Edition: Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Description: Swing - Medium Easy

Publisher: Jazz Lines Publications

Night Walk is taken from the soundtrack Benny Carter composed for the 1966 film A Man Called Adam. Starring Sammy Davis, Jr., Louis Armstrong, Cicely Tyson, and Frank Sinatra, Jr., the film tells the melodramatic story of a jazz trumpeter (Davis) who struggles to maintain his sagging career while dealing with both the effects of racism and his own personal demons. Although the film has since sunk into obscurity, the soundtrack has become a cult favorite due to both Carter's typically excellent writing and the bold, exciting playing of Nat Adderley (who recorded the film's many trumpet solos).

The challenge with performing Night Walk comes not from requiring any virtuosic technique, but rather being able to create and sustain a subdued sense of brooding and bluesiness for the composition's entirety. An 8-bar rhythm section introduction sets the tone, where the dynamics are low and the mood is mysterious. The melody is handled in unison by the saxophone section on the tune's A section, while the muted trumpets and trombones alternate with each other on the bridge. The original recording only features a half a chorus of guitar and a half a chorus of piano for solos, but Carter's score contains chord changes for tenor sax, trumpet and trombone as well, should you wish to open things up. The second half of the melody is played again once solos are done, concluding in a simple but appropriate fashion.

Note: this arrangement was written for 3 alto saxophones, 2 tenor saxophones, and a baritone saxophone. An alternate tenor 2 part is included so that this arrangement may be played with just two alto saxophones. This publication was based on Benny Carter's original score, this is not a transcription.

Full Score
3 Alto Saxophones
2 Tenor Saxophones
Baritone Saxophone
4 Trumpets
4 Trombones
Guitar
Piano
Bass
Vibraphone (Optional)
Drums
Alternate Tenor 2 Part (See Description)

Trumpet 1: G5
Trombone 1: A4