Edition: Jazz Studio Orchestra Arrangement with Vocal

Description: Ballad - Medium Difficult

Publisher: Jazz Lines Publications

The song Mam'selle was written by Edmund Goulding and Mack Gordon for the 1947 film The Razor's Edge, which was also directed by Goulding. Frank Sinatra recorded this Earle Hagen arrangement on March 11, 1947 and it lasted six weeks on the Billboard Best Seller chart.

This arrangement provides a moody setting for this wistful and romantic song. Featured throughout is a solo violin (along with 2 other violin parts). This publication was based on the original Earle Hagen score as well as the set of parts used during the 1947 recording.

It is widely known that from 1943 to 1953 Axel Stordahl was Sinatra’s conductor and arranger. However, what hasn’t been widely understood is the extent to which he had assistance in the creation of arrangements. The concept of ‘ghost writing’ was commonplace at the time. The radio networks and television and movie studios had composers and arrangers on staff whose job it was to produce everything from film scores to incidental background music for announcer-read commercials. These on-staff arrangers were also available to help fill out a program of music needed for an upcoming performance. It’s no secret that as Sinatra became a major star in the 1940s he was performing on a near-daily basis. Due to the number of live dates Sinatra was involved in (concerts, radio, or television) it would have been very difficult for Stordahl to arrange new material to meet the demand. Hence, several ‘ghost writers’ were employed by the Sinatra organization to help quickly produce arrangements of popular songs of the day. Some of the people who contributed arrangements were Billy May, Bill Bunt, Neal Hefti, Earle Hagen, John Hicks, Lowell Martin, and George Siravo. In fact, there are at least two instances of arrangements that were begun by one arranger and finished by another. The two such arrangements are Don’t Fence Me In (Lowell Martin and Billy May) and The Brooklyn Bridge (Bill Bunt and Axel Stordahl). Until now it was widely believed that Stordahl had written most if not all of these arrangements. Now, due to the availability of materials from Sinatra’s library, we are able to determine the actual arrangers of this historic music.

 

Full Score
Woodwind 1: Clarinet
Woodwind 2: Clarinet
Woodwind 3: Clarinet
Woodwind 4: Oboe
Woodwind 5: Bass Clarinet
3 Trumpets
Horn in F
3 Trombones
Solo Violin
2 Violins (Recommended 8 Players on Violin 1, 3 Players on Violin 2)
Viola (3 Players)
Cello (4 Players)
Harp
Guitar
Piano/Celeste
Acoustic Bass
Drum Set

Vocal Key: Eb
Trumpet 1: G5
Trombone 1: G4