Edition: Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Description: Bossa Nova - Difficult

Publisher: Jazz Lines Publications

It Only Happens Every Time was recorded by the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Orchestra on their essential 1970 album Consummation. Unlike Jones's more familiar gregarious style, it is a gentle bossa nova that luxuriates in its lush harmonies and sultry melody, only briefly reaching the raucous heights for which his music is usually known.

A bass pedal provides a sense of anticipation underneath the ensemble intro. With flute and harmon-muted trumpet taking the lead, the first half of the melody employs some dense voicings in the low brass and woodwinds to provide a warm backdrop. The woodwind section takes over the melody duties at measure 25, with a trumpet obbligato courtesy of Marvin Stamm fluttering around them, before the band reaches its one and only peak roar moment a few measures later.

After rapidly tapering off, the spotlight shifts to pianist Roland Hanna, who performs a typically tasty solo for 16 bars before the band returns. The melody is largely handled by the brass, with the saxes providing a gentle counterline before subtly slipping back into the ensemble tapestry. The final few measures see a single trumpet leading the saxes in the ending refrain, with Stamm's muted horn again providing additional commentary.

We have provided alternate parts for 1st, 2nd, and 5th woodwind that remove and/or transpose any doubles in order to allow this arrangement to be played by a standard sax section. Any clarinet doubles in the 3rd and 4th woodwind parts may be played up an octave on tenor sax instead.

 

Full Score
Woodwind 1: Flute/Soprano Saxophone
Woodwind 2: Soprano Saxophone
Woodwind 3: Clarinet (Optional)/Tenor Saxophone
Woodwind 4: Clarinet (Optional)/Tenor Saxophone
Woodwind 5: Clarinet (Optional)/Bass Clarinet/Baritone Saxophone
4 Trumpets
4 Trombones
Guitar
Piano
Bass
Drum Set
Alternate Woodwind 1: Alto Saxophone
Alternate Woodwind 2: Alto Saxophone
Alternate Woodwind 5: Baritone Saxophone

Trumpet 1: E6
Trombone 1: Ab4