Intermediate Jazz Conception: Trombone: Trombone Book & CD

This book cuts through generic jazz etude collections by pairing accessible material with genuinely expert instruction. The rhythm section lineup (Hazeltine, Washington, Washington) brings professional authority to every recorded example, giving your students a real standard to emulate rather than demonstration recordings that gloss over the details. What pushes this beyond typical method books is the improvisation appendix with 95+ transcribed lines and ideas; students get both the etude framework and concrete vocabulary to build from.

Practical and direct. These etudes don't sentimentalize jazz or hide behind complexity; they're built on standards and blues changes that trombonists will encounter regularly, presented with clarity and swing. The recorded examples set a conversational tone, as if you're learning in a master class rather than working through abstract exercises.

Intermediate trombonists serious about jazz syntax and who benefit from structured transcription work alongside professional-level accompaniment. Players ready to move beyond lead sheets and into the nuances of how improvisation actually sounds in real time.

• Listen through both versions of each etude before drilling the notes. Hearing the soloist in context first helps students understand phrasing and time feel rather than attacking rhythm mechanically.
• Practice without the soloist track to build independence and intonation confidence, then bring it back in as a reference standard for how the etude should sit in the pocket.
• Mine the improvisation appendix intentionally. Don't treat it as reference material; extract one or two lines per week and work them through all twelve keys to build muscle memory and harmonic awareness.
• Record your students playing along with the rhythm section. Playback reveals timing issues and phrasing habits that sound fine in the moment but need refinement.

Assign etudes as weekly sight-reading and improvisation homework for intermediate jazz ensemble members, rotating through one etude per rehearsal cycle. The book also works as a solo or small-group warm-up sequence, especially the scales and nomenclature section, which pairs well with daily practice routines.

• Reading and executing jazz articulation and phrasing in standard and modal contexts
• Building improvised solos over blues and jazz changes using transcribed vocabulary
• Developing pitch accuracy and time feel with professional rhythm section accompaniment
• Understanding jazz nomenclature and harmonic function across multiple tune types
• Transposing lines and ideas to all twelve keys for tonal independence