Color Jam: Bassoon
By Timothy Loest
Grade: 2.5
Item: 98-PC-DB1597_B1
$7.00
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Description
This short three-movement work cleverly explores the relationship between color and emotion. Red — The Color of Hot is set in a fiery funk style. The second movement, Blue — The Color of Cool, is an easy swing with a fun "dixie" section to feature a few of your top players. Yellow — The Color of Light features an energetic multi-meter melody that explores optimism and illumination. A wealth of styles and teaching opportunities in a single piece!
Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, Color Jam: Bassoon comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.
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Additional Details
Series:
FJH Young Band
Publisher:
The FJH Music Company, Inc.
SKU:
98-PC-DB1597_B1
More about this title
About the Composer: Timothy Loest
Timothy Loest has built a reputation across three decades of classroom teaching and prolific composition by writing music that engages young musicians without sacrificing musical substance. His works are performed by bands worldwide, and his impact extends beyond the concert hall through pedagogical partnerships with major publishers; in 2017, his composition Cloud Gate drew over 5,000 listeners at Chicago's Millennium Park, and that same year he received the Illinois Grade School Music Association's Cloyd Myers Memorial Award for Excellence in Music Education.
Loest's publishing career spans from 1995 to the present, with commissions and works appearing through Warner Bros. Publications, C.L. Barnhouse Company, The FJH Music Company, MakeMusic Publications, and his own Fanfare Music Press, founded in 2022. He is recognized as a contributor to several widely adopted band methods, including Measures of Success, Warm-ups and Beyond, and Rhythms and Beyond. His music has also reached television audiences on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Good Morning America, and other network programs. A graduate of Illinois State University and Northwestern University, Loest taught his entire career at F.E. Peacock Middle School in Itasca, Illinois, and holds membership in ASCAP and the Illinois Grade School Music Association.
Why we love this
Loest packs genuine stylistic variety into a manageable three-movement framework, giving your band exposure to funk, swing, dixie, and multi-meter writing in one rehearsal arc. The emotional scaffolding (heat, coolness, light) makes the color concept tangible for students rather than abstract, and the piece delivers real opportunities to feature your strongest players without relegating them to a separate "elite" piece.
What to expect
Color Jam pulses with youthful energy and emotional clarity. Red burns with attitude, Blue settles into a comfortable groove with nostalgic charm, and Yellow radiates forward motion and brightness, creating a concert arc that feels complete yet unpretentious.
Who it's for
This work suits Grade 2 to Grade 2.5 bands that have solid fundamentals and are ready to explore multiple musical styles within a single piece. Directors looking for concert repertoire that teaches swing, funk, and metric independence will find three compact movements that don't demand extensive arrangement time but deliver strong pedagogical payoff.
How to get the most out of it
- Lock the funk groove in Red by having the rhythm section (piano, bass, drums) rehearse the backbeat independently before the full band enters; this creates the pocket that lets the melodic lines sit naturally.
- Shape the swing feel in Blue deliberately in your early rehearsals; younger bands often rush swing eighth notes, so isolate the melody and accompaniment and establish the lilt before adding complexity.
- Prepare Yellow's metric shifts by having students count the measure lengths aloud during rehearsal; the multi-meter melody is energetic but requires clarity from all players to avoid everyone drifting back to 4/4.
- Use the dixie section in Blue as a solo opportunity rehearsal tool; feature your top players in smaller groups during sectionals so they arrive at the full band run with confidence.
How to use it
Program this as the centerpiece of a concert themed around style diversity, pairing it with a traditional march and a slower ballad to showcase your band's range. The three-movement structure also makes it suitable as a standalone feature in a shorter concert or as part of a longer program where you want a stylistic pivot point that keeps audiences engaged.
Skills your students will build
- Groove-based playing in funk and swing styles
- Reading and performing mixed meters (including multi-meter melodies)
- Ensemble cohesion in swing eighth-note feel
- Solo confidence through featured passages
- Style switching and musical flexibility within a single rehearsal sequence