Edition: Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Description: Rumba/Afro-Cuban/Swing - Difficult

Publisher: Jazz at Lincoln Center

Melba Liston (1926-1999) was a jazz trombonist, composer, and arranger who broke barriers for women in music. She began playing trombone at age seven and was playing solos on the radio by age eight. Although a formidable jazz trombonist, Melba Liston was primarily known for her arrangements with big bands of the time, influenced by the style of the Ellington and Basie bands. Some of her first works as an arranger and composer were with bandleader Gerald Wilson and tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon. In the 1940s and 1950s she worked with many popular big bands including those led by Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Quincy Jones and Randy Weston, among others.

Annie’s Dance is a clever variation on Edvard Grieg's Anitra’s Dance from Peer Gynt. Liston's version is a rousing minor blues form that switches grooves from rumba to Afro-Cuban to swing throughout the song for dramatic effect. Drummers: this is a great way to study and apply the drumming style of Charlie Persip and his seamless navigation of dramatic switches between styles.

Part of the 2026 Essentially Ellington Competition.

 

Full Score
Trumpet Soloist
2 Alto Saxophones
2 Tenor Saxophones
Baritone Saxophone
4 Trumpets
3 Trombones
Guitar (Optional)
Piano
Bass
Drum Set

Trumpet Soloist: A6 (if playing transcribed solo)
Trumpet 1: F#6
Trombone 1: B4