Get ready to swing and scat with WELCOME TO JAZZ: A Swing-Along Celebration of America’s Music, Featuring “When the Saints Go Marching In” from music educator and Welcome to the Symphony author Carolyn Sloan, with a heartfelt foreword by jazz musician and educator Nikara Warren, the granddaughter of renowned jazz pianist Kenny Barron.
With interactive sound technology and vibrant, full-color illustrations, WELCOME TO JAZZ brings the wonders of jazz to life. With the push of 12 sound chips on the side panel of the book, readers will become immersed in the instruments as they read about key concepts found in the music, like:
· Beat: A steady pulse that keeps the music together.
· Rhythm: The flow of long and short sounds played along with the beat.
· Melody: A tune; the part of a song you are most likely to sing along to.
· Improvisation: The art of creating new music on the spot.
· Scat Singing: A form of improvisation where singers make up melodies and rhythms using nonsense syllables like be-bop, du-we-ah, or zoo-zoo-zi-zah!
In addition to the interactive fun, readers will learn about the origins of jazz, with mentions of musical greats—like Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, and Duke Ellington—who added their own unique ideas to the genre. For example, Louis Armstrong popularized “When the Saints Go Marching In” when he recorded the song in 1938. And just as these musicians revolutionized jazz, so did the incorporation of new instruments—like the saxophone and the vibraphone—which created innovative, fresh sounds.