Swing Era Archives - Danny Fratina

Solos

That’s Rhythm

as performed by Rex Stewart & His 52nd St. Stompers

$60

The unassumingly-titled "That's Rhythm" is a colorful tune that straddles the line between the swing era and the bebop era. Written by Ellington sideman Rex Stewart for his own shorter-lived 4-horn band, "Rhythm" features a punchy and memorable head and lots of solo space.

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	2
TEMPO	= 148
Trumpet Range

Solos

Johnson Rag

as performed by Rocco and the Stompers

$65

Johnson Rag is an old, relatively obscure tune, seen here fleshed out into a fat swinging arrangement influenced by the writing style of Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson. The chart includes a bass/piano/bari riff, the trombone on the melody, a trumpet/alto pep section, and an original bridge, all with a middle section featuring a brass battle.

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	2
TEMPO	= 160
Trumpet Range

Solos

Man From Mars (reduction)

as performed by the Artie Shaw Orchestra

$60

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	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	3
TEMPO	= 230
Trumpet Range

Lindyhopper's Delight 4-horns score sample

Solos

Lindyhopper’s Delight (reduction)

as performed by the Chick Webb Orchestra

$60

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	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	2
TEMPO	= 195
Trumpet Range

Solos

Bugle Call Rag (reduction)

as performed by the Benny Goodman Orchestra

$60

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	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	3
TEMPO	= 235
Trumpet Range

Minnie The Moocher's Wedding 4-horn score sample

Solos

Minnie the Moocher’s Wedding (reduction)

as performed by the Benny Goodman Orchestra

$60

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	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	4
TEMPO	= 185
Trumpet Range

Solos

Solo Flight (reduction)

as performed by the Benny Goodman Orchestra with Charlie Christian

$60

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	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	4
TEMPO	= 180
Trumpet Range

Solos

Keep Punchin’ (reduction)

as performed by the Lee Norman Orchestra

$60

Also known as "The Big Apple Contest," Keep Punchin' 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	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	2
TEMPO	= 200
Trumpet Range

Solos

King Porter Stomp (reduction)

as performed by the Benny Goodman Orchestra

$60

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	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	4
TEMPO	= 184
Trumpet Range

Solos

Diga Diga Doo (reduction)

as performed by the Artie Shaw Orchestra

$60

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!

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	3
TEMPO	= 205
Trumpet Range

Calling Doctor Gillespie 4-horns score sample

Solos

Calling Doctor Gillespie (reduction)

as performed by Gene Krupa and his Orchestra

$60

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. A couple of solos in the middle round this out.

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	3
TEMPO	= 136
Trumpet Range

Pickin' the Cabbage 4-horns score sample

Solos

Pickin’ the Cabbage (reduction)

as performed by Cab Calloway and His Orchestra

$60

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	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	3
TEMPO	= 184
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

American Patrol

as performed by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra

$80

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 Range

Solos

Anchors Aweigh

as performed by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra

$80

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 Range

Solos

Look for the Silver Lining

as performed by Rocco and the Stompers

$65

This alto feature is a perfect tempo for new dancers and has some very cool background lines from the trio of trumpet, trombone, and bari sax. Let your alto play out a la Johnny Hodges and have your trio dig in with some conviction and this chart will swing hard.

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	2
TEMPO	= 125
Trumpet Range

Solos

Avalon

as performed by Rocco and the Stompers

$65

Coming out the same year as Prohibition, Avalon is one of the earliest jazz standards of the 20th century. Here, it's slowed down to a super slick beginner's dancing tempo featuring trombone on a staccato melody with a sassy background trio of cup mute trumpet, alto and bari sax almost taking over as a new melody over the bone.

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	3
TEMPO	= 120
Trumpet Range

Solos

Margie

as performed by Rocco and the Stompers

$65

Margie is a classic early jazz standard that was popular during the hot jazz and swing eras and is due for a comeback! This alto feature is built up like a Sy Oliver/Jimmie Lunceford arrangement, with a simple melody part and a bouncy and angular 3-part horn counterpart.

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	4
TEMPO	= 150
Trumpet Range

Solos

Lumbersexual

as performed by Rocco and the Stompers

$65

Lumbersexual is a grooving blues at the perfect medium dance tempo that features a catchy melody, built-in call and responses with soloists, and a huge final chorus. This original Rocco and the Stompers tune works well as a set opener, closer, or mid-set energy booster and never fails to get dancers engaged!

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	3
TEMPO	= 160
Trumpet Range

Solos

Swing Psychometry

as performed by Rocco and the Stompers

$65

Swing Psychometry is a trumpet feature that pushes the limits of swing era vocabulary. Full of 10 bar phrases and Ellington and Coltrane-inspired harmony, this interesting piece pops out in your book as something unusual yet familiar.

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	4
TEMPO	= 175
Trumpet Range

Solos

Jet Lag

as performed by Rocco and the Stompers

$65

Jet Lag is an Ellington-inspired riff tune with a serious harmonic twist. The serpentine changes in Bb are functional and logical but require a bit more focus than usual and the slightly behind-the-chords melody all work together to bring the title to life. This is an experimental chart that is a great workout for your best improvisers.

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	4
TEMPO	= 190
Trumpet Range

Solos

A Stompers Recrudescence

as performed by Rocco and the Stompers

$65

A Stompers Recrudescence is a killer finale piece. It starts with a windup intro, like a train leaving the station, before hitting a pre-head fanfare, then goes on to features all four horn players, an infectious blues head, and a huge final two choruses.

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	3
TEMPO	= 175
Trumpet Range

Solos

The Wilhelm Scream

as performed by Rocco and the Stompers

$65

The Wilhelm Scream is a flag waving jam session tune in the spirit of a Basie-style Lester Leaps In or a Shaw-style Diga Diga Doo that is open for solos for any/all instruments in the band. Built modularly, there are unique horn backgrounds that can be played depending on which instrument is soloing, with a final cued shout chorus that brings the house down!

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	3
TEMPO	= 230
Trumpet Range

Solos

Dysthymia, Maybe

as performed by Rocco and the Stompers

$65

Dysthymia, Maybe is an easy walkin' tune featuring a simplified bluesy unison riff for the melody and easy solo changes in F. This is an easy head tune that gives your horns a nice break while keeping dancers on the floor.

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	2
TEMPO	= 125
Trumpet Range

Solos

Hobbledehoy

as performed by Rocco and the Stompers

$65

Hobbledehoy is a long outdated word meaning a clumsy or awkward youth. This tune captures that spirit while still swinging and providing a perfect foundation for dancers. The melody is mostly in unison with some riffs and 3-part background lines behind the solos. This one is a hit that your band will love!

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	2
TEMPO	= 140
Trumpet Range

Solos

Emerald

as performed by Rocco and the Stompers

$65

Emerald is a Rocco and the Stompers original that primarily features the alto sax with triad counterpoint a la Johnny Hodges and Duke Ellington. This is a fun an interesting chart considering how relatively easy it is, and it's always a hit with dancers!

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	2
TEMPO	= 150
Trumpet Range

Solos

Vestigiophony

as performed by Rocco and the Stompers

$65

Vestigiophony is a winding dance tempo swing tune that is loosely based on Wayne Shorter's composition Footprints, if that tune was written and arranged by Duke Ellington for Johnny Hodges' seven piece band. Horns are often concerted in 4-part voicings, all building to solos, then to a shout chorus with drum solo fills.

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	4
TEMPO	= 160
Trumpet Range

Solos

Pletchtastic

as performed by Rocco and the Stompers

$65

Pletchtastic is a tongue-in-cheek titled song commissioned for Club Drosselmeyer. A simple Bb blues riff melody, solos for every instrument, no backgrounds, and a big intro and ending makes this a great opener, closer, or mid-set rest piece for your horns.

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	2
TEMPO	= 175
Trumpet Range

Do Some War Work, Baby inst score sample

Solos

Do Some War Work, Baby (instrumental)

as performed by Cootie Williams and His Rug Cutters

$60

This Cootie Williams number is a great easy piece that still authentically swings hard. The original recording of Do Some War Work, Baby has a vocal chorus in the middle, but this transcription replaces it with a solo chorus for bari sax and alters the ending to make it fully instrumental. The vocal version can be found here.

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	1
TEMPO	= 140
Trumpet Range

Solos

A Form of Art

as performed by the Danny Fratina Jazz Orchestra

$95

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 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

Flip Lid (reduction)

as performed by Les Brown and His Band of Renown

$60

Flip Lid comes from the peak of Les Brown's band, coming out of the swing era with Lunceford and Basie sensibilities, but tapping into the bebop era of Dizzy's and Woody Herman's bands. Featuring the horn section throughout the head and a well balanced shout chorus, this swingin' chart sits right in between two eras of jazz.

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Bebop, Swing Era
Level	4
TEMPO	= 188
Trumpet Range

Solos

The Right Idea (reduction)

as performed by Charlie Barnet and his Orchestra

$60

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 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	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	3
TEMPO	= 185
Trumpet Range

Solos

Calling Doctor Gillespie

as performed by Gene Krupa and his Orchestra

$80

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 Range

Solos

Brother Jug’s Sermon

as performed by Gene Ammons

$60

Gene Ammons preaches on in Brother Jug's Sermon, a soulfully grooving dance tune that now fully features bari sax. The horn backgrounds are simple enough--a couple of horn turns and a few suggested high notes in the bari make this an easy level 2. Swing music has never been so hip!

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Bebop, Swing Era
Level	2
TEMPO	= 145
Trumpet Range

Solos

You Talk a Little Trash

as performed by Cootie Williams and His Rug Cutters

$60

Aside from a little chromaticism on the bridge, You Talk a Little Trash is a solid level 1 swinger. Most of the melody is unison, the changes are simple, the tempo is an easy-going 160bpm, and the lines are timeless. Cootie Williams shows that you can do a lot with a little on this catchy chart.

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	1
TEMPO	= 160
Trumpet Range

Solos

Do Some War Work, Baby

as performed by Cootie Williams and His Rug Cutters

$60

This Cootie Williams number is a great easy piece that still authentically swings hard. Do Some War Work, Baby has a vocal chorus in the middle, but an instrumental adaptation is available here, replacing the vocals with a solo chorus for bari sax and altering the ending.

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	1
Vocals	Male
TEMPO	= 140
Trumpet Range

Solos

When the Quail Come Back to San Quentin

as performed by Artie Shaw and the Gramercy Five

$60

This hip Artie Shaw original features a little of everyone at the perfect dance tempo. Anecdotally, When the Quail Come Back to San Quentin was written in response to a music business insider's request for Shaw to play a sappy hit of the day. Shaw instead went live to air with this antithetical parody that seriously swings.

Instrumentation	Ellington 7-Piece
Style	Swing Era
Level	3
TEMPO	= 170
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

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

Style: Swing Era

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