Edition: Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Description: Swing - Medium

Publisher: Jazz Lines Publications

Benny Carter's 'The Legend' was written for one of two sessions the first Renaissance man of jazz made with the Count Basie Orchestra in the early 1960s. The 1962 album 'The Legend' brought together two of the swing era's biggest titans: pianist/bandleader Count Basie and saxophonist/composer Benny Carter. Despite their markedly different musical histories, these two luminaries' styles merged together in such a way that their individual personalities still shined through while creating an unforgettable unified sound. While retaining Carter's distinct musical identity, it manages to be an excellent fit for the classic Basie band style at the same time.

'The Legend' maintains a consistently sneaky, almost sinister tempo throughout, prodded along gently on the original recording by Sonny Payne's drums. A quick-hitting muted brass introduction leads into the slippery saxophone melody at measure 5. Although the brass backgrounds should never be excessively loud, they should be performed with at least a bit of punch and urgency.

A two-bar break marks the arrival of a muted trumpet solo (originally handled by Thad Jones) for a half a chorus at measure 37. The saxophone and trombone backgrounds take on a gentler edge than the backgrounds behind the melody. A brief ensemble interlude with the rest of the trumpets at the melodic forefront at measure 53 leads into a brief piano solo at measure 61.

The arrangement's otherwise subdued nature is interrupted with a full-blast brass fanfare at measure 68, where Frank Foster's tenor saxophone makes a quick cameo appearance before a brief but highly effective ensemble soli occurs at measure 77. The volume rapidly decays at the end of this section before the melody sneaks back in at measure 85. This subdued nature hangs on through the rest of the arrangement, up to and including the moody final ensemble chord.

Some notes on the markings at measure 69:
Originally, these eight measures were intended to be part of an ensemble soli, but ended up as a tenor saxophone solo with modified brass backgrounds on the recording. We have included the entirety of the soli as it originally appeared in Carter's score. If you would like to replicate the original recording, however, we have included markings in each part to indicate what sections to cut from performance. The optional 8va in the trumpets at measure 72 should only be observed when there is no tenor saxophone solo.

This publications is not a transcription - it has been prepared from Benny Carter's original score.

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

Trumpet 1: D6 (Optional E6)
Trombone 1: Ab4