Jazz On A Saturday Night (Coretta Scott King Honor Book) (Hardcover)

~ Leo & Diane Dillon (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Kindergarten-Grade 4—"Ladies and gents, what a jam this will be—/an evening of jazz immortality!" And how! John Coltrane and Charlie Parker on sax, Thelonious Monk on piano, vocals by Ella Fitzgerald, trumpet by Miles Davis, drums by Max Roach, Stanley Clarke on bass! The audience is captivated and carried along on "a river of melody sketched in dim light" in this rhythmic tribute to traditional jazz. The spreads, graphic-styled paintings rendered in deep matte tones with a suggestion of collage, switch between stage and audience, with swirling background patterns portraying the flow of music. The grow-ing excitement of this jazz extravaganza is perfectly complemented by the joyful rhyming text: "Repeat on the beat/when Max Roach keeps the heat/on his drums, rhythm thrums,/makes you jump in your seat." The first track on the accompa-nying CD is an introduction to jazz. Each instrument in the book is highlighted individually, followed by the second track, a recording of the original song "Jazz on a Saturday Night." The Dillons' lyrics comprise part of the book's text, and the number features each of the instruments riffing solo and then the ensemble jamming together. The book opens with a one-page overview of jazz and concludes with biographical snapshots of the featured musicians. A splendid read-aloud/listen-along multisensory title, Jazz is an interdisciplinary workhorse, perfect for music, art, movement, poetry, so-cial studies, and language-arts classes. Pair it with the Dillons' Rap a Tap Tap: Here's Bojangles, Think of That (Live Oak Media, 2005) for a rhythmic explosion of sight, sound, and word.—Joyce Adams Burner, Hillcrest Library, Prairie Village, KS
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Product Description

If you have ever been lucky enough to hear great jazz, then you will understand the pure magic of this book.  Leo and Diane Dillon use bright colors and musical patterns that make music skip off the page in this toe-tapping homage to many jazz greats.  From Miles Davis and Charlie Parker to Ella Fitzgerald, here is a dream team sure to knock your socks off.  Learn about this popular music form and read a biography of each player pictured-and then hear each instrument play on a specially produced CD. What's the featured song?  "Jazz on a Saturday Night," written and recorded to accompany this book.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: The Blue Sky Press (September 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0590478931
• ISBN-13: 978-0590478939
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #639,685 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Jazz Dream Team--a Top 20 Book of the Year!, April 18, 2008

By	M. Allen Greenbaum (California) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The renowned team of Leo and Diane Dillon sparkle in this fond evocation of jazz greats, as entertaining as it is educational. They contrive a "dream team" of six jazz legends, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald, Charlie Parker, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, and Max Roach, and one relative newcomer to the pantheon, bassist Stanley Clarke. We're there with the all-Black audience in a small theater setting, delighted and inspired as the fantasy begins with Miles soloing on trumpet, and--one of my personal favorites, sometimes overlooked--Max Roach on the drums:

Repeat on the beat
When Max Roach keeps the heat
On his drums, rhythm thrums,
Makes you jump in your seat.

The Dillons know their stuff, whether it's the period (1950's) clothing, the audience reaction (Feel the beat in your feet, what a treat), the roots of jazz, or the nicknames and styles of the musicians: Charlie Parker's alto sax riffs "fly through the sky, on the wings of a bird."
They capture of essence of Monk in two sentences--in a book for kids!

Thelonious Monk invents on the keys,
Does his own thing, not aiming to please.
Discordant chords now blend ta be
Pure genius, joined in harmony.

The richly saturated illustrations are as captivating as the text, While they could be computer-generated, they're warm and have a graphics/poster quality. An "African" style pattern often backs the foregrounded musicians, providing visual interest and unity. I have a few very minor qualms, trivial really--but perhaps expected from one who is a major fan of jazz as well as kids' books: While the musicians' portraits are generally excellent, they don't quite get Ella Fitzgerald right. (In fact, a lighting technician backstage resembles Billie Holiday more than Ella's picture resemble Ella.) Miles Davis could blow both hot and cool jazz, but it is for the latter that he is most famous. Puzzling then, that Miles' trumpet's "sparks heat up the skies." Finally, Charles Mingus is the definitive bass player, and belongs here for both historical and stylistic reasons. Perhaps the Dillons wanted to included a somewhat more contemporary player.

I assumed the included CD would be a brief, watered-down composition, but I was wrong. After an interesting 12-13 minute sampling of the various instruments (contrasting different saxes, drums, volumes, and tempos), the uncredited band plays an
exciting number that shows off the instruments' individual and collective expression. As with the text, the CD strikes just the right balance of easy-going instruction and sheer finger-snapping, toe-tapping fun. Better get this one into yo'soul, and onto your bookcase!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice jazz intro, January 13, 2008

By	L. Lathrop "Art teacher 04" (Minot, ND United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is a nice introduction to the world of jazz music. A short history of Jazz in the front of the book was helpful to me as I planned a K-2 art lesson centering around Jazz music. Students enjoyed the rymes accompanied by bold, silkscreen style illustrations. The accompanying CD is simple enough for young students and highlights jazz instruments one by one giving a short description followed by the sound that instrument makes. The CD concludes with a jazz song which includes lyrics that match words from the book. Especially of interest to my students was the bio on the authors/illustrators....who often listen to music while they paint! Just like we do in class. : )

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PERFECT Jazz on a Saturday Night, December 26, 2007

By	S. Morgan "Uptown Girlen" (Greenville, SC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This children's book is a wonderful celebration of our nation's rich history of Jazz Music. The beautiful illustrations themselves are enough to make this book worth buying, however the text is great too and is set to a jazzy beat. The book alludes to several famous jazz artists and has a brief glossary in the back giving more detail about the artists' lives. The book also includes a cd in the back. This book is great for classrooms or homes, a delightful read that children will love. This book is also a great investment for anyone who loves jazz music.