Jazzy pieces for the classroom

The jazz flutist and saxophonist Tilmann Dehnhard, author of the works Jazz Studies for Flute and Beatboxing, has dedicated himself to the motto "simple and beautiful, short and good" for these sixteen miniatures, as he emphasizes. In fact, all the short jazzy pieces sound melodically catchy and start at a low level of difficulty; the range is largely limited to the first two octaves. In the foreword, Dehnhard points out that there is only one type of embellishment in these pieces, the "gracenotes", short chromatic notes before the main note, which can be omitted when practicing. It is more important that the rhythm is strictly adhered to.

The miniatures with vivid, imaginative names such as Helium Dream, Salt and Sand and Turquoise Turtle are all composed with a very flowing melody and are mainly devoted to the lower register and the two-stroke octave. Blue Pearl is somewhat more demanding and goes up to the three-note f; the piece also incorporates modern timbre trills from the beginning and contains a rhythm characterized by syncopation. The moving Silvery Surf is one of the more rhythmically demanding pieces. The collection closes, as it began, with a simple miniature entitled Do Your Dancewhich combines a concise rhythm with a simple, deep melody.

The booklet also contains a CD on which all the pieces are played by Dehnhard himself and accompanied by piano, while only the piano accompaniment can be heard on the second run, so that the CD can be used for practicing. The successful melodic miniatures are all suitable both as practice pieces for pupils and as audition pieces.

Tilmann Dehnhard: 16 miniatures for flute with CD or piano accompaniment, UE 38040, € 19.95, Universal Edition, Vienna