Staff Picks: April 2020
Our Sheet Music Direct team plays, strums and sings just as much as you do! We're a team of musicians who love music of various styles and, when we're not busy with all things Sheet Music Direct, play at home, church, and gigs. Each month, we're sharing some of the favorite songs we're currently playing and why we think you'll love them too. Check out our latest staff picks below or head over to our Staff Picks page which we update regularly with the latest picks.
Find something you love? Let us know in the comments, or share it with the rest of the Sheet Music Direct community over on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Chris' Pick
One Note Samba, Antônio Carlos Jobim
In honor of Jazz Appreciation Month, my staff pick this month is a wonderful piano solo arrangement of one of my all-time favorite jazz titles. "Samba de uma Nota Só" (One Note Samba) is a bossa nova song composed by Brazilian composer, pianist, songwriter, and arranger Antônio Carlos Jobim. It's been recorded by many musicians over many decades, including Sergio Mendes, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and more.
Bill's Pick
Songbird, Oasis
A simple little song from Oasis, from their often-overlooked album, Heathen Chemistry. But despite its simplicity, it remains one of the most beautiful pieces of British pop ever written, and a satisfying song to play on acoustic guitar.
Dan's Pick
A Night in Tunisia, Dizzy Gillespie
Throughout Jazz Appreciation Month, I've been playing music from some of the great jazz trumpeters: Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Clifford Brown, Wynton Marsalis, to name a few. One jazz standard that's always been a favorite of mine is Dizzy's "A Night In Tunisia." It's a fun bebop tune for any instrument, but if you've got the chops, it only seems right to play it on trumpet! Bent horn and pouched cheeks optional.
Sam's Pick
Thankful, Josh Groban arr. Mark Hayes
In these strange and testing times, the message behind Josh Groban's "Thankful" is one that resounds more than ever: "Somedays, we forget to look around us. Somedays, we can't see the joy that surrounds us." And there's something particularly poignant about Mark Hayes' choral arrangement, with its lush harmonies and beautiful suspensions throughout.
Annie's Pick
Piano Sonata No. 15 In D Major, Op. 28 "Pastoral", Ludwig van Beethoven
I am currently working on this Sonata in my free time and am surprised it's not a more well-known Beethoven sonata. I was originally drawn to this sonata because of the "jazzy" 32nd notes in the 2nd Movement, and I also love the pedal point (repeated bass notes) used throughout much of the piece. The first and fourth movement opening themes are particularly beautiful!
Will's Pick
Nude, Radiohead
Still making phenomenal music after 30 years in the business, Oxford's finest can rawk it with the best of them (Bodysnatchers) but are all-too-often written off as miserablists by non-believers—which wholly misses the point. Haunting / mournful with beady-eyed inner steel was never so uplifting.
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Never had time before to cruise your Staff Picks... already opened another place in my heart and mind. Thank you.
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