Edition: Jazz Small Group Arrangement with Vocal

Description: Swing - Medium

Publisher: Jazz Lines Publications

One of the most iconic contemporary holiday classics, Frank DeVol's arrangement of Sleigh Ride for Ella Fitzgerald has seen a recent resurgence in popularity due to its use in the soundtrack to the Will Ferrell movie Elf. Taken at a bouncy medium tempo and featuring a couple tricky harmonic alterations, it's a guaranteed hit with both musicians and audiences alike.

The introduction sets the pace for the rest of the performance with a light horn riff underneath a French horn-esque trombone solo. This horn riff continues to return throughout the chart, including underneath Fitzgerald's entrance at measure 9. Beginning in a two-beat feel, the bass shifts to a walking feel at measure 25, with the horn backgrounds becoming a bit more complex to match the new groove.

Once Fitzgerald has completed her melody, the horns engage in a brief solo send off that contains more than a whiff of an Ellington/Strayhorn influence. A half-chorus trombone solo follows, with some alternate chords that can catch your musicians off guard if they're not ready for them. Fitzgerald returns at measure 73, where the ensemble is copied and pasted from before. DeVol wraps things up with a couple fake-outs - first, a slowly diminishing reworking of the intro horn riff, followed by a sudden jab, before finally wrapping things up with one last short but sweetly lilting melody

For unknown reasons Ella Fitzgerald did not have the score nor the set of parts for this arrangement in her library. As such, this arrangement has been transcribed from the 1960 recording.

 

 

 

Full Score
2 Alto Saxophones (Alto Sax 1 Doubles Clarinet)
2 Tenor Saxophones
Baritone Saxophone
Trumpet
Trombone
Guitar
Piano
Bass
Drum Set
Bongos

Vocal Key: Db
Trumpet: Ab5
Trombone: Db5