Edition: Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Description: Swing - Medium Difficult

By the time Jerry Gray wrote this arrangement in 1939 for Artie Shaw's orchestra, he had firmly established a template upon which the majority of his works were constructed. That being said, said template was so strong that, despite its predictability, he continued to craft hit after hit for a variety of swing bands in the 1930s and 1940s.

To get things started, the brass section offers some energetic prodding to a hard-riffing, semi-unison sax section, with the latter performing the first pass of the melody at measure 9. The brass eventually join them at measure 17, returning to the backdrop a few bars later before eventually joining up once more. Following a short send-off, the key shifts to Bb major for solos. Shaw gets a full chorus to himself, followed by half chorus of tenor sax, and finally a half chorus of piano. The saxes back up the clarinet solo, while the brass accompany the tenor sax; the piano solo features no backgrounds behind it.

The key shifts once more, this time to Ab major, for the performance's final shout chorus. Largely played in rhythmic unison, there is one moment at measure 127 where the saxes and brass alternate down- and off-beats in rapid succession that will require a bit of attention to coordinate. The ensemble feature is broken up by a short trumpet solo at measure 133, eventually roaring back to full blast at measure 139 with some slippery trombone work and Shaw's clarinet soaring on top. One final ascending figure in the brass, followed by a unison held note in the saxes and trombones, brings things to a thrilling conclusion.

This arrangement was originally written for a brass section consisting of three trumpets and two trombones. An optional third trombone part has been added to allow our publication to match a more traditional big band brass section lineup.

This publication was prepared from an original set of parts used for the recording session - this is not a transcription.

Full Score
Solo Clarinet
2 Alto Saxophones
2 Tenor Saxophones
Baritone Saxophone
3 Trumpets
3 Trombones (Trombone 3 Optional)
Guitar
Piano
Bass
Drum Set

Trumpet 1: D6
Trombone 1: C5