Review

Joachim J.K. Kunze
Der Posaunen-Zoo: 8 Stücke für Posaune und Klavier:

Halberstadt, , Germany
Publisher: Musikverlag Bruno Uetz
Date of Publication: 2012

Score, parts, and accompaniment compact disc

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with piano

Keeping beginning students interested in playing can be a challenge for the teacher.
Beginners can quickly become bored with their band method books and even with instrument-specific methods. In my opinion, there is a large void in solo repertoire available for the beginner trombonist. Offering a young student a solo can provide a concrete goal that is fun to attain. Joachim Kunze provides a great service to the young trombone community by offering Der Posaunen-Zoo, a series of eight, short solo pieces for beginning trombonists.  

These eight pieces are well crafted and cater to the needs of young trombonists. They incorporate almost every note from B-flat to c1, B is not included, presumably due to the difficulty beginners can have reaching seventh position. There are several f-sharps and g-flats, which will help solidify the location of fifth position. Rhythms, key signatures and meter are simple throughout, with one piece written in 6/8, a challenge for young musicians. 

The fun part of this collection is the play-along compact disc. For each piece, three recordings are given: a live performance of the solo played by Kunze on trumpet with piano accompaniment, a play-along track of only the piano accompaniment and a play-along track of a jazz/funk version of the accompaniment. These “pop” accompaniment tracks use keyboard, drums and bass, and provide an entertaining way to rehearse each piece. The piano accompaniment parts are simple enough for a young pianist to perform and incorporate chord symbols in case the soloist wants to perform with a small combo. 

Joachim Kunze is a German trumpeter, educator and composer with a wide range of performance experiences. He teaches at the Music Schools of Bad Nauheim and Friedberg.

-Cory Mixdorf
University of Arkansas