Edition: Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Description: Son Montuno Swing - Difficult

Publisher: Jazz at Lincoln Center

The nexus of bebop and Afro-Cuban music existed between the years 1948 and 1966 on West 52nd and West 53rd Streets on Broadway in New York City. It was at Birdland and the Palladium Ballroom, the Home of The Mambo, where the musicians from the worlds of jazz and Afro-Cuban dance music would visit each other on their breaks sitting in with whomever was performing.

Composer and arranger A.K. Salim was a witness and participant during this incredible time. The enigmatic Salim was born Albert Atkinson in Chicago, Illinois on July 28, 1922, and later converted to the Muslim faith receiving the name Ahmad Khatab Salim or Ahmad Kharab Salim. He was a promising alto sax player having been trained at the legendary DuSable High School located in Chicago’s South Side where notables like Nat King Cole, Johnny Griffin, Johnny Hartman, Gene Ammons, Dinah Washington, and many others attended. What would it be like if the Count Basie orchestra had an authentic Afro-Cuban rhythm section? This chart gives you a good example of what it would sound like.

Built on 12 bar blues form, the piece is rhythmically grounded in the Cuban cha-cha-cha. But beware, it’s not that simple! Notice the way the Machito Afro-Cubans interpret the piece. It lies in that 'Twilight Zone' between straight and swung eighth notes. Early rock and roll treaded that nether world with drummers playing a shuffle or swing rhythm with a strong back beat while the bass and piano would play straight eighth notes eight to the bar against it. The way the Afro-Cubans approach the piece is very similar. The Basie band was known for its mastery of slow tempos, particularly when playing a blues. This composition is a perfect opportunity for your students to capture that spirit.

From the 2023 Essentially Ellington Competetion.

 

Full Score
2 Alto Saxophones
2 Tenor Saxophones
Baritone Saxophone
4 Trumpets
3 Trombones
Piano
Bass
Drum Set
Congas
Guiro

Trumpet 1: Eb6
Trombone 1: