Edition: Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Description: Ballad - Difficult

Publisher: Jazz Lines Publications

Written as a part of his Kansas City Suite, Benny Carter's lovely ballad Sunset Glow serves as a multi-faceted feature for your band. The melody is a solo showcase for trombone (played by Henry Coker on the original recording), while the sax section gets their moment to shine as an ensemble. This publication is based on a version Carter wrote at a later date to include a fourth trombone part, but is otherwise virtually identical to the original recording.

Some warm sounds from the saxes and muted trumpets set the mood for Coker's entrance with the melody at measure 5. Said melody takes a cue from the Tommy Dorsey school of balladeering with its sustained passages in the trombone's upper register, which will require a soloist who has both the strength to execute it as well as the finesse to perform with an appropriately delicate style. Instrumental accompaniment comes mostly in the form of gentle chords in the saxophones, with only a short trumpet fanfare coming in toward the end.

Measure 23 shifts the spotlight to the sax section, who play a tricky double-time soli section that moves along at a brisk pace that will require rehearsing to develop a comfortably relaxed feel. A sharp brass burst at measure 33 marks the end of the ensemble section and a shift back to solo trombone for the final stretch of the arrangement, with things gradually tapering down to a gentle hum for the conclusion.

This publication was prepared using a score and set of parts that Benny Carter wrote in the 1980s or '90s but is the same arrangement that was recorded by the Count Basie Orchestra in 1960 with the exception of an added 4th trombone part.

 

Full Score
2 Alto Saxophones
2 Tenor Saxophones
Baritone Saxophone
4 Trumpets
4 Trombones (Trombone 4 Optional)
Guitar
Piano
Bass
Drums

Trumpets 1-2: D#6
Trombone 1: D5