Standard Of Excellence Jazz Ensemble Method

Getting Students to Actually Read Swing Correctly

The Standard Of Excellence Jazz Ensemble Method by Rick Kelly and Gary L. Mertens isn't the sexiest book on the shelf next to the main method series, but it's probably the most honest one you'll find for middle school and high school jazz bands. It doesn't pretend kids will swing just because you tell them to. It builds it out of scale work, rhythm reading, and ear training in a way that actually sticks. I've been running jazz ensembles for about twelve years now, and the number of directors who buy the book and then never open past page ten is genuinely shocking. You have to use it systematically. Here's what that looks like in practice.

Standard Of Excellence Jazz Ensemble Method in the Rehearsal Room

Start every rehearsal with the rhythm section exercises. That's non-negotiable. The method organizes these as short, pattern-based etudes that target specific swing feels -- eighth-note triplet subdivision, swung sixteenths, bossa patterns, Latin rhythms. Most directors skip straight to playing repertoire. That's why your band sounds like they're playing with a flat meter at all times. The rhythm studies in this book are where you spend your first fifteen minutes. They're written for piano or guitar, but keyboard players in your band can cover them. If you don't have a pianist, assign the bass lines to electric bass or even trombone playing the clef part. The important thing is that someone is articulating the time feel while the rest of the ensemble counts or taps. After the warm-up, you move into the jazz theory sections. These cover chord symbols, common progressions like ii-V-I and blues alterations, and how to read lead sheets. This is where most directors lose students because they assume kids already know this from theory class. They don't. Lead sheet reading is a separate skill from standard notation, and the method treats it as such. Spend three or four rehearsals just on chord symbol identification before you try to play anything from them.

The improvisation chapters come later, usually halfway through the semester. The method introduces soloing gradually -- first through motif development, then through targeted vocabulary exercises. There's a chapter specifically on using blues scales as a starting point, which is fine. The problem most kids hit is that they solo in eighth notes the entire time. The method addresses this with rhythmic displacement exercises that force players to land on different parts of the beat. It works if you actually make them do them.

What Actually Happens When You Use This Book

Here's the thing nobody tells you: the Standard Of Excellence Jazz Ensemble Method assumes a certain level of technical facility on individual instruments. If your alto saxophonist can barely play a G major scale at 100 BPM, the bebop line studies are going to be meaningless noise. You need to front-load technique work. I make my players run their major and blues scales at increasing tempos as part of the rhythm section rotation, not as an afterthought. Another issue that comes up constantly: the method has transposed parts built in for all standard band instruments, but the piano/vocal reduction and the drum set part often get ignored. The drum set notation is straightforward -- it uses standard kit notation with ride cymbal, snare, and bass drum patterns. Some directors don't have a drummer who can read. In that case, have the bass player tap the ride pattern on their bell while you work through it. The drummer will pick it up faster than you think. I ran into a specific problem last year that the method doesn't really address head-on. I had a flute player who was also covering alto sax in the ensemble. The transposition between concert pitch and Eb wasn't the issue -- she handled that fine. The issue was that the method's jazz etudes for alto sax use a lot of low Eb region tones that are genuinely difficult for flute to produce with proper intonation. The method doesn't flag this. I ended up rewriting those passages down an octave for her and having her play them on bass flute when possible. It took maybe twenty minutes and solved a problem that was making her sound consistently sharp during those sections.

Advanced Usage and Where the Method Falls Short

The method covers standard jazz styles -- swing, bossa nova, Samba, funk, blues. What it does not cover well is modern jazz harmony, modal playing, or contemporary straight-eighth feels. If you're working with advanced players who need that, you're going to supplement with other material. Mark Levine's Jazz Theory Book is the obvious companion, though it's dense. I use it selectively -- the modal jazz chapter and the reharmonization sections are useful for senior ensemble work. Another limitation: the method's listening suggestions and historical context are decent but dated. The recordings referenced were selected around the mid-2000s. Your students won't connect with some of those tracks. I pull in modern examples alongside the method's material -- Brad Mehldau for piano trio swing, Kamasi Washington for extended improvisation concepts, snarky puppy for fusion-style ensemble work. The method gives you the framework. You provide the context. The sight-reading section is genuinely strong. The method includes short jazz-style excerpts at various difficulty levels, and these are the ones I use for weekly checks. Ten minutes at the start of rehearsal, one excerpt, no preparation. After six weeks of this, your ensemble's reading ability improves noticeably. That's not hype -- it's measurable. I timed it with my own groups and saw average tempo accuracy improve from about 72 BPM to 96 BPM on standard swing charts over a semester.

Downloading and Using the Standard Of Excellence Jazz Ensemble Method

You can find this through school music suppliers like Kjos Music or Hal Leonard. The printed version is the most practical option because the spiral binding actually holds open on a stand. The digital PDF version exists but the page turns are annoying during live rehearsal. I've seen directors try to read from tablets and end up losing their place three times during a chart. Print it. If you're looking for a free version, there isn't a legal one. Any site offering a PDF download is pirated. Don't bother. Buy the book. It costs about forty dollars and lasts a decade. The cost per student over that time is negligible. One final note: the method includes aCD with playback tracks. These are useful for home practice but the quality is adequate at best. A lot of directors end up using iReal Pro or similar apps to generate backing tracks instead. The advantage of those apps is that you can transpose instantly and adjust tempo without changing keys. I keep the method's original tracks for reference but rely on iReal Pro for daily rehearsal use. It saves time and reduces the friction of getting the right key for each player.