Hi,

Can anyone recommend any good books, (preferably with CD backing) for jazz tenor sax around about a grade 7/8 standard?

I've lots of music for alto, but nothing for tenor and need something I can really get stuck into.

Thanks

Girl

If you're looking for improvisation type books then the Jamey Aebersold and Hal Leonard series are both good and there's a vast amount to choose from. They have charts for Concert treble clef, Bb, Eb and comcert bass clef instruments. There's no grade standard as such, the notated head is often quite easy - then it's however difficult you want to make it for the improv. If you're looking for more notated parts try the Bob Mintzer series, there are 3 books an easy one that is probably up to grade 5/6 standard and two harder ones that are quite a bit harder. They're called something like "14 (easy) blues/jazz/funk etudes" and there are Eb and Bb versions. They have CDs with 2 versions of each track, one with sax and one without. Another possibility is the "In Session with Charlie Parker" books. The tenor version has the backing transposed rather than the sax part. This means that you're playing the same notes as alto, which helps a lot with Charlie Parker stuff - it fits much more easily under the fingers that way. These books have a CD with 4 versions of each tune - slowed down and up to speed with and without sax. The up to speed versions are certainly challenging enough.

Thank you T Sax. I feel a shopping spree coming on......