Edition: Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Description: Swing - Difficult

Publisher: Jazz Lines Publications

Perhaps the most fascinating thing about the 1959 Ted McNabb & Co. album is that the album's namesake was not a musician, but rather the person who financed it. McNabb's purpose was to recreate the classic sound of the big band era of the 1930s and 40s, albeit with a twist of post-bebop modernism thrown in for good measure. By hiring a lineup of top New York City studio musicians (many of whom were Swing Era vets) to perform and arranger Marion Evans to craft the charts, McNabb was able to accomplish this goal and then some.

Taken at a brisk pace typical for the tune, Evans' arrangement of Mountain Greenery works as both an effective show-stopper and as a way to feature your ensemble's more bebop-oriented improvisers. A quick drum fill sets up the tempo before a somewhat ominous brass fanfare begins the performance in earnest. This fanfare is also used as an interlude between solos, and should always be approached with an appropriate fervor. The melody commences at measure 21, and is handled by the saxes throughout with the brass providing some simple jabs as accompaniment.

The arrangement shifts focus toward the soloists at measure 69, where there is a chorus of alto saxophone followed by a chorus of trombone. The full band returns to the fore at measure 149 with a shout half-chorus that features some engaging rhythmic displacement. The melody returns at measure 159, and is played as it was at the beginning of the arrangement. The opening fanfare is reused, in rhythmically altered form, one last time for an ending, ultimately concluding in a surprisingly dissonant final chord.

This publication was based on Marion Evans's score and the set of parts used during the recording session - this is not a transcription.

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

Trumpet 1: Eb6
Trombone 1: C5