Foundations for Superior Performance is designed to help organize the daily rehearsal and improve the overall performance of any band.

For band, chorus, and orchestral winds.

Now beyond its eleventh printing and translated into twelve languages, Michael Porter’s The Competitive Advantage of Nations has changed completely our conception of how prosperity is created and sustained in the modern global economy. Porter’s groundbreaking study of international competitiveness has shaped national policy in countries around the world. It has also transformed thinking and action in states, cities, companies, and even entire regions such as Central America. Based on research in ten leading trading nations, The Competitive Advantage of Nations offers the first theory of competitiveness based on the causes of the productivity with which companies compete. Porter shows how traditional comparative advantages such as natural resources and pools of labor have been superseded as sources of prosperity, and how broad macroeconomic accounts of competitiveness are insufficient. The book introduces Porter’s “diamond,” a whole new way to understand the competitive position of a nation (or other locations) in global competition that is now an integral part of international business thinking. Porter's concept of “clusters,” or groups of interconnected firms, suppliers, related industries, and institutions that arise in particular locations, has become a new way for companies and governments to think about economies, assess the competitive advantage of locations, and set public policy. Even before publication of the book, Porter’s theory had guided national reassessments in New Zealand and elsewhere. His ideas and personal involvement have shaped strategy in countries as diverse as the Netherlands, Portugal, Taiwan, Costa Rica, and India, and regions such as Massachusetts, California, and the Basque country. Hundreds of cluster initiatives have flourished throughout the world. In an era of intensifying global competition, this pathbreaking book on the new wealth of nations has become the standard by which all future work must be measured.

Award-winning jazz educator Caleb Chapman and multiple GRAMMY(R) Award-winning saxophonist Jeff Coffin have created a highly effective approach to jazz articulation. Step by step, The Articulate Jazz Musician details Caleb's proven approach for mastering the fundamentals of jazz articulation, phrasing, and interpretation. The play-along tracks are designed for C, B-flat, E-flat, and bass clef instruments. Rhythm section instruments can use the play-along tracks as a how to play it reference. The tracks feature a world-class quartet of Jeff Coffin (tenor saxophone), Victor Wooten (bass), Roy Futureman Wooten (drums), and Chris Walters (piano). This method makes approaching jazz articulation easy and fun. Follow the explanations, do lots of listening, play along, practice what you have heard, and before long, you too will be an articulate jazz musician! This title is available in MakeMusic Cloud.