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A Form of Art is a wild alto sax feature filled with the vocabulary of Duke Ellington and Paul Gonsalves. This is a frenetic, crescendoing rhythm changes tune featuring the alto soloing throughout. It's purely an improvisation vehicle; there is no melody for the alto to play. You must have an alto saxophone player in your band who is comfortable keeping the energy up across one long extended solo.
Instrumentation Big Band Style Swing Era Level 4 TEMPO = 220 Trumpet
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American Patrol hit #15 on the Billboard charts in 1942 and was one of Glenn Miller's last hits before joining the military and powered by a creative Jerry Gray arrangement it still holds up today. Mostly full of tight ensemble playing and only a single 16-bar solo, American Patrol is a staple of every big band book.
Instrumentation Big Band Style Swing Era Level 3 TEMPO = 184 Trumpet
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Anchors Aweigh is a classic Glenn Miller flag waver and it is a beast of chart. Lightning fast mute changes, rapid fire horn lines, swinging fanfare sections, and a rager of a back half make this is a difficult but exciting chart despite the unassuming source material it's based off of.
Instrumentation Big Band Style Swing Era Level 4 TEMPO = 270 Trumpet
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This is a killer arrangement of an old Scottish song that is full of meat and potato ensemble work. Beware the aggressive brass solos though: Solo trumpet plays up to a high F at the end, and they'll need to pull off the Paul Webster fireworks before then (the exact solo is written out but optional). You'll also need a lead trombonist to blast his way up to a HIGH F.
Instrumentation Big Band Style Swing Era Level 4 TEMPO = 160 Trumpet
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Bugle Call Rag is an all out flag waver that was a major hit for Benny Goodman. With simple chords and riffs and lots of solo space, this burning boogie-woogie/swing hybrid swings hard and is a quintessential swing era anthem.
Instrumentation Big Band Style Swing Era Level 3 TEMPO = 235 Trumpet
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This Edwin Finckel rarity swings hard and doesn't shy away from its bebop influences. Straddling the line between the two eras of jazz, Calling Doctor Gillespie features some infectious melodies and singable shout choruses. High Gs for lead trumpet are all optional - without them the highest note is a Bb above the staff. A couple of solos in the middle round this out.
Instrumentation Big Band Style Swing Era Level 3 TEMPO = 136 Trumpet
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An original song off the 2011 Beantown Swing Orchestra album A Beantown Christmas, "Christmas Land" is a light-hearted, swinging tune about the magical world of fun and happiness where all things Christmas are created. There are several solo spaces for trumpet and some great swinging ensemble parts reminiscent of Nelson Riddle's work for Frank Sinatra.
Instrumentation Big Band Style Pop Jazz Level 4 Vocals Female TEMPO = 124 Trumpet
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An original song off the 2011 Beantown Swing Orchestra album A Beantown Christmas, Christmas Memories is designed to sound as if Glenn Miller had performed this in 1938, complete with the classic clarinet-led reed section. To add to this effect, the song lyrics are about holiday nostalgia, connecting the past with the present.
Instrumentation Big Band Style Swing Era Level 2 Vocals Female TEMPO = 70 Trumpet
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From the 2011 Beantown Swing Orchestra album A Beantown Christmas, "Dancing in the Snow" is a cool-swinging original tune that features any combination of male or female singers. Ensemble work ranges from a tight horn quartet to a full-band roaring shout chorus and is sure to be a crowd-pleaser!
Instrumentation Big Band Style Pop Jazz Level 3 Vocals Male & Female TEMPO = 150 Trumpet
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Diga Diga Doo was a heavily covered tune in the 1920s and '30s, but Artie Shaw's version was one of the tightest. A hard swinging and nimble riff vehicle that has some room for solos as well, Diga is a great upbeat piece that isn't too tricky and has lots of fun moments! Saxes configured as CAATT.
Instrumentation Big Band Style Swing Era Level 3 TEMPO = 205 Trumpet
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Stan Kenton's early band came out of the swing era with dance charts like Eager Beaver, his first hit, but even here you can see the band trying to push the limits of swing and jazz. This piece has a lot of components that all work together, including lots of meaty low trombone notes, fanfare-ish trumpet lines, smooth swinging saxes, and even moments that feature the rhythm section. This is a little tricky for a 3 but not quite as intense as a 4.
Instrumentation Big Band Style Swing Era Level 3 TEMPO = 155 Trumpet
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Flip Lid comes at the peak of Les Brown's band, coming out of the swing era with Lunceford and Basie sensibilities, but tapping into the bebop vocabulary of Dizzy Gillespie's and Woody Herman's bands. Featuring the trumpet section throughout the head and a well balanced shout chorus, this swingin' chart sits right in between two eras of jazz. This is a very soft level 4, just a tad too difficult for level 3.
Instrumentation Big Band Style Bebop, Swing Era Level 4 TEMPO = 188 Trumpet
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A huge fanfare-ish intro announces this amazing Tiny Kahn tune, and Flying the Coop is quickly off to the races. Unison sax and brass lines at a breakneck tempo fill the head, while the meat of the arrangement features big bebop statements, sax solos, and an old-fashioned trombone chase (an early teaming of JJ Johnson and Kai Winding).
Instrumentation Big Band Style Bebop Level 5 TEMPO = 123 Trumpet
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An original song off the 2011 Beantown Swing Orchestra album A Beantown Christmas, I See Christmas is a love letter in a holiday setting with full Nelson Riddle-inspired ensemble work. The first vocal intro is in duet with piano, and after that it swings hard all the way to the end!
Instrumentation Big Band Style Pop Jazz Level 4 Vocals Male TEMPO = 120 Trumpet
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Also known as "The Big Apple Contest," this is a swing dancer staple and a must-have for any band that will ever play for swing dancers! After the famous simple intro a brass trio work plays off of a sax riff, and from there on it's simple burnin' riffs all the way home, with lots of great brass plunger work.
Instrumentation Big Band Style Swing Era Level 2 TEMPO = 200 Trumpet
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When Benny Goodman hired Fletcher Henderson, he turned the band's sound upside down, ushering in a new era of popular music. King Porter Stomp is demonstrative of the Henderson arranging style and is truly a Swing Era anthem. Solo space for several instruments, lots of tight ensemble work, and a roaring finish at the perfect dancing tempo makes this a quintessential piece in any big band's library!
Instrumentation Big Band Style Swing Era Level 4 TEMPO = 184 Trumpet
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The lead trumpet part here is tough for a 2 but overall this is an easy grooving arrangement that is one of the few swing era vocal charts to feature the singer fully throughout the form. Peggy Lee's cool performance on this recording brought the tune to a new height, with a swinging even-tempered arrangement to contrast and support her. The lead trumpet part here is almost a 3, but otherwise this is a solid 2. Vocal range is Bb3 to A4/C5.
Instrumentation Big Band Style Swing Era Level 2 Vocals Female TEMPO = 121 Trumpet
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As standard dance repertoire, Lindyhopper's Delight is a catchy riff tune with a startlingly modern middle chorus that features some relatively harsh sax harmonies flanked by thickly-voiced plunger-supported brass hits. The final chorus is a raucous one, even though the brass are in full octave unison on a concert Bb! This is a great tune for any library though, and a good, albeit sometimes tricky, introduction to plungers for younger brass players.
Instrumentation Big Band Style Swing Era Level 2 TEMPO = 195 Trumpet
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Melanchology is a moody medium tempo piece that is designed to be sophisticated but accessible. The opening march-like texture is supported by colorful nonfunctional harmony, leading all the way to a diminishing spacey ending. It's an easy level 3 with solo space for your best trumpet soloist and a little space for guitar and piano.
Instrumentation Big Band Style Modern Jazz Level 3 TEMPO = 150 Trumpet
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