Edition: Jazz Big Band Arrangement with Vocal

Description: Swing - Difficult

Publisher: Jazz Lines Publications

Born of an unlikely collaboration between the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra and famed R&B singer Ruth Brown, Jones's arrangement of Bye, Bye Blackbird was also performed over the years by Carmen McRae and Dee Dee Bridgewater. While the vocals are the star attraction for the majority of the performance, Jones still manages to infuse the accompaniment with his trademark wit and creativity.

Right off the bat, the brass aggressively rip into a volatile reharmonization of the melody's opening strain, with the saxes replying with a somewhat mellower take. Brown arrives and handles a full chorus of melody at measure 9. The orchestration underneath her can be quite busy and densely orchestrated, so the horns should hold back a little more than they may think they need to.

After the melody is completed, the horns split a half chorus each for a soli section. The brass handle the first 8 bars, with the unison trumpets playing a line that is not unlike something Jones himself would have improvised. Following up are the saxes, who play an even more intricately plotted line, albeit in harmony rather than unison. Brown returns for the second half of the tune at measure 57, with the band at full, dissonant blast for a few measures before the temperature recedes for a bit. To bring things to a close, the bombastic brass introduction is re-used before a somewhat surprising final chord.

Included is an alternate woodwind 1 on alto saxophone (without the soprano sax double) in the event that your ensemble does not have a soprano saxophonist.

This publication was prepared from the original parts, this is not a transcription.

 

 

Full Score
Vocal
Soprano Saxophone (Or Alto Saxophone)
Alto Saxophone
2 Tenor Saxophones
Baritone Saxophone
4 Trumpets
3 Trombones
Bass Trombone
Guitar
Piano
Bass
Drum Set

Vocal Key: C
Trumpet 1: F#6
Trombone 1: C5