Baby Loves Jazz, a branch of the Baby Loves Music series, actually makes parents want to play music for their children, rather than feel obligated to. The CD is comprised of 46 creative songs which are carefully crafted by some New York City’s finest up-and-coming jazz musicians.
The Baby Loves Jazz band is made up of Ella Elephant (Sharon Jones) and Louis Lion (Miles Griffith) on vocals, Charlie Bird (John Ellis) on saxophone, Duck Ellington (Aaron Goldberg) on piano, Mingus Mouse (Omer Avital) on bass, Philly Joe Giraffe (Ali Jackson) on drums, and Miles the Crocodile (Steven Bernstein) on trumpet.
Fun and Educational Songs
Even if one has never heard of the musicians above – or the witty references to the real musicians in the characters' names are based – the CD can be appreciated for its catalog of catchy tunes. Many of the songs are reinterpretations of the classic children's tunes and rhymes familiar to all, such as Old McDonald, Skip to my Lou, Itsy Bitsy Spider, as well as an exceptional slow and hypnotic version of The Wheels on the Bus.
The remainder of the songs are comprised of playful originals composed by this talented group of young and imaginative musicians. Four Funky Fish and Peanut Butter and Jelly provide solid grooves that parents and thier children can dance along to, while good old-fashioned silliness is the name of the game with I use Potty, Blue Lemurs, and No Cookies Blues. Not to mention Duck Ellington's rap on Duck Jam, which, in Duck's words, is the "shizzle!"
Not only will children and parents want to sing along with the catchy tunes, they will also learn about different musical instruments like the drums, bongos, harmonica, sax, bass and even the voice in the form of scatting, as well as colors like on "Brown Sounds", "Purple's My Favorite". All the while, they will also be acquiring a worthy musical education of the various sounds of jazz without even realizing it.
Awards
Recognized for its quality, Baby Loves Jazz was awarded the 2007 NAPPA Gold Medal in the category of Best Children's CD of the year and the American Librarians Association “Best Children's Audio Recording” in the same year.
It is about time a creative, fun children's music CD was put out by some quality musicians. Baby Loves Jazz will have parents and their children laughing, singing and dancing for hours on end, while acquiring a valuable musical education to boot.
