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!

“Jazz Warm-Ups and Vocalises”

Jazz Warm-Ups and Vocalises by Gary Walth is a perfect set of warm-ups for the vocal jazz ensemble that’s designed to enhance and stimulate the growth of each member’s vocal and choral ability. Thinking of the warm-up as a “mini voice lesson,” you can reinforce concepts with consistent encouragement, criticism, problem-solving and praise. This practical volume will help the conductor provide purposeful leadership and develop artistry in each individual through exercises that build styles such as Swing, Latin and Rock using solfege and scat syllables as well as tone and blend in ballad style. Each exercise includes a notated keyboard accompaniment with multiple modulations and professional recordings of a rhythm section and singers performing each drill on the enclosed CD.

Please contact us for more exciting resources for your jazz choir!

Dave Liebman in town!

At Stanton’s Sheet Music we’re always looking to give our customers and blog readers a “heads up” on extraordinary musical happenings in and around central Ohio. For all of the in-the-know jazz fans out there, NEA Jazz Master Dave Liebman will be playing two shows at the Vonn Jazz Supperclub on November 2. This concert is being sponsered by the Jazz Arts Group of Columbus. Liebman has been active on the jazz scene for over 40 years and has been a part of many classic performances and recordings most notably with Elvin Jones and Miles Davis. A prominent leader in his own right, he has many recordings under his own name as well. Dave Liebman also has a vast body of work as a jazz education author and clinician. Visit the Jazz Section at the Stanton’s Sheet Music website and click on the Liebman tab. Be sure to shop Stanton’s Sheet Music for all of your jazz sheet music needs, wants and desires!

Time to review!

Every now and then a great textbook comes along that just can’t be beat. Such is the case with JAZZ PEDAGOGY, The Jazz Educator’s Handbook and Resource Guide.

Written in 2002 by Dick Dunscomb and Dr. Willie Hill, this book continues to be the benchmark “go to” book for newbie teachers and veterans alike. Granted, some of the references to technology and specific big band arrangements are a bit outdated, the rest of the book is chock full of applicable material from advocacy to the nuts and bolts of rehearsing a band.

A weakness that all jazz educators will confess to is a propensity to “teach to what you know”. Nowhere is this more apparent than when dealing with rhythm sections in a big band. The practical background of many jazz educators is a wind instrument and the rhythm section becomes the elephant in the room that is almost an afterthought. Directors rehearse important things like intonation and rhythm but end up ignoring the ALL important jazz concepts like form, time and feel. Those aspects of jazz all trickle down from the rhythm section and effect the performance of all members of the ensemble.

Anyway… off of my soapbox now! JAZZ PEDAGOGY is the resource I go to at the start of every school year to review what to do with my rhythm section to get them up to speed in a hurry. The students appreciate it too! Once they hear what happens when you use the correct voicing or play the correct style, they’ll begin to understand their responsibility and place in the ensemble.

JAZZ PEDAGOGY… get it today from Stanton’s Sheet Music!

The Jazz Guy

Buttermilk Pie

OK, it’s time for some dessert! Actually, it’s always time for some dessert!

This recipe is pretty close to the one served up at The Cabin Restaurant about 50 miles west of New Orleans. It goes especially well with that special blend of chicory and coffee from the Cafe Du Monde, which can be purchased in gourmet food stores or online.

Here it is!

Ingredients
3 eggs
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups white sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 tablespoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees C).
2.Beat eggs until frothy; add butter, sugar and flour. Beat until smooth.
3.Stir in buttermilk, vanilla, lemon juice and nutmeg; pour into pie shell.
4.Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until center is firm.

Top this with some seasonal berries and mmm!!! ’nuff said!

To enhance your delightful and delectable dessert experience, put the CD The Marsalis Family – A Jazz Celebration on the old virtual 21st century turntable. Featuring all of the Marsalis family musicians under the leadership of Papa Ellis, this is the essence of good jazz and authentic but contemporary N’awlins music.

Then… after a long nap, grab your axe and workout with Jamey Aebersold’s Volume 100 featuring all of your Dixieland standards.

The Jazz Guy
Stanton’s Sheet Music

Letters from Camp 3

Greetings again from the Aebersold Summer Workshop!

Well the homework of last night paid off! After listening numerous times to John Coltrane playing “Countdown” and finding the harmonic patterns in the changes, I was able to navigate the musical minefield relatively unscathed in rehearsal today. Whew!

Theory this morning with David Baker was just as enlightening and intense as it was the first day. Much of the material he’s covering can be found in his book one of How To Play Bebop, published by Alfred Publishing Company.

One of the afternoon sessions every day is a master class for each of the individual instruments. Dr. Ansyn Banks, jazz trumpet professor at the University of Louisville, used a number of books in his session that may be found on the shelves at Stanton’s Sheet Music. In particular the Jamey Aebersold Play Along Series, volumes 16, 21, 24, 47 and 84. Also The Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine and Dr. Banks’ own book, Trumpet Synthesis.

I need to give a shout out to Columbus’ own world class jazz organist, Bobby Floyd. Bobby was one of the featured musicians during the faculty concert tonight and absolutely brought the house down. When you’re in Columbus, you need to find out where Bobby Floyd is playing and give yourself a treat.

This will be my last blog from the Jazz Workshop. If you want to find out more about the educational opportunities available through Jamey Aebersold check out Jamey’s website.

That’s all for now!
The Jazz Guy

Letters from Camp 2

Wow! The end of the first full day at the 2011 Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshop!

I’ve been fortunate enough to be placed in the theory class with David Baker (that’s him in the picture) and Jerry Coker’s combo. Those gentleman are two of the absolute giants in jazz education and literally wrote the book(s). It’s a real honor and the chance of a lifetime to get to work one on one with both of them.

Tomorrow promises to be more of the same… theory classes, combo rehearsals, piano classes, masterclasses, etc. One very cool thing tomorrow will be the opportunity to jam with the rhythm section instructors!

I’m afraid this blog is a bit short. It’s 11:00pm and I have reading and study to do before turning in.

More tomorrow!

The Jazz Guy

Ben’s Letters from Camp

Greetings from the 2011 Jamey Aebersold Summer Jazz Workshop! I’m here with over 370 participants at the University of Louisville for an intense week of clinics, combos and concerts. The student musicians range in age from pre-teen to octogenarians (thankfully I’m somewhere in the middle) and come from 27 different countries.

Today, all of the attendees arrived on campus and auditioned for combos between noon and 4pm. We also took a theory placement test to determine the most appropriate set of sessions for the week. We’ll find out the results in the morning when we show up at 8:30am for the first session.

This evening we were treated to a concert in Comstock Hall from 7:30pm to 10pm by a number of the workshop clinicians. The teaching staff is really an all-star group including Rufus Reid, Lynn Seaton, Tyrone Wheeler, Ed Soph, Bobby Floyd, Steve Allee, Dan Haerle, Jim Carroll, Jim Snidero, Pat Harbison, Jim Ketch and of course, Jamey Aebersold.

All of the fun starts tomorrow morning with an 8:30am theory class (sounds like some early college classes I once took) followed by jazz musicianship sessions, combo rehearsals, master classes, piano voicings class and evening faculty concerts. The day wraps up with jam sessions from 10pm to 11:30pm.

AND, just in case you’re worried, I do plan to try out some of the local cuisine during the hour and a half we get for dinner.

The Jazz Guy

Mother’s Restaurant

The first stop for New Orleans travelers in-the-know and for locals looking to put a good feed on is Mother’s Restaurant. The line for this fine eatery many times extends beyond their threshold allowing the aromas of crawfish etouffee and cornbread to waft out across the corner of Poydras and Tchoupitoulas.

Here’s their incredible recipe for Seafood Gumbo.

4 – Lbs okra — fresh or frozen
6 – Cups onions – medium diced
2 – Cups rendered ham fat o oil
1 – Cup bell pepper — medium diced
1 – Cup celery — medium diced
1 – Tbsp tomato puree
2 – Tsp salt
1/4 – Tsp thyme
1 – Pinch cayenne
1/4 – Tsp white pepper
1/4 – Tsp black pepper
1/4 – Cup garlic — minced
1 – Ea bay leaf
4 – qts crab stock
1/2 – Cup brown roux
2 – Cups oyster and oyster water
2 – Lbs shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 – Cups lump crabmeat
2 – Cups claw crabmeat
1 – Cup green onion chopped

In large roasting pan, mix together okra, 2 cups onion and 1/2 cup rendered ham fat. Place in 350 degree oven until the slime is cooked out of the okra, approximately 1 hour. Stir frequently to keep okra from sticking and burning. When slime is cooked out remove okra from oven and set aside.

In a large stock pot heat 1/2 cup ham fat on high heat and saute’ 2 cups onion, 2 cups bell pepper and 1 cup celery until caramelized, approximately 5 minutes. Add tomato puree simmer for about 5 minutes. Add salt, thyme, cayenne, white and black pepper and garlic. Cook until you smell the garlic, approximately 1 minute. Add cooked okra, add hot crab stock, bring to boil and reduce to a simmer, let simmer for about hour to an hour and a half. Whisk in cold roux and bring back to a simmer let simmer for a few minutes, add Oysters and shrimp cook until shrimp are tender add crab meat bring back to a simmer, remove and cool.

To accompany this jazz festival for your palette, put some Dr. John on the Victrola and kick back with a sweet tea.

Once you’ve had a long nap, you’ll want to check out the three volumes of  Dr John Teaches New Orleans Piano. Who knows… maybe you’ll be able to land a gig playing in the French Quarter!

- The Stanton’s Jazz Guy

April is Jazz Appreciation Month!

This April is the 10th Anniversary of Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM!) As always, there are many ways to commemorate this unique American art form.

JAM’s 2011 theme honors the history of overlooked musicians, “Women in Jazz: Transforming a Nation.” The programs at National Museum of American History will tell the story of the International Sweethearts of Rhythm, and their beginnings at Piney Woods School in Mississippi, “the school that music built.” The Sweethearts gained global recognition as the nation’s first integrated female band, founded in 1937. Like many other women at the time, the Sweethearts confronted dual biases of gender and race and excelled during a period in history when many Southern blacks lived in slavery without chains and women were second class citizens. Another female jazz pioneer, Mary Lou Williams, is the face of this year’s celebrations; her portrait by Keith Henry Brown is the centerpiece for JAM’s poster.

In honor of JAM 2011, Stanton’s Sheet Music is highlighting the compositions of Maria Schneider. A disciple and student of the great Gil Evans, Schneider’s music is introspective and moving. Check out these following compositions.

Baytrail Shuffle
Bird Count
City Sunrise
In a Pinch
Smooth Talk