynne Arriale shopping our booth, legendary bassist Bob Cranshaw (Sonny Rollins/Sesame Street) looking for a recommendation for a piano voicing book – yes, we found one for him!, talking with Gordon Goodwin about digital downloading of jazz charts and the challenges of international shipping, and Ken finally meeting saxophonist Jeff Coffin (Dave Matthews Band/Bela Fleck & the Flecktones/the Mu’tet).

As always, the music and conference were great, exhibit traffic was solid, and if you find yourself in Atlanta, we have some tasty restaurant recommendations – check out Pittypat’s Porch and Max Lager’s!

Teaching Jazz with Freddie the Frog!

Introduce jazz to your elementary students with through the engaging world of “Freddie the Frog!”

In “Freddie the Frog and the Flying Jazz Kitten,” Freddie finds adventure again when some cool jazz cats fly their plane to Treble Clef Island to pick up a new horn. With the help of the Flying Jazz Kitten and a swingin’ beat, Freddie becomes a jazz sensation. The enclosed audio CD includes the dramatized story, sing-along songs and an instrumental blues track to create your own special scat.

Scat singing is the easiest way for kids to begin developing their jazz chops, but singing nonsense syllables as a soloist can be unnerving. The “Scat Singing for Kids” teacher’s guide contains a detailed step-by-step process that creates a “safe zone.” Using this guide, in partnership with the “Scat Words” flash cards, will help you lead even the most insecure student to uninhibited scattin’ fun!

You can separately purchase Freddie’s 5th Adventure “The Flying Jazz Kitten” Book/CD, the “Scat Words” flashcard set, and the “Scat Singing for Kids” teacher’s guide, or buy all three products together in one, cost-saving bundle! All of these products are in stock and ready to ship from Stanton’s.

Who You Gonna Call?

We’re always talking about our knowledgeable staff—you’ll find that very phrase on much of our printed advertising, as well as on our website. Stanton’s sales staff is separated into departments to ensure that each staff member is well informed about a specific area of the wide variety of music that we carry. So when you call and ask about music for trumpet, you’ll be speaking with someone who has first-hand knowledge of repertoire, not just a phone operator with no musical experience. Here’s what you’ll find in each department:

CHORAL DEPARTMENT (ex. 1)
Choral Music for School & Church
Elementary General Music
Classical Solo Vocal
Handbell

BAND DEPARTMENT (ex. 2)
Concert Band
Marching Band
Jazz Ensemble
Orchestra
Solos for all concert instruments
Instrumental Method Books
Music Software/Technology

POP/KEYBOARD (ex. 3)
Sacred & Secular Piano
Organ
Piano Method Books
Popular/Broadway Solo Vocal
Contemporary Christian Vocal
Guitar Solos and Methods
Music for Folk Instruments

You can direct emails to the exact department you need by clicking the links above, or press the appropriate extension when you call 1-800-42-MUSIC. If you’re unsure of which department to choose, we’re always happy to direct you to whoever can best address your needs. At Stanton’s, it is important to us that you receive the most educated answers to your questions and the finest music recommendations.

Why didn’t she just scat?

So a little jazz combo with a female vocalist were performing at a big city nightclub one night, when a wealthy patron strolled up with a fifty dollar tip and a request for “When Sunny Gets Blue.”  For that kind of money from that kind of customer, the band leader was willing to do anything, so he said, “Sure, we’ll be happy to do that one for you!”

As the generous tipper walked back to his table, the singer confessed to the band leader that she wasn’t sure she knew all the lyrics.  He told her, “Don’t worry, we’ve all done this tune for years – one of us can feed you the next line if you draw a blank.”

They kicked off the tune, and the singer crooned, “When Sunny Gets Blue…” and her brain froze – she couldn’t think of the next line.  All the horn players had their instruments in their mouth so she looked at the bass player beseechingly to give her a cue.

He looked back at her with a quizzical expression and said, “B flat minor seven!”

Did you know?…

At Stanton’s Sheet Music, we vicariously help teach your students with you! It’s true…We look through hundreds of new titles every summer and choose the select few that we would use if we were teaching.  These are the titles we share with you in our promotions on-line and in the mail.

So if you are thinking:
“Why should I spend my time looking at Stanton’s promotions?”
It’s because:
• Stanton’s Staff has already spent hours looking at and listening to hundreds of new titles.
• They have picked pieces at all levels that they would use if they were teaching.
• Their aim is to make your life easier and to help you succeed.

And if you are thinking:
“Why is Stanton’s Staff qualified to make these recommendations?”
It’s because:
• Stanton’s Staff is made up of college-trained musicians.
• Some of them have taught in the public schools and many teach privately.
• They know what has proven to be successful for Stanton’s customers over the years.

And if you are thinking:
“Why did Stanton’s Staff pick these particular pieces to recommend to me?”
It’s because:
Stanton’s only selects pieces that they believe are
• The most educationally valid
• The best sounding
• The most highly programmable

So if you are thinking:
“I can’t go wrong with Stanton’s Choices!”
It’s because:
• You’re right!

Esperanza Spalding-Chamber Music Society

Esperanza‘s “Chamber Music Society”  is the album that helped her win the 2011 Grammy for best new artist!

Here is the sheet music collection, which includes all eleven songs.  Bass parts are written out, and all the notes for her scat singing are present-you fill in the syllables!  Now that you’ve heard the music, you can play it. If you haven’t heard this album, check out her website and give it a listen!

To check out this album or anything else musical you may be interested in, please contact us at 1-800-42-MUSIC or email us at keyboard@stantons.com.

Esperanza Spalding

Esperanza Spalding is an exciting, up-and-coming  jazz artist whose debut album, “Esperanza” has just come into print. She won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist at the 53rd Grammy Awards in 2011,  making her the first jazz artist to win that award.   Her skills as an instrumentalist and vocalist make her shine in this album, in which she sings in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.   This collection is worth a good look!

Please contact us at 1-800-42-MUSIC or at keyboard@stantons.com to inquire about this collection or other Stanton’s products.