The Breed Is Funkin': B-flat Instruments Book & 2 CDs

Weniger strips away the pretense of jazz pedagogy and gets straight to the core skill that matters: locking into a groove. The recorded accompaniments on these CDs are tight, stylistically authentic, and relentless in their pocket, which means students can't fake their way through a phrase. Each piece includes written context about its structure and feel, so you're not just handing students sheet music and a recording; you're teaching them to think about funk and jazz as living, breathing rhythmic traditions.

Contemporary funk with jazz harmonies underneath. The grooves are accessible and immediately recognizable, but the harmonic language keeps things interesting. You'll hear sharp articulation, syncopated rhythms that sit just off the beat, and accompaniments that are recorded with professional clarity and pocket. The overall feel is confident and modern, built for students who want to play something that sounds genuinely good.

Clarinet, trumpet, and tenor or soprano saxophone players at the intermediate to advanced high school level who are ready to move beyond reading notes and into understanding feel, pocket, and stylistic nuance. This set works best with ensembles or private students who have solid sight-reading skills and want to develop their jazz and funk vocabulary in a structured, listening-based way.

• Listen to the recorded accompaniment several times before attempting to play along. Weniger's grooves sit in specific places in the pocket, and hearing them first gives your students a map of where to land.
• Lock into the rhythm section's feel rather than counting strict beats. These arrangements reward players who listen to the bass and drums and respond to their energy.
• Pay attention to the stylistic notes Weniger provides for each piece. The difference between straight eighths and shuffled eighths, or between a laid-back feel and a driving one, lives in these details and shapes how the melody should breathe.
• Play the recorded accompaniment at a slower tempo during initial rehearsals, then gradually increase speed. The grooves are designed to be felt, not rushed.

Use these pieces in a jazz ensemble context where you want to isolate and strengthen individual melodic voices against a full rhythm section foundation. They also work well as recital or contest repertoire for intermediate jazz soloists, especially if you're looking for contemporary original works that showcase both technical control and stylistic maturity. The 11 titles give you enough variety to program 2-3 pieces across different concerts or to rotate them throughout a semester of ensemble rehearsals.

• Maintaining consistent pocket and feel against a recorded accompaniment
• Identifying and responding to syncopation in funk and jazz idioms
• Articulation and phrasing appropriate to groove-based music
• Listening actively to rhythm section and adjusting tone and timing accordingly
• Reading and interpreting stylistic performance notes in original jazz compositions