This fun version of our national anthem is dedicated to all the band kids that have to stand or sit quietly through endless school ceremonies only to play a few notes. This arrangement is sort of a Dixieland march that should spice up any school function!

Have fun!

"Sock Hop Be-Bop" is a fun 60s inspired groovy tune designed for young bands. It’s got a bit of chromatic fun for the saxes and punchy brass shots. Solos are for anyone!

Other features:

• Lead tumpet to G
• Solos are Blues scale based

Tango! puts a fresh spin on any young bands' library. It features some slinky Alto Saxophone and is a good opportunity to teach about the Harmonic Minor scale and maybe world music in general.

Other Features:

• Lead trumpet to G
• Clapping parts for the horns
• Improvising on the Harmonic Minor scale

This song is a romantic Lullaby in 3/4 about the beautiful Japanese cherry blossom tree or Sakura. It is a ballad featuring the trombone. This selection is a good opportunity to teach about 3/4 time in jazz.

Other features:

• Lead trumpet to G
• Improvising is beginner level

"Game on!" is a driving rock tune that’s a nice closer for your set. It’s a high energy feel that your students can really dig in on. The melody is catchy moves along with a purpose. A great crowd pleaser! Sample solos are provided for Alto and Tenor Sax.

Other features:

• Easy rock feel
• Optional fills for drums provided

"At Long Last" is a romantic, smooth Bossa Nova ballad featuring improvising for any horn. This is a great tune to teach your students about quiet blend and balance throughout the band.

Other features:

• Melody across sections
• Full band unison soli
• Improvising on C major scale

"Hotel Mambo" is a fun latin tune for young bands inspired by the classic mambo band sound. It features the saxophone section on the repeated mambo figure and the trumpets on the melody. The solo section is written for trombone solo, with a later section open for drums to improvise.

Other features:

• Fun ostinato
• Clapping parts for the horns
• Improvising on the mixolydian scale

"Pete’s Chune" is a Reggae chart dedicated to my high school teacher Pete Scherzinger. He told me one day that no one ever writes Reggae for big band. While now they do! This tune is a relaxed feel that’s somewhere between cut time and regular 4/4. The little melodies throughout should be played as if they were being sung.

"Train Track" is a groove tune emulating riding the rails. It features string unison sax work and some fun "train whistle" wah-wah’s in the brass. The bridge section has a old school T.V. cop show vibe. Improvising is for anyone and is on the blues scale.

Other features:

• Trumpet to G
• Saxophone and brass trading section
• Easy brass parts

"All Your Base" is a medium rock tune written by versatile composer and guitarist Erik Patterson. It drives with a fun sense of urgency and features some rhythm section shots and some independent saxophone work. The name derives from internet gaming. See if your students can figure it out.

Andy Says: "'Shuswap Shuffle" is named for beautiful Shuswap Lake in British Columbia. The piece was written with high school-level bands in mind and combines an accessible high-energy feel with some rhythmic and technical challenges. One important consideration for the band director is the creation of an authentic shuffle feel. Although written in 4/4 the underlying feel is 12/8, with all eighth notes played in a long-short triplet subdivision."

Andy Says: "The tune is essentially a long-form blues in F with a clapping 'breakdown' section followed by a more rock-oriented section in G for your guitar player to solo on before the melody is restated in a D.S. al fine. I’ll admit the feel on the guitar solo is closer to Magic Bus by "The Who" than a real Mississippi blues!"

“Gentlemen” is a slinky laid back rock tune written by versatile composer and guitarist Erik Patterson. It features all sections on an easy melody and has fun and simple chord changes to improvise on. It also has easy brass and rhythm section parts, and a written out guitar line.

Other Features:

• Easy trombone melody sections
• Fun guitar part

“La Cattura” is a Funky 70s rock tune by guitarist Erik Patterson. It’s inspiration comes from the genre of Spaghetti westerns. It has a catchy minor vibe and is felt in 2 throughout. It’s epic feel feature some strong sax section work as well as some great brass backgrounds.

Other Features:

• Fun guitar part
• Solos for alto or tenor sax
• Easy brass parts

“Cowboy Countdown” is a relaxed swinging bluesy tune that’s easy to line dance to! It was written to capture a bit of that cowboy swagger. It features blues scale improvising for any instrument, a simple call and response section and a raucous tag at the end that is sure to get your audience tapping along. This was recorded by the University of Toronto 10 o'clock Jazz Orchestra.

Other features:

• Very sectional writing
• Easy trombone parts
• Stop time section

“La Squadra Di Milano” is another great and groovy grade 1 rock tune thats more of a strut. It was inspired my Italian cop movies. It’s got some easy rhythms that are great for beginner bands but is still very musical and a lot of fun. It has melody sections in the saxes and as a full band and features a solo section written for alto sax. The attitude really comes though the music and will have your band wanting to play it week in and week out.

“Stone Cold Strut” is a high energy rock tune with a great jump feel to it. This one is sure to get your audience’s head bopping and features strong section playing throughout. The rhythmic figures are simple but effective and the solo section is written for Tenor Sax. Check out the great build at the end!

“Branta” is a smooth minor salsa tune composed to feature flute. It’s a very memorable yet accessible chart which is a great introduction to latin music for a young band. Other than flute melody the chart also features some fun sax section work and easy brass parts.

“Moatfield Shuffle” is a straight-ahead swinger with solos for horns and rhythm section. The melody is designed to place emphasis on basic rhythm reading skills, with subtle variations to keep things interesting.

“Blue Heron” is a cool jazz modal blues inspired by one of Ontario’s most majestic birds. It’s very representative of the cool jazz movement of the 1950’s made famous by Miles Davis which caught on strongly in the west coast. The melody is featured in the alto sax, tenor sax, and trumpet, then unison melodies in the saxes vs the brass. It’s a great way to introduce your students to section playing. Improvising can be for any player. !