March 2025

Please click here to view our February Jazz Publishing Newsletter, sent on Tuesday, February 25th.

MARCH NOTES: (March 10th Update) Dave Pell diverted from his well-known Octet on two occasions in the late 1970s to pay tribute to his musical idol, tenor saxophone great Lester Young. Employing arrangements from fellow Young acolyte Bill Holman and guest appearances from Count Basie stars Harry 'Sweets' Edison and Joe Williams, these Prez Conference records feature a Woody Herman-style sax section (three tenors, one baritone) playing several standards associated with Young, complete with harmonized solis based off of his classic solos. JLP new release When You're Smiling takes its inspiration from Billie Holiday's 1938 recording featuring a forward-looking solo from Young that strongly hints at the innovations the bebop movement would codify a few years later. Another excellent chart from one of jazz's great small group leaders. This publication was prepared using the original set of parts from Dave Pell's library - this is not a transcription.

Dave Pell diverted from his well-known Octet on two occasions in the late 1970s to pay tribute to his musical idol, tenor saxophone great Lester Young. Employing arrangements from fellow Young acolyte Bill Holman and guest appearances from Count Basie stars Harry 'Sweets' Edison and Joe Williams, these Prez Conference records feature a Woody Herman-style sax section (three tenors, one baritone) playing several standards associated with Young, complete with harmonized solis based off of his classic solos.

When You're Smiling takes its inspiration from Billie Holiday's 1938 recording featuring a forward-looking solo from Young that strongly hints at the innovations the bebop movement would codify a few years later. Joe Williams handles melody duties both times in his typically soulful style, while the sax section keeps things light and breezy during accompanying and soli sections. This publication was prepared using the original set of parts from Dave Pell's library - this is not a transcription.

We have another from Ella Fitzgerald, You Do Something To Me. This Buddy Bregman arrangement was written for the 1956 Ella Fitzgerald Cole Porter Song Book album and has proven to be one of the definitive recordings of this standard.

Also brand new is Oliver Nelson's studio orchestra arrangement of Black, Brown, and Beautiful. This is the moving title track from Nelson's tribute to Martin Luther King, recorded in 1969. Featured is a beautiful melody (written for alto saxophone soloist) accompanied by a string orchestra that glides through sophisticated and sometimes dissonant harmonies. In the liner notes for the album Nelson states: "Black, Brown, and Beautiful is how I feel about my people. All of them."

All of the above were prepared using original music from the recording sessions.

March also roars in with a large batch of Hal Leonard's recent new releases in PDF downloadable form. Highlighting this group is a version of the Jobim classic Dindi penned by Rick Stitzel, with standard instrumentation to feature your vocalist or tenor sax star. Also from Rick is a medium easy swing chart on Softly, As in a Morning Sunrise. New from Michele Fernández is another original, Bravito!, which is designed to teach younger players authentic Merengue style. Also from Michele is a medium version of All the Things You Are with a creative Cuban Son Montuno and Brazilian Samba makeover. From Paul Murtha is a medium easy rock version of Lee Morgan's timeless standard, The Sidewinder. And we have two medium difficult combo charts from Mark Taylor, a swing version of Tadd Dameron's Lady Bird and a Latin take on Horace Silver's Song for My Father. Please see below for all of these and many more.

PLEASE CLICK HERE to see the entire collection of over 950 of Hal Leonard's jazz arrangements that we now proudly offer in instantly downloadable PDF format.

RECENT HIGHLIGHT: The Thad Jones Anthology: 82 Original Small-Group Compositions has become one of our most popular releases ever. Please click here to view this instant must-have volume in paper and PDF download formats.