Big Band Archives - Danny Fratina

Solos

Woodchopper’s Ball

as performed by the Woody Herman Orchestra

$80

Woodchopper's Ball was Woody Herman's first big hit and would continue to be rewritten and rearranged for decades as a major anthem for him and his various Herds. Plenty of solo space and easy riffing can be found here over a medium tempo Db blues. This is a great, authentic introduction to the swing era and the blues form makes it playable for a band of any level!

Instrumentation	Big Band
Style	Swing Era
Level	1
TEMPO	= 175
Trumpet Range

Solos

Why Not

as performed by the Chubby Jackson Big Band

$80

This Tiny Kahn chart is very consistent throughout with great lines and moving harmony. Filled with plenty of solo space around the band and some killin' trumpet lines, there are brief bursts of shout chorus pieces that build up past the final head out. Why Not is tough on the lead trumpet but worth the challenge.

Instrumentation	Big Band
Style	Bebop
Level	4
TEMPO	= 165-185
Trumpet Range

Solos

Up An Atom

as performed by Gene Krupa and His Orchestra

$80

Another killin' Edwin Finckel original, Up an Atom pushes Gene Krupa's young orchestra to the limit, blurring the line between swing and bebop. Long stretches of solo space and plenty of great ensemble passages makes this a great flagwaver.

Instrumentation	Big Band
Style	Bebop, Swing Era
Level	4
TEMPO	= 212
Trumpet Range

Solos

The Right Idea

as performed by Charlie Barnet and his Orchestra

$80

Charlie Barnet wrote a trio of "Idea" pieces: one that paid tribute to Duke Ellington, one that parodied the unhip bands of the day, and this one, The Right Idea, a piece that Barnet felt represented a truly quintessential swing chart. With solo space for several instruments and some great riffs and lines, you can tell right away that Barnet was spot on!

Instrumentation	Big Band
Style	Swing Era
Level	3
TEMPO	= 185
Trumpet Range

Solos

Swingin’ the Blues

as performed by Count Basie and His Orchestra

$80

This early Count Basie barn burner absolutely crushes on the blues, with catchy section work, a killer shout chorus, and solo space for both tenors and two trumpets. Starting small up front in the key of C, this arrangement builds up with great riffs, a Durham/Lunceford style chromatic modulation, and a massive shout chorus in two parts.

Instrumentation	Big Band
Style	Swing Era
Level	3
TEMPO	= 225
Trumpet Range

Solos

Song of the Volga Boatman

as performed by the Glenn Miller Orchestra

$80

This swingin' Bill Finegan arrangement of a traditional Russian folk shanty has some great ensemble work, several peaks, and a rare jazz canon for the brass! Some simple plunger work helps ground it in the swing era, and a huge finale with harmony way ahead of it's time makes Song of the Volga Boatman a killer addition to any big band book.

Instrumentation	Big Band
Style	Swing Era
Level	3
TEMPO	= 135
Trumpet Range

Solos

Solo Flight

as performed by the Benny Goodman Orchestra with Charlie Christian

$80

Around the age 24, Charlie Christian, not content with playing rhythm on every tune, wrote himself a soloing feature that has since become the guitar standard of the swing era. Solo Flight has lots of great wild punches from the band but it's all secondary to the guitar improvisation that dances around them. The chord changes have some familiar structures, but mixed in are slightly more modern chords with flashes of early bebop.

Instrumentation	Big Band
Style	Swing Era
Level	4
TEMPO	= 180
Trumpet Range

Solos

Ruined

as performed by the Danny Fratina Jazz Orchestra

$95

Ruined is a funky chamber jazz tune with feature space for guitar and trumpet. It starts with saxes only with no rhythm section, adding in trombones, then trumpets, before building into a guitar solo. The trumpet solo gets some space over trombone chorale before the rhythm section jumps back in, and it ends with a dismantling of each section until nothing is left but the five saxes. Each horn player keeping good time is critical for this composition, but the reward is a lush and exciting groove-based piece.

Instrumentation	Big Band
Style	Modern Jazz
Level	4
TEMPO	= 90
Trumpet Range

Solos

Pickin’ the Cabbage

as performed by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra

$80

Written for Cab Calloway's band, Pickin' the Cabbage is Dizzy Gillespie's first ever big band composition. The slick tune features a great melody for a trio and many hints of modern bebop and afro-cuban music that would later be Gillespie's trademark.

Instrumentation	Big Band
Style	Swing Era
Level	3
TEMPO	= 184
Trumpet Range

Solos

O Holy Night

as performed by the Beantown Swing Orchestra

$95

From the Beantown Swing Orchestra 2011 holiday album A Beantown Christmas, what starts as a traditional-sounding orchestral jazz arrangement of the Christmas classic warps into a Duke Ellington style R&B swinger. Reflective and introspective moments balance against soulful bluesy cries in this powerhouse arrangement that has a little something for everyone.

Instrumentation	Big Band
Style	Swing Era
Level	4
Vocals	Male
TEMPO	= 65
Trumpet Range

Solos

Minnie the Moocher’s Wedding

as performed by the Benny Goodman Orchestra

$80

This wild piece starts out with Fletcher Henderson quoting of Mendelssohn's "Wedding March," but after two bars it's off to the races with tons of intricate riffs, solos, and a rowdy shout chorus at the end. Watch out for the lightening quick mute changing, which was standard practice in the 1930s. This piece makes a great wedding reception opener and many working bands using it now will open up the first solo section as a vamp to introduce a wedding party.

Instrumentation	Big Band
Style	Swing Era
Level	4
TEMPO	= 185
Trumpet Range

Solos

Melanchology

as performed by the Danny Fratina Jazz Orchestra

$95

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 Range

Solos

Man From Mars

as performed by the Artie Shaw Orchestra

$80

Man From Mars is an uptempo puncher with some slick solo spots and cool riffs for each section. A little intricate for a level 3, but not quite as demanding as a level 4, this piece swings hard and ends with a bang.

Instrumentation	Big Band
Style	Swing Era
Level	3
TEMPO	= 230
Trumpet Range

Solos

Lindyhopper’s Delight

as performed by the Chick Webb Orchestra

$80

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 Range

Let’s Do It

as performed by Benny Goodman Orchestra with Peggy Lee

$80

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 Range

Solos

King Porter Stomp

as performed by the Benny Goodman Orchestra

$80

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 Range

Solos

Keep Punchin’

as performed by the Lee Norman Orchestra

$80

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 Range

I See Christmas

as performed by the Beantown Swing Orchestra

$95

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 Range

Solos

Flying the Coop

as performed by the Chubby Jackson Big Band

$80

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 Range

Solos

Flip Lid

as performed by Les Brown and His Band of Renown

$80

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 Range