Edition: Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Description: Ballad - Advanced

Publisher: Jazz Lines Publications

Recorded in 1956 for the album Something Else, Johnny Richards's arrangement of For All We Know has a dramatic, almost cinematic quality to its architecture. Although it is mostly composed, there are a few short solo moments scattered across the ensemble over the course of its duration.

One of these moments comes right off the bat, with an abstract melody statement on French horn backed by a group of pointed, minimalist ensemble figures before settling into a steady ballad tempo at measure 5. All wind players should avoid using vibrato unless soloing throughout the performance. Initially handled by a chorale-like brass section (with a short tenor sax obbligato at measure 13), the melody becomes a trombone showcase for the back half at measure 21.

For an interlude, the ensemble engages in a dramatic swell before dropping off to a subtly pulsing timpani. An eight measure trumpet solo is accompanied by a key change at measure 41. The band slowly works its way back in until returning to full strength at measure 49 for just a short while, with the arrangement ultimately settling into an ominously dissonant ending.

In order to make this arrangement playable by a standard big band instrumentation, several alternate parts are provided to substitute for some of the more unusual instruments Richards employed in his original score. Additionally, Richards's student, Joel Kaye, eventually added extra parts that were not in Richards's original score (5th woodwind, 5th trumpet, and 4th trombone); these parts have also been included and indicated as optional.

This publication was prepared from Johnny Richards's original score and the set of parts used for the recording session - this is not a transcription.

 

Full Score
Woodwind 1: Alto Saxophone
Woodwind 2: Tenor Saxophone
Woodwind 3: Tenor Saxophone or Alto Saxophone (Optional Added Part)
Woodwind 4: Baritone Saxophone (Or Tenor Saxophone)
Woodwind 5: Bass Saxophone (Or Baritone Saxophone)
5 Trumpets (Trumpet 5 Optional)
Horn in F (Or Flugelhorn)
4 Trombones (Trombone 4 Optional)
Tuba
Guitar
Piano
Bass
Percussion: Xylophone/Timpani
Drum Set (with Triangle)

Trumpet 1: Eb6
Trombone 1: Ab4
Trombone 3: C5