Best of Belwin Jazz: Young Jazz Collection for Jazz Ensemble: 4th B-flat Trumpet Book

Energetic and groove-oriented, with enough melodic interest to keep the section engaged through twelve very different moods. You'll swing through big band classics, drift into a ballad, lock into Latin and rock feels, and experience the satisfaction of playing real jazz literature written at your level.

Young jazz ensembles with developing players who need accessible but musically substantial material. This book works for intermediate and early advanced trumpet sections who can read with confidence and respond to stylistic direction.

• Listen to the conductor's recording before your first rehearsal to lock the groove and style of each chart. The rhythm section suggestions will make more sense once you hear how they sit in context.
• Find the pocket in the ensemble rhythmically. As a trumpet section, your entrance timing and articulation set the feel for everything that follows, especially in the swing and Latin tunes.
• Coordinate with other high voices on cut-offs and dynamic shapes. With only four trumpets, precision in section unity becomes more noticeable and more rewarding.
• Balance melody and background figures. Several arrangements feature layered trumpet writing where not all four parts carry the theme.

Build a jazz concert around this single collection, programming three or four selections across different styles for a complete evening. Alternatively, pick one or two charts as a feature within a mixed concert to show your ensemble's jazz chops alongside concert band or orchestra.

• Reading trumpet lines in swing and Latin feels with consistent articulation
• Listening for and maintaining ensemble groove and rhythmic alignment
• Balancing melody and background figures across four trumpet parts
• Interpreting written jazz solos and understanding harmonic context for future improvisation
• Responding to different dynamic and stylistic demands across twelve contrasting arrangements