Three big band charts I wrote for middle school jazz bands are now available on PDF Jazz Music. All three of these charts include chord voicings for guitar and piano and sample bass line. There are also some sample solos included, although each of these charts would be useful for introducing different improvisation topics to young jazz students.
I wrote Nogueira Amarga for the Northview Middle School Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of David Wortman. It’s a bossa nova that is based around a two-chord vamp, making it an easy introduction to improvisation since the students can choose notes from just a major pentatonic scale or major scale.
Blackhawk Blues was composed for Mary Jo Sparrow’s North Buncombe Middle School Jazz Ensemble. It also includes sample voicings, bass line, and solos. As you would guess from the title, Blackhawk Blues makes for a good introduction to blues scale, minor pentatonic scale, and blues form.
Like the other two, Tyson Tunes Up includes voicings, bass line, and solos. I wrote this chart for Tyson Hamrick’s jazz band at Owen Middle School. This chart is a touch more challenging than the other two. Each of the horn sections gets the chance to play some melodies. This chart is based on rhythm changes and includes hints at other famous tunes that use the same chord progressions.
You can view scores and hear recordings of these charts on my page over at PDF Jazz Music. One interesting things about the recordings of those three charts is that they were made with just 4 musicians. I had three friends play the drums, bass, and saxophone parts. I recorded all the brass parts and the piano on those recordings.
