Edition: Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Description: Swing - Difficult

Publisher: Jazz at Lincoln Center

Melba Liston (1926-1999) was a jazz trombonist, composer, and arranger who broke barriers for women in music. She began playing trombone at age seven and was playing solos on the radio by age eight. Although a formidable jazz trombonist, Melba Liston was primarily known for her arrangements with big bands of the time, influenced by the style of the Ellington and Basie bands. Some of her first work as an arranger and composer was with bandleader Gerald Wilson and tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon. In the 1940s and 1950s she worked with many popular big bands including those led by Dizzy Gillespie, Count Basie, Quincy Jones and Randy Weston, among others. This arrangement was recorded by the Art Blakey Big Band in 1957. Part of the 2026 Essentially Ellington competition.

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

Trumpet 1: G6
Trombone 1: C5