Edition: Jazz Studio Ensemble Arrangement

Description: Latin/Swing - Medium Difficult

Publisher: Jazz Lines Publications

Baxter was a ground-breaking force in music, having helped to usher in exotica in 1947 with his Music Out of the Moon release (themes by Harry Revel). Thoughout the 1950s Baxter was busy releasing albums incorporating rhythms, melodies, and instruments from places such as Polynesia, Africa, South America, and the Caribbean islands. This arrangement of Coco is from Baxter's 1959 album Jungle Jazz written to feature tenor saxophonist Plas Johnson.

Beginning with a piano solo (all piano parts were fully composed by Baxter) the arrangement kicks in with the woodwinds and one of the horns in F playing the chromatic melody with the rest of the ensemble providing punctuating backgrounds. This section alternates between Latin and swing feels. An 8-bar piano solo sets the stage for the tenor saxophone solo, originally played by Plas Johnson. After the band rejoins to state the melody the keyboardist moves over to the Novachord for 13 bars. This instrument was the first synthesizer, having been originally built in 1939. Assuming your ensemble does not have a Novachord available, this section can easily be played on a conventional synthesizer (musically, this section consists of held chord and one whole-tone scale). The arrangement then comes to an end with your tenor sax player throwing in a few more fills before the piano player wraps things up.

Note: included are alternate parts that avoid the need of horns in F. The two horn parts may be played on an additional trumpet and trombone (providing a need for 3 of each). Also, this publication does not include the last minute and a half of music, which was not originally part of this arrangement.

This publication was prepared using the original set of parts from the 1959 recording session - this is not a transcription.

 

 

Full Score
Woodwind 1: Flute/Clarinet
Woodwind 2: Clarinet/Tenor Saxophone
Woodwind 3: Tenor Saxophone
Woodwind 4: Baritone Saxophone
2 Trumpets
2 Horns in F (or 1 Trumpet and 1 Trombone)
2 Trombones
Piano/Novachord (or Sythesizer)
Acoustic Bass
Drum Set
Percussion 1: Güiro (Reco-Reco)
Percussion 2: Cabasa

Trumpet 1: D6
Trombones: Bb4