Edition: Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Description: Swing - Difficult

Publisher: Jazz Lines Publications

Harry James, one of the leading trumpeters of the Swing Era, was a huge fan of the sound and style of the 1950s Count Basie Orchestra. James hired several of Basie's arrangers to write arrangements for him in the early 1960s, including Neal Hefti, Ernie Wilkins, and Thad Jones. Many of Thad's contributions were recorded by James, including charts that made up the the entire 1964 record New Versions of Down Beat Favorites, two charts on Our Leader! and still more in the 1970s. However, several of these were never recorded or available-until now; they remained a part of Harry James's library and were discovered in his archives. Highlights include totally different versions of familiar Jones classics Three and One and Tip Toe. These charts beautifully illustrate how Thad had such a unique talent for writing within the established style of others' bands, while still managing to instill his own musicality in each piece. These have never been published previously, and along with enlarging the existing Jones canon, they will also give the world yet another window via which to view the mastery of this giant of arranging.

This arrangement of the Thad Jones original composition Letter from Home features a trumpet solo. There is also a piano solo and a nice 16-bar sax soli that is followed by a great shout chorus. Please note that the instrumentation of this arrangement calls for a trumpet soloist with the ensemble (5 total trumpets). The sound sample is courtesy of Mike Steinel's JEN reading band.

Special thanks to Dr. David Demsey, John Mosca, and the Thad Jones Archive at William Paterson University for their assistance in perparing this publication.

Full Score
2 Alto Saxophones
2 Tenor Saxophones
Baritone Saxophone
5 Trumpets
3 Trombones
Guitar
Piano
Bass
Drums

Trumpet 1: Eb6
All Trombones: Bb4