October 2008 Update

October 2008 Update Newsletter

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Fall is here, and with it comes another month of excellent new releases from across the spectrum of companies whose items we carry. Recognizing the approach of the holidays and the current tough economic times, we, as of this writing, have every single DVD from all three series of Jazz Icons DVDs in stock, and at 10% off the general retail prices. We also have the three box sets available, and a specially-priced combination of them all. The third series was just released a couple of weeks ago, and is led by Bill Evans, Oscar Peterson, and Sonny Rollins. We could not be more enthusiastic about any DVDs which we offer than we are about these. Legendary critics and jazz scholars ranging from our friends Nat Hentoff to Dan Morgenstern have noted, these DVDs are instant classics, with outstanding sound quality, and liner notes, photos and packaging which make each DVD a true treat for fans of the artists represented.

Jazz Lines Publications continues its growth, with a regularly expanding catalog of our very own arrangements. In the next week we'll have one more Frank Sinatra chart (Goody, Goody) as well as a great vocal arrangement of the Gershwin classic But Not for Me. We are also happy to say that we are now shipping all of our own charts in their own individual re-sealable plastic bag, which will surely help to keep all of the parts together and easily stored for repeated use. These bags also are guaranteed to lock in the freshness which you have all come to rightfully expect from Jazz Lines Publications' offerings. We continue to aspire to be the very best one-stop shopping experience for the bandleader and educator, and we hope that our Jazz Lines Publications series will be a leading light in this effort.

October's highlight is certainly the new Jazz Icons Series 3 DVDs, but we do have several new items since the first of the month as well. The most impressive is Chuck Sher's newest, which is a fantastic idea - Best of Sher Music Company Real Books is a compilation of 103 of the very best songs from many of Chuck's outstanding books. It is all here - selections of standards from various eras, Bossa Novas, bebop classics, and great tunes ranging in style and era from Duke Ellington to Michael Brecker are all represented. As always, Chuck's industry-leading books are accurate, legal, and beautifully presented. We thank Chuck and his team for this outstanding addition to the genre.

New Big Band Arrangements:
We recognize that you have many choices of where you may order music from, so we have tried to assemble the most complete and user-friendly online catalog available. We carry nearly 3,000 arrangements from publishers located all over the world. We also have an educational program to provide our vast jazz catalog at discounted prices. All school band directors are automatically enrolled in our program and there is no miminum order to receive discounts. In addition, you may complete purchase orders directly on our website without the need of a credit card. For more information about our educational program, please email or phone us.

If you're hunting for some great jazz band arrangements you may view titles on our website by any of the following criteria: By Month of Release; By Performer (for famous arrangements); By Arranger; By Style; By Difficulty Level; Vocal Arrangements; Instrumental Features; Festival Suggestions; Opener/Closer Suggestions; Holiday Arrangements; Jazz at Lincoln Center Arrangements; and By Group Size (for small group and combo arrangements). If all else fails, contact us; we're happy to assist you with finding what you're looking for.

There are a few great charts that we need to mention this month. The first is John Clayton's arrangement of Jingle Bells that was recorded by Diana Krall. This is a joyous, up-tempo swing chart of this holiday favorite. We also have a small big band arrangement of Sonny Rollins' classic head on rhythm changes Oleo which is medium in difficulty. Finally, we have an arrangement of Bon Jovi's hit Livin' on a Prayer. This is set in a driving arrangement for beginning players that's sure to be a hit.

New DVDs:
October's DVDs are led by the new Jazz Icons, but we have several more as well. Victor Wooten has a brand new DVD from Hal Leonard, in which he covers just about all aspects of improving your bass playing. Arkadia has just released Dianne Reeves: The Early Years, featuring the singer in the beginning of her career, accompanied by some wonderful musicians. Finally, in our effort to offer the widest of varieties, we also have a new Johnny Winter guitar instructional DVD, and new live DVDs featuring Mahalia Jackson and War.

New Books:
October's latest releases include the newest from Chuck Sher, Best of Sher Music Company Real Books, mentioned above, which will surely have a place in the library of just about every teacher and working musician out there. Best of Tower of Power for Bass gives bassists a great tool to learn the soulful style of this classic band's sound. We also have the brand new Tao of Tunings book, a great guide to learning and becoming familiar with alternate tunings used by guitarists of styles ranging from John Lee Hooker to Jimmy Page and many others. Alfred has just released their Guitar Atlas Complete, Volume One, which is a look at various styles from around the world. As you all know, we try to encourage folks to make themselves aware of as many styles as possible, and this book fits very well into this theme. We again recommend Mick Goodrick's latest two, 36 Solo Pieces for Fingerstyle Guitar, and Volume 3 of his Mr. Goodchord series, Beyond the Mother Lode. We have all three of the Mr. Goodchord books in stock, as well as a specially-priced set of them all. Finally, we also have the new Christmas Big Band Play-along series, as well as several other brand new holiday books.

New Release Summary:
In our truly Herculean effort to present everything that is new and interesting, as of this newsletter we have added a total of 79 new CDs for the month of October 2008 and 90 for the month of September 2008; 21 new DVDs for October 2008 and 22 for September 2008; 49 new music books for October 2008 and 31 for September 2008; 9 new big band and combo arrangements for the month of October 2008 and 22 for the month of September 2008.

If you haven't visited our Imports and Rarities section lately, please check it out. We are now stocking more and more obscure, rare, and hard-to-find titles from Japan and Europe, including many titles that you may not be able to find elsewhere.

In our DVD section, we now carry nearly 1,700 jazz DVDs!

Please keep in mind that many of our new releases are available in limited quantities. We do our best to predict demand and fill orders as quickly as possible, but we do run out of new releases. Even if we run out of stock, almost everything featured in this newsletter should be available to ship within 5-7 days; some imports may take 2-3 weeks.

As always, we are here for all of you and we truly appreciate all of the support we continue to receive. While we know everyone has many choices in the jazz retail world, we aspire to provide the best one-stop source for jazz recordings, DVDs, charts, and educational materials. Please accept our continued gratitude for your support, and please let us know anytime what we are doing right and what we need to improve.

We are Rob and Doug at ejazzlines and we approved this message.