Cowboy Jazz II by Arthur Houle

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Cowboy Jazz II is the second collection of five sophisticated yet accessible early to late intermediate pieces for solo piano by Arthur Houle, Professor of Music at Colorado Mesa University. These fun selections are a great way for teachers to introduce jazz to classical pianists, for they are fully notated but also lend themselves to improvisatory license.
 
So saddle up and ride off into the sunset with these footloose and fancy-free gems for piano. Just remember to wear a cowboy hat and yell "yee-haw!" on the last bar of every performance!

Collection Includes: Tommy Tumbleweeds, Bright-Eyed and Bushy-Tailed (early intermediate), Buckaroo Blues, Saloon Tune, Under the Stars (optional flute/violin part available), Bright-Eyed and Bushy-Taled (late intermediate).

Tommy Tumbleweeds is the easiest, most accessible tune in Cowboy Jazz II, yet has a cool sophistication that will appeal to both children and adults. It's a bluesy, laid back fun piece dedicated to Houle's good friend and former student, Tom Booth of Caldwell, Idaho. (Anyone who lives on a street named "Chicken Dinner Road" - as Tom does - just has to have a cowboy melody in his name.)
 
You'll soon swoon for Houle's rootin'-tootin high noon Saloon Tune! It's one part rowdy cowboy, one part honky-tonk piano, and a passel of Old West free flights of fancy fingerwork. Students will have wagonloads of fun playing "Saloon Tune" at recitals, rodeos, and railroad crossings! Suitable for all "young at heart" ages (cowboy hats, batteries, and other accessories not included).
 
The original version of Buckaroo Blues was scored for piano and fender bass, with a much different bass line for both instruments. This new version is fondly dedicated to a former student, Jason Buckalew, whose last name conjured up the image of a buckaroo, or cowboy, who embraces the cowboy life with a carefree nonchalance borne of experience, contentment and unassuming confidence.
 
Under the Stars is a highly lyrical and sentimental "tone poem" suggestive of long wistful nights sleeping under the stars.*
 
*Caution: the beautiful melodies and delicious twists of romantic harmonies in this piece can cause excessive elevation of the soul, which may require a long and sturdy lasso to bring it back to earth.
 
Bright-Eyed and Bushy-Tailed is a fun jazzy piece (inspired by Vince Guaraldi, who wrote the music to the Peanuts films). This piece for late-intermediate pianists (or early advanced, if one improvises on it) is a great way to add variety and additional styles to your repertoire.

Photo by Diane Houle Malloy:

Cowboy Jazz II artwork by Roland Mansfield Houle & Marie Houle LaCourse-Gerstman: