
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I was putting on a 4th/5th grade Jazz themed concert and discovered this review. I was looking for kid friendly arrangements of famous jazz standards, and this fit the bill perfectly. Five of the selections were jazz classics, representing various styles of jazz, and one was an original piece written for the review. The teacher's edition included a script and choreography, as well as a very nice accompaniment CD that my students loved (much more fun than plain piano accompaniment). Even though I didn't use all the songs, or the script I felt my money was well spent on the 4 songs I did use. I chose not to use the original piece, "Gotta be Jazz" since I wanted only songs with historical context in my concert. I also passed on "Basin Street Blues" since I just don't find that particular song especially appealing (and since Basin Street is considered a red light district in New Orleans). "My Favorite Things" was a great hit. It allowed me to demonstrate how songs can be transformed into jazz style, and to introduce the students to John Coltrane's version of the song. "Route 66" and "Birdland" both allowed more expeditions into Jazz history. "It Don't Mean A Thing" was my personal favorite in the review, and I would have bought this book for that song alone. Most of the songs included two parts, but they all also worked well as unison pieces. I can not offer any advice on the choreography, since I didn't even look at it (I had my own ideas on what I wanted to do during each song).
I spent some time searching for Jazz standards for kids, and this was absolutely the best option out of everything I looked at. A good value for your money as well.
Click Here to see more reviews about:
Gotta Be Jazz Performance/Accompaniment CD (no dialog recorded)
Click here for more information about Gotta Be Jazz Performance/Accompaniment CD (no dialog recorded)
Read More...