Grade 5+ Jazz Ensemble Sheet Music

Teachers keep coming back to Hank Levy's Whiplash for its combination of accessibility and genuine challenge. Gordon Goodwin's The Jazz Police and Hunting Wabbits are also widely adopted, offering the kind of driving arrangements that engage both student performers and audiences. Alan Menken's Beauty and the Beast and Eddie Harris's Freedom Jazz Dance round out the core working collection for most ensembles at this level.

Jim Snidero has added four new titles to the collection this year: River Suite, Slipping Away, Forever Gone, and Ventura. Fred Lacey's Theme For Ernie and Jerry Livingston's It's the Talk of the Town also arrived recently.

Gordon Goodwin brings three decades of television and film experience to his jazz writing. He began composing full works at five years old and wrote his first big band chart at thirteen. His prolific output here (90 titles) includes The Jazz Police and Hunting Wabbits, both perennial favorites that combine playability with genuine sophistication.

Jim Snidero is recognized as one of the finest jazz musicians of his generation. As an alto saxophonist, composer, arranger, and educator, he's been called a "master musician" and "alto saxophone virtuoso" by Downbeat Magazine. His recent additions to this collection (River Suite, Slipping Away, Forever Gone, Ventura) reflect his ongoing commitment to writing for ensembles at all levels.

Eric Richards serves on the composition faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and has had his work performed by major ensembles including the Boston Pops Orchestra and the USAF Airmen of Note at prestigious venues like Carnegie Hall and the Montreux Jazz Festival. His arrangements here bring a composer's ear and a teacher's practical understanding of what ensemble players need.

Billy Strayhorn's influence on jazz composition remains significant nearly a century later. His collaboration with Duke Ellington, which began in 1939, shaped the sound of American jazz. Strayhorn remains one of the most recorded jazz composers in the repertoire, and his works in this collection continue to define the standard for teaching jazz ensemble arranging.