Top Ten Jazz Standards.

Top Ten Jazz Standards, by Sharon Aaronson. Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. (16320 Roscoe Blvd., P.O. Box 10003, Van Nuys, CA 91410), 2006. 31 pp. $8.95. Late Intermediate.

It is always a pleasure to see another set of arrangements based on the jazz swing style of the 20th century. The Top 10 Jazz Standards by Sharon Aaronson published by Alfred includes tunes from Broadway to movie themes showcasing composers from George Gershwin and Cole Porter to Johnny Mercer and Paul Desmond.

These arrangements are targeted for the late-intermediate pianist, and we find plenty of syncopations, walking bass-like lines and altered chords. The arrangements are fresh and would work well in student recitals. All of the pieces are in 4/4 except "Take Five," which is in 5/4; something in 3/4 and 6/8 would have value in the collection.

One of the problems that we find in any set of jazz arrangements is the all important understanding of style. If you play these arrangements exactly as written, even with the warning to use swing eights we find at the beginning of each piece, the music will not swing. A page or so of instructions would have been helpful for interpretation, and a recording for the student to listen to would help the student (and the teacher) to better acquire the intended style of the music and especially these arrangements.

Although jazz has been around for about 100 years, the academic teaching community is only now beginning to embrace this music and to be concerned with the proper pedagogy of improvisational style.--Reviewed by Dennis Thurmond, Los Angeles, California