Crafting Virtual Jazz Arrangements

“So Nice (Summer Samba) by Marcos Valle & Paulo Valle. Performed by Yvonne Tremoulet and Minh-Vy Nguyen

By Matthew Piechalak | [email protected]

For three straight weeks, Parker Middle School students Yvonne Tremoulet and Minh-Vy Nguyen, both Class of 2025, worked separately on four arrangements for Summer Jazz Band.

“The students did a fantastic job,” says Parker Music teacher Jim Witt.

“So Nice (Summer Samba)” by Marcos Valle and Paulo Valle and “In a Mellow Tone” by Duke Ellington featured both players. MinhVy and Yvonne also created their own versions of “Blues” and “Impressions” by John Coltrane.

“With Yvonne and Minh-Vy, I would send them photos and recordings of the music and then we would practice it online,” Jim says. “ When they were comfortable with the music, I made some backing tracks with my son, Tony ’13.”

For the backing tracks, Jim and Tony played tenor saxophone, piano, bass, and used a pre-recorded drum track. Yvonne and MinhVy would then practice their alto saxes with the backing track.

“I would listen to them online and make suggestions,” Jim explains. “ When they felt comfortable, they would record themselves while listening to the backing track. When we had some good takes, Tony and I would mix their parts with the backing track into a final performance.”

During the virtual summer course, the students also studied music theory to help with their improvisations.

Check out all of the final performances below.