Count Basie Orchestra
- Splanky – Medium Swing
- April in Paris – Medium Swing
- Lil’ Darlin’ – Ballad
- Sweet Georgia Brown – Fast Swing
- Wind Machine – Fast Swing
Duke Ellington Orchestra
- Take the A Train – Medium Swing
- Caravan – Latin/Swing
- Sophisticated Lady – Ballad
- C Jam Blues – Medium Swing
- It Don’t Mean a Thing – Fast Swing
Glenn Miller Orchestra
- In the Mood – Medium Swing
- Little Brown Jug – Medium Swing
- Moonlight Serenade – Ballad
- Stardust – Ballad
- Song of the Volga Boatmen – Medium Swing
Benny Goodman Orchestra
- Sing, Sing, Sing – Fast Swing
- Why Don’t You Do Right – Medium Swing
- Bugle Call Rag – Fast Swing
- Ballad in Blue – Ballad
- St. Louis Blues – Medium Swing
Stan Kenton Orchestra
- Decoupage – Fast Swing
- Maleguena – Latin
- Early Autumn – Ballad
- Street of Dreams – Ballad
- Eager Beaver – Medium Up Swing
Woody Herman Orchestra
- Woodchopper’s – Fast Swing
- Sister Sadie – Fast Swing
- Four Brothers – Fast Swing
- Corazon – Rock/Funk
- La Fiesta – Latin
Charles Mingus Big Band
- Moanin’ – Fast Swing
- Goodbye Pork Pie Hat – Ballad
- Haitian Fight Song – Fast Swing
- Fables of Faubus – Medium Swing
- Don’t be Afraid, the Clown’s Afraid Too – Medium Swing
Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra
- The Groove Merchant – Medium Up Swing
- Cherry Juice – Fast Swing
- A Child is Born – Ballad
- Three in One – Medium Up Swing
- Don’t Git Sassy – Shuffle
Boss Brass
- Things Ain’t What They Used to Be – Shuffle
- T.O. – Fast Swing
- Imagination – Ballad
- The Waltz I Blew For You – Jazz Waltz
- Autumn in New York – Ballad
Maynard Ferguson Big Band
- Mira, Mira – Latin
- Birdland – Rock
- Scream Machine – Rock
- I Can’t Get Started – Ballad
- La Fiesta – Latin
Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra
- C Jam Blues – Medium Swing
- The Elephant in the Room – Fast Swing
- Begin the Begine – Latin
- Yes or No – Ballad
- Portrait of Louis Armstrong – Medium Swing
Maria Schneider Orchestra
- Hang Gliding – Jazz Waltz
- My Ideal – Ballad
- Choro Dancado – Latin
- Journey Home – Ballad
- Dance You Monster to My Soft Song – Fast Swing
What to listen to. … Recordings you can’t teach jazz without!
By Jeff Graham
Some Thoughts on Teaching Jazz
By Jeff Graham
The Real Answer on Improv
By Jeff Graham
Tom Taylor’s Tips
By Tom Taylor
The Jazz Ambassadors on a variety of topics from rhythm section to full band
Senior High
Warm-Up / Skill Building
Dorian Minor Scales and 7th Chords (Treble Clef)
Dorian Minor Scales and 7th Chords (Bass Clef)
Major Scales and 7th Chords (Bass Clef)
Major Blues Scales (Concert Bb)
Major Scales and 7th Chords (Treble Clef)
Dominant Scales and 7th Chords (Treble Clef)
Dominant Scales and 7th Chords (Bass Clef)
Junior High
Lesson #1
Lesson #2
Lesson #3
Lesson #4
Lesson #5
ommended Listening
Download Warm-up Exercises
Warm-ups in jazz band are an opportunity to build technical skills that will be of great benefit to young musicians, particularly as they work on their improvisation skills. Major and minor scales and chords, modes and blues scales should be part of a regular jazz band warm-up.
Younger musicians should focus on having the four most commonly used band key centers (Concert Bb, Eb, F and Ab) well “under their fingers” while high school aged musicians should aim to play these exercises in all 12 major keys.
- In straight and swing styles, play all major scales to the 9th degree ascending and descending and include the 7th degree below the root. (See Ex. 1)
- As a more advanced variation on scales, have students play them with the following pattern: 1 to 5 to 1 to 5 to 1 to 9 to 5 to 9 to 5 to 9 to 1-7-1 (See. Ex 2)
- Each of these exercises includes a basic ii-V – I progression for the purpose of working on tuning as being able to hear and identify this very common jazz progression. Either have students choose chord tones to play or assign them a chord tone.
- You may also consider adding rhythm elements to this standard progression instead of just playing quarter note, quarter note, half note.
To further technical development, try and include having students play minor scales in harmonic form using the same pattern including tuning the minor ii o – V – i chords. (See Ex. 3 & 4)
Major and Minor Blues scales are also valuable scales for students to learn in a variety of keys and should be included in warm ups.
- The formula for a Minor Blues Scale: 1 b3 4 #4 5 b7 8 b7 5 #4 4 b3 1 (See Ex. 5)
- The formula for a Major Blues Scale: 1 2 b3 3 5 6 8 9 b3 9 8 6 5 3 1 (See Ex. 6)
More advanced players, typically high school, should include scales and chords that come from the modes of the major scale.
- 1-9-1, 2-10-2, 3-11-3, etc. (See Ex. 7)
This may seem like a lot to do, but by tackling a little bit over an extended period of time students will gain good technical facility as well as a better understanding about chords and scales and their application to improvisation.
