Blue Moon (Hart/Rodgers); Come Fly With Me (Van Heusen/Cahn); Embraceable You (Gershwin); Give Me A Call (Wedgwood); Have You Met Miss Jones? (Hart/Rodgers); How High The Moon (Hamilton/Lewis); Let's Call The Whole Thing Off (Gershwin); Mr Lucky Guy (Wedgwood); My Funny Valentine (Hart/Rodgers); Nature Boy (Ahbez); New York, New York (Ebb/Kander); Someone To Watch Over Me (Gershwin); The Lady Is A Tramp (Hart/Rodgers); Walk Don't Run (Wedgwood)
Wedgwood’s own three compositions are so convincing in their jazz
styles that I kept wondering where I had heard them before. I would
recommend this book as light relief for ‘between grades’ and also
for the growing number of adults who are returning to or taking up
the piano. Wedgwood can always be relied on to choose, arrange and
compose superbly and has done it yet again.
Music Teacher Magazine, July 2009
On the face of it, these books merely augment an already
ample and flourishing supply of arrangements that come to us from
both sides of the pond, but actually, I do think there is merit in
their compilation here. For a start, as all piano teachers are
aware, there are arrangements, and then there are arrangements.
There is more to transcribing a well know tune than shoving a few
snazzy triads under a naked lead-line. The choice of key, for
example, needs to take account of the inbuilt chromaticism, but
also the hand-stretches these imply (not to mention any notational
complications that night arise). I would contend that rendering My
Funny Valentine accessible to a grade 4 pianist takes a fair bit
more ingenuity and sensitivity than making one fit for a grade
8
player – précis is the art here, not amplification. Any means by
which the student who’s flagging interest in conventional
repertoire can be deterred from giving up altogether, earns its
keep. Piano Professional Magazine, Spring 2009
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