Well, I'm afraid that spring break is over, but now we get to make the final push towards our two major spring performances, Jazz Night and the Spring Band Concert. I've spent my break doing a lot of arranging for the bands. Here's a quick recap:
- "Blue Rondo a la Turk" by Dave Brubeck - full jazz band arrangement of the original quartet version
- "Radio Song" by Esperanza Spalding - full arrangement for the Choraliers and our Jazz Band
- solo guidelines for "Four" by Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson to help the Jazz Band practice improvising
- "It Don't Mean a Thing" and "Sophisticated Lady" by Duke Ellington - very short band arrangements for SB and WE - we'll be studying this great American composer this week
Add to this some JB quiz grading, MT test grading, and assigning parts for new CB and WE music, and it's been a full week! I'm ready for the spring--are you? Just look at the list of great topics we'll be exploring over the next two months in our classes: Leonard Bernstein, Duke Ellington, and the Blues (SB/WE); Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Latin American music (CB); ethnomusicology and American pop music (MT); and some to-be-determined surprises (JB). It promises to be exciting and rewarding. Are you ready to dig in? I hope so!
Here's something to whet your appetite. Imagine how this will sound at Jazz Night as performed by the Choraliers and JB:
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