Scenes from a Sketchbook

Scenes from a Sketchbook is a collection of nine jazz concert pieces and tunes for tenor saxophone in a variety of styles from ballads to pop songs and bossa nova. Every work in the set is a portrait of a jazz style, a jazz composer, or a jazz musician like Charlie Parker or Stan Getz. The varied compositions are all ar an intermediate level and lend themselves well to live performance. Performance notes are offered for each piece.

The companion CD contains both demo (with the soloist) and play-along (without the soloist) versions of each piece. The play-along versions of the tunes on the CD, some of which have been recorded at two different tempos, allow you to create your own improvisations on the theme while accompanied by a piano or a complete rhythm section. Some of the pieces are suitable for inexperienced improvisers while others assume some practical knowledge.