Edition: Jazz Octet Arrangement

Description: Swing - Medium Difficult

Publisher: Jazz Lines Publications

Marty Paich's arrangement of I've Got a Feeling I'm Falling from the 1956 Dave Pell Octet album Love Story does an excellent job of maintaining the standard formula of the Octet while throwing in some unexpected curveballs along the way. It manages to strike a lovely balance between dreamy romanticism and jovial playfulness.

A semi-rubato introduction features Pell's tenor sax leading the way atop the ensemble all the way into the melody at measure 7. The other horns and rhythm section largely stay in the background until a short setup for the trombone to take the lead at measure 23. The final strain of the melody is essentially a tenor-trombone duet, with the two horns weaving around each other in a highly pleasant way.

Don Fagerquist's trumpet gets a half chorus to shine at measure 43, with Pell's tenor reclaiming the spotlight at 53. Once the improvising is over, Pell's tenor maintains the lead over a complex soli section featuring some uncharacteristically dissonant moments. The arrangement ends similarly to how it starts - with a semi-rubato tenor sax melody and occasional piano flourishes floating atop the rest of the ensemble.

This publication was prepared from the original set of parts used for the 1956 recording session - this is not a transcription.

Full Score
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone
Trumpet
Trombone
Guitar
Piano
Bass
Drum Set

Trumpet: Eb5
Trombone: C5