Edition: Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Description: Swing - Medium

Publisher: Jazz Lines Publications

Horace Silver's iconic blues received the big band treatment courtesy of arranger Ernie Wilkins for Dizzy Gillespie's big band in 1956. By and large, the arrangement sticks fairly close to Silver's original intentions, especially with the melody statement.

Silver's funky opening piano riff is covered by the baritone saxophone, before the rest of the saxophone section picks up the melody in the first full bar. Gillespie's trumpet takes over solo duties after the statement of the melody, being prodded on by backgrounds that bare more than a passing resemblance to Silver's "rumbling" style of accompaniment. The shout section at measure 38 begins with a quote of Silver's piano solo from the original recording before moving into its own territory, with Gillespie soaring over the top of the powerful ensemble figures.

In addition to the studio recording, Gillespie's band was captured on record performing this arrangement live at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival. The ending melody statement is repeated several times, with increasingly comedic flair from baritone saxophonist Pee Wee Moore. Although our version only has the section marked as being repeated twice, your ensemble may open this section up if they are feeling in a particularly playful mood on any given day.

This arrangement features a part for solo trumpet, as well as three trombone parts in comparison to the usual four. An optional alternate trumpet 4 part has been included that allows this arrangement to be performed without a trumpet soloist. This publication has been prepared from the original set of parts - this is not a transcription. We hope you enjoy playing this arrangement as much as we enjoyed preparing it for you!

Full Score
Trumpet Soloist (Or Alternate Trumpet 4)
2 Alto Saxophones
2 Tenor Saxophones
Baritone Saxophone
4 Trumpets
3 Trombones
Guitar
Piano
Bass
Drums

Trumpet 1: Bb5
Trombone 1: Cb4