The arrangements in this collection were written to contribute meaningful new music to the church service. The spirit of original music is retained while incorporating jazz harmonies and written-out "improvised" passages. These pieces range from the reflective to the celebratory, and it is hoped that you will enjoy playing them for your own pleasure and to share with others. Titles: * Abide with Me * Give Me Jesus * I've Got Peace Like a River * Jesus Loves Me, This I know * Leaning on the Everlasting Arms * Oh Happy Day * Simple Gifts * Sweet Hour of Prayer * Swing Low, Sweet Chariot * Wade in the Water * When the Saints Go Marching In

Hymns for a Jazzy Sunday Morning offers a fresh approach to 10 classic hymns. The arrangements were written especially for church pianists looking for a way to combine jazz rhythms and harmonies with traditional church melodies. The variety of jazz styles represented in this collection provides something for every occasion, from Sunday services to recitals and special events. Advanced.

"Gospel Rhythm & Blues" contains 10 moderately advanced piano solos based on hymns, gospel songs and spirituals featuring the influence of jazz, gospel and rhythm & blues.

(Jazz Piano Solos). 33 hymns reimagined for jazz piano in piano solo arrangements with chord symbols, including: Abide with Me * All Hail the Power of Jesus' Name * Amazing Grace * Be Thou My Vision * Blessed Assurance * Fairest Lord Jesus * Holy, Holy, Holy * How Firm a Foundation * It Is Well with My Soul * Just a Closer Walk with Thee * A Mighty Fortress Is Our God * Nearer, My God, to Thee * The Old Rugged Cross * Onward, Christian Soldiers * Rock of Ages * Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus * What a Friend We Have in Jesus * and more.

Arranger Gary Norian takes us on a musical journey exploring ageless classics. Creatively combining hymns with jazz chords and rhythms, Gary filled this piano collection with dazzling arrangements and emotional twists and turns. The tasteful, challenging settings and Gary's inventiveness make every page a delight to play.

Timeless Hymns with Ageless Classics is an expressive collection in which each arrangement merges a well-loved hymn with a classical theme. Pianists who enjoy performing either sacred or classical music will enjoy how each beautiful melody complements the other. This inspired collection for advanced pianists can be used in a variety of church settings as well as for personal enjoyment. It is also suitable for weddings since it includes many classical pieces that are traditionally used for wedding preludes and processionals.

In Mary Lou Williams: Music for the Soul, Deanna Witkowski brings a fresh perspective to the life and music of the legendary jazz pianist-composer Mary Lou Williams (1910-81). As a fellow jazz pianist-composer, adult convert to Catholicism, and liturgical composer, Witkowski offers unique insight gleaned from a twenty-year journey with Williams as her chosen musical and spiritual mentor. Viewing Williams’s musical and corporal acts of mercy as part of a singular effort to create community no matter the context, Witkowski examines how Williams created networks of support and friendship through her decades long letter correspondence with various women religious, her charitable work, and her tireless efforts to perform jazz in churches, community centers, concert halls, and schools. Throughout this fascinating story told with equal amounts of deep love and scholarly research, Witkowski illumines Williams’s passionate mantra that “jazz is healing to the soul.”

(Shawnee Press). Favorite spirituals and gospel songs, all set in styles ranging from old-time swing, to blues, to bossa, to a romantic "movie theme" to quasi new age stylings. This recording features solo piano with rhythm section. Songs include: Amazing Grace * Every Time I Feel the Spirit * Just a Closer Walk with Thee * Old Time Religion/Swing Low, Sweet Chariot * and more.

Spirituals originated among enslaved Africans in America during the colonial era. They resonate throughout African American history from that time to the civil rights movement, from the cotton fields to the concert stage, and influenced everything from gospel music to blues and rap. They have offered solace in times of suffering, served as clandestine signals on the Underground Railroad, and been a source of celebration and religious inspiration. Spirituals are born from the womb of African American experience, yet they transcend national, disciplinary, and linguistic boundaries as they connect music, theology, literature and poetry, history, society, and education. In doing so, they reach every aspect of human experience. To make sense of the immense impact spirituals have made on music, culture, and society, this bibliography cites writings from a multidisciplinary perspective. This annotated bibliography documents articles, books, and dissertations published since 1902. Of those, 150 are books; 80 are chapters within books; 615 are journal articles, and 150 are dissertations, along with a selection of highly significant items published before 1920. The most recent publications included date from early 2014. Disciplines researched include music, literature and poetry, American history, religion, and African American Studies. Items included in the annotated bibliography are limited to English-language sources that were published in the United States and focus on African American spirituals in the United States, but there are a few select citations that focus on spirituals outside of the United States. Of the one thousand annotations, they are divided, roughly evenly, between: general studies and geographical studies; information about early spirituals; use of spirituals in art music, church music, and popular music; composers who based music on spirituals; performers of spirituals (ensembles and individuals); Bible, theology, and religious education; literature and poetry; pedagogical considerations, including the teaching of spirituals as well as prominent educators; reference works and a list of resources that were unavailable for review but are potentially useful. This book also offers considerable depth on particular topics such as the Fisk Jubilee Singers and William Grant Still with over thirty citations devoted to each. At the same time, materials included are quite diverse, with topics such as spirituals in Zora Neale Hurston’s novels; bible studies based on spirituals; enriching the teaching of geography through spirituals; Marian Anderson’s historic concert at the Lincoln Memorial; spiritual roots of rap; teaching dialect to singers; expressing African American religion in spirituals; Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s music; slave tradition of singing among the Gullah. The book contains indices by author, subject, and spiritual title. Additionally, an appendix of spirituals by biblical reference, listing both spiritual title to scriptural reference as well as scripture to spiritual title is included. T. L. Collins, Christian educator, compiled the appendix.

Leadership is intentional. It is a calling. It takes a survivor. One Foot Planted in the Center, the Other Dangling off the Edge tells the story of how one man with a vision turned a New York City church with a history of failure into a mecca of the arts, diversity, and celebration. Using humor and practical suggestions, Reverend Gordon Dragt guides and inspires others to overcome leadership challenges and utilize every resource in bringing new life to their organization. This book is a valuable tool, providing fresh perspectives and numerous examples of how to be a transformational leader bringing about change in an increasingly diverse world. Be prepared for hard work, perseverance, and an adventurous journey. Transformational leadership is not for the faint of heart.