Edition: Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Description: Swing - Difficult

Publisher: Jazz at Lincoln Center

Black Beauty began as a solo piano intermission piece that Ellington would play as his orchestra returned to the stage at the Cotton Club. The song was originally titled Firewater, but after orchestrating the piece to feature versatile trumpeters Louis Metcalf and Arthur Whetsel playing in both sweet and fiery styles, Ellington decided the change in feeling reflected the character of someone he admired: actress, singer, and comedian Florence Mills. Mills passed away the year before Black Beauty was recorded (1928), at age 31. Ellington even announced the title of this song as Portrait of Florence Mills at his 1943 Carnegie Hall Concert. In Black Beauty, Duke's groundbreaking and masterful navigation of both the "sweet" and "hot" styles within the same piece are on full display. Part of the 2024-25 Essentially Ellington High School Jazz Band Program.

Full Score
2 Alto Saxophones
Tenor Saxophone/Clarinet
3 Trumpets
Trombone
Banjo
Piano
Bass
Drums

Trumpet 1: C6
Trombone 1: C5