New Release: “The Ultimate Blues Collection For Jazz Ensemble” from Excelcia Music Publishing

Lakeland, Florida (July 23, 2024) – A new resource for Jazz Ensemble Directors has arrived, with a focus on helping students develop into confident improvisers and sight-readers. Excelcia Music Publishing is thrilled to announce the release of The Ultimate Blues Collection for Jazz Ensemble by Peter Blair, with a Conductor’s Score and Part Books for standard Jazz Ensemble instrumentation available. The Ultimate Blues Collection for Jazz Ensemble contains 33 unison Blues heads (with rhythm section) and seven full arrangements. As a free resource, recordings are provided for all Blues heads and full arrangements: full recordings with a soloist as well as rhythm section-only recordings for play-along. The book is divided into three sections that increase in difficulty and are written to help beginning and intermediate ensembles practice and improve unison playing skills while becoming familiar with the most basic form in Jazz: the Blues!

“I’ve often heard Jazz educators say that one of the best ways to start improvising is to begin with a short melody,” says Peter Blair, author and Jazz Editor. “Since Blues is central to Jazz, I created this resource which includes many different Blues heads that can be used not only as an improvisation tool, but also as a vehicle to build ensemble skills. This collection has been in the works for several years and grew out of my experience as a teacher and a player.”

The Ultimate Blues Collection is available for $29.99 for the Conductor’s Score and $8.99 per Part Book from music retailers and from the publisher.

A live book launch event with the author will take place at the Southwest Summer Music Exhibition in San Antonio, TX on Thursday July 25, 2024, at 2 PM in the Excelcia Music Publishing booth (#1227).