Edition: Jazz Little Big Band Arrangement

Description: Swing - Difficult

Publisher: Jazz Lines Publications

This is Bill Evans' exercise in fast harmonic rhythm, an obstacle course not unlike Giant Steps. It is based on the outline of What Is This Thing Called Love with numerous added harmonic details and detours and Bill's usual rich rhythmic language. There is flexibility in interpreting the improvisational possibilities for solos in this piece. It is possible to navigate through all the harmonic nuances as they are laid out in the chart, but that risks a mechanical sounding result. Of course, with some practice, it should be possible to do that artistically and well, but it is also possible to ignore many of the accompanying details and base a solo on the original Cole Porter piece. The resulting play of conflict and resolution that occurs as the new harmonies move away from and back towards the original form creates a changing and engaging texture. When playing this in Bill's trio, I abandoned most of the special harmonies for my solo and reverted to Cole Porter while Bill accompanied the solo with his special harmonies. It seemed to work.

Full Score
Alto Saxophone
Tenor Saxophone
Baritone Saxophone
Trumpet
Trombone
Guitar
Piano
Bass
Drums