Edition: Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Description: Swing - Medium Difficult

Publisher: Jazz Lines Publications

Serving as the opening track for the 1960 album Dance Along with Basie, Thad Jones crafted a marvelous take on the classic standard It Had to Be You that maintains the tune's romanticism while displaying the rhythmic and harmonic daring that is singular to his style.

A pedal point and some tastefully deployed dissonance creates a lightly mysterious atmosphere at the beginning, with the muted brass teasing the melody before Joe Newman's trumpet takes the reins at measure 9. Moving along at a gentle tempo, the ensemble swirls around the soloist before retaking the melody at measure 25. There are many dynamic shifts that occur over the next several bars that must be executed to precise accuracy to maximize the excitement inherent in Jones' writing.

For the arrangement's second (and final) chorus, the groove shifts in the drums underneath a tete-a-tete between the muted brass and the saxes. This soli section is fairly short-lived, as a piano solo that begins at measure 49 largely leads the way for the rest of the arrangement. The background figures in the horns can generally be performed a bit more aggressively than what a piano solo would typically call for. With a final melody reference, the band builds to a triumphant climax before a shockingly dissonant final chord brings the performance to a somewhat unnerving conclusion.

This publication was prepared from the original set of parts used for the 1960 recording session - this is not a transcription.

 

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

Trumpet 1: E6
Trombone 1: C5