Color Me Jazz, Book 1: Late Elementary Piano Book

Evans understands what motivates young pianists: genuine jazz language wrapped in pieces that sit comfortably under developing hands. This collection doesn't water down jazz conventions; instead, it introduces syncopation, blues changes, and walking bass in logical progression, giving students immediate access to a repertoire that sounds and feels authentically jazzy from piece one.

Relaxed but intentional. These pieces swing with an infectious groove while maintaining clarity in every voice. There's an immediate sense of ownership students feel when they first play authentic jazz idioms at their own level.

Late elementary pianists ready to expand beyond classical technique into a style that requires different rhythmic and harmonic thinking. Teachers seeking motivating jazz material that builds genuine musicianship rather than serving as a novelty supplement.

• Establish the walking bass pattern independently before combining it with the melody. Have students tap the bass line while singing the solo to internalize the conversation between voices.
• Treat syncopated rhythms as integral to phrasing rather than technical obstacles. Listen to recorded jazz to absorb how these rhythms land within the beat naturally.
• Keep the touch relaxed and let the twelve-bar blues form guide your harmonic listening. The structure repeats, which frees your mind to focus on articulation and swing feel.
• Record yourself playing and listen back specifically for consistency in accompaniment patterns. Students often tighten up rhythmically without realizing it.

Integrate this throughout the year as solos for student recitals, or program pieces as transitions between classical selections to showcase your studio's stylistic range. These work equally well as supplementary material in private lessons and as ensemble pieces if students perform them together.

• Syncopated rhythm reading and performance
• Twelve-bar blues harmonic structure
• Walking bass line coordination
• Bass ostinato patterns
• Jazz articulation and phrasing
• Left and right hand independence in a jazz context
• Swing feel and relaxed rhythmic placement