Edition: Jazz Big Band Arrangement

Description: Swing - Difficult

Publisher: Jazz at Lincoln Center

Please note that this is the same arrangement as the one previously published by Jazz Lines Publications.

This classic arrangement shows Benny Golson at the full extent of his mastery. Although it quickly became a jazz standard, winding up in the repertoires of artists as diverse as Art Blakey, Bobby Hackett, Fred Hersch, Art Farmer, Ella Fitzgerald, Keith Jarrett, Peggy Lee, and Wes Montgomery, it is this 1975 big band arrangement of Whisper Not, which Golson wrote for Dizzy Gillespie, that remains the definitive version.

Each of the various melodic themes and variations are colored with a perfect orchestral hue. The backgrounds compliment the melodies and solos so naturally that they don’t take the focus away from the soloist and are just as memorable as the melody itself. There’s an inevitable quality to a masterpiece such as this that recalls the earlier work of another master saxophonist and composer, Benny Carter, yet Golson's innovative harmonies make it all his own.

This is a piece that should receive a lot of loving care and time in rehearsal.

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

Trumpet 1: D6
Trombone 1: Bb4