Best of Belwin Jazz: Young Jazz Collection for Jazz Ensemble: 3rd Trombone Book

Moving through a real jazz repertoire that spans the emotional landscape: the drive of swing charts like Sing, Sing, Sing and Stompin' at the Savoy, the spacious calm of a ballad arrangement, the infectious pulse of Latin grooves like Sambeando. The 3rd trombone discovers the joy of harmonic support that shapes the ensemble's color.

Developing jazz trombonists in middle school and early high school ensembles who are ready to engage with authentic jazz idioms and written improvisation. This book works for players navigating their first or second year in a jazz band setting.

• Listen to the full ensemble recording first to hear how the 3rd trombone line sits in the section voicing and where you anchor the harmonic foundation.
• Practice the written solos with the recording at slow speed, focusing on matching the articulation and phrasing of the original before attempting the charted tempo.
• Mark your section swell points in ballads like My Funny Valentine; even a background line benefits from shape and breathing room.
• Lock the rhythm section groove during rehearsal by playing without the melody, establishing where your line lands rhythmically in Latin and rock charts.

Build a jazz concert program by selecting three or four contrasting titles from this collection—perhaps a swing opener, a ballad, a Latin number, and an uptempo closer. The variety within a single book also makes it ideal for pacing a semester's worth of jazz band repertoire without hunting across multiple publishers.

• Reading written jazz solos and interpreting swing articulation and phrasing
• Understanding 3rd trombone harmonic function and voice leading in jazz voicings
• Playing in Latin, rock, and ballad grooves with appropriate feel and punctuation
• Blend and balance within the trombone section across multiple styles
• Interpreting chord symbols and harmonic density from a section player's perspective