Jazz Ensemble Music Publishers Annotated Listing

JAZZ ENSEMBLE MUSIC PUBLISHERS ANNOTATED LISTING

Neil A. Kjos Music Company Kjos Music publishes performance repertoire for jazz ensembles at all levels. In addition, they offer the First Place for Jazz Introductory Method for Jazz Ensemble by Dean Sorenson in addition to Sorenson and Bruce Pearson’s Standard of Excellence Jazz Ensemble Method—both intended for middle school students. For more advanced players, Sorenson and Pearson created the Standard of Excellence Advanced Jazz Ensemble Method targeting high school students. Also included in the Dean Sorenson method book collection is Standard of Excellence Jazz Combo Session for beginning combo players, and Standard of Excellence First Jazz Performance for elementary level concert or jazz bands. www.kjos.com

Kendor Music Kendor publishes jazz ensemble charts at all levels, and was the first to offer music for school jazz ensembles and combos. The catalog features classic compositions by Thad Jones and Bob Brookmeyer as well as a host of other leading composers. Kendor also distributes the Doug Beach Music and Sammy Nestico Music catalogs, both of which include many outstanding works for beginning through advanced groups. Besides repertoire, Kendor’s The Jazz Educator’s Handbook by Jeff Jarvis and Doug Beach is a valuable resource for teachers. www.kendormusic.com

Alfred Music Publishing Alfred has an extensive selection of jazz repertoire at all levels, including arrangements and transcriptions of standards, as well as originals. In addition to performance music, their catalog contains a host of play-alongs and supplemental publications for both jazz teachers and students—in particular, for players of rhythm section instruments. www.alfred.com

Jazz at Lincoln Center Jazz at Lincoln Center is home of the Essentially Ellington program—an annual competition for high school jazz ensembles. Transcriptions of classic charts by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn are available for free to program participants. JALC publications can also be purchased through Alfred Music. www.jalc.org

Sierra Music Publications Sierra Music is the source for many classic charts performed by legendary big bands including Stan Kenton, Bill Holman, and Maynard Ferguson. It is also home to the unique Radiohead Jazz Project and music of the Bob Curnow Big Band, as well as works by many other outstanding artists. Along with full jazz ensemble charts, the Sierra catalog also features music written for nine-piece band. www.sierramusicstore.com

Hal Leonard Corporation Hal Leonard began as a three-person operation creating popular music arrangements for school bands, and is now one of the largest sheet music publishers in the world. Their jazz ensemble catalog features charts at all levels and comprises arrangements of jazz standards as well as originals. Hal Leonard also offers a wide array of fake books, play-alongs, and jazz instructional texts, including Essential Elements for Jazz Ensemble by Mike Steinel—designed to teach the basics to students with 1–2 years of playing experience. www.halleonard.com eJazzlines eJazzlines features hundreds of classic chart transcriptions from the big band era under the Jazz Lines Publications imprint, and administers the catalog of originals from Walrus Music Publishing. They are also a retailer for dozens of other jazz publishers. www.ejazzlines.com

Three Two Music Publishing Three Two Music specializes in Latin Jazz, Afro-Cuban, and Salsa charts for full jazz ensemble as well as combos. Their catalog is extensive and is expertly organized by specific genre. www.3-2music.com

C.L. Barnhouse Company Barnhouse, one of the oldest continuously-operating band-focused music publishing companies in the world, presents a variety of jazz ensemble music at all levels. Barnhouse is also the home of Smart Chart Music, offering compositions by current writers as well as classic charts by jazz master Thad Jones that have been re-arranged to make them more accessible to less- experienced players. www.barnhouse.com

FJH Music Company FJH presents jazz ensemble charts from very easy to advanced. While a small portion of the catalog includes arrangements of standards, FJH primarily offers original compositions. www.fjhmusic.com

Jamey Aebersold Jazz Saxophonist and jazz educator Jamey Aebersold is widely known for his pioneering (and still growing) collection of play-along book and recording packages. Although not a publisher of music for jazz ensemble, Aebersold’s large collection of materials, including hand-picked instructional jazz books of many other publishers, is worthy of mention in any listing such as this. www.jazzbooks.com