DESCRIPTION:
(midi rendering)
Hear the real thing! http://youtu.be/VTC-EZC3L-I

Performance Notes:
JAZZ CLASSICS FOR MEDIUM-SIZED BIG BANDS: CORNBREAD

In this series for 12-piece band, I've tried to stick as close to the original small-group recordings as possible, even transcribing the recorded solos and writing them out for the band, and using fragments of solos and riffs for backgrounds and shouts. The purpose is pedigogical: to get the students listening carefully to the recordings and critically to themselves, and start to get into the minute details of what makes, for instance, Lee Morgan sound so good. If a more experienced band gets something out of these arrangements, so much the better.

I very strongly recommend familiarizing yourself with the Blue Note recording of "Cornbread" (Blue Note 4222).

These charts are also designed to be fairly simple in terms of form. Please feel free to adapt them to your tastes and needs. If you want to repeat the head at the top, or make the 8-bar vamp into 4 bars, or add solos in different places, then go right ahead.

Again, the idea here is to teach -- using the simple forms of classic small-group jazz, how to make great music. The advantage of small jazz groups is the ability to be flexible and to allow a lot of room for improvisation -- not just solo improvising, but improvising the form and structure of the music. Some contemporary music for big band (like my own original music for large ensemble) is highly structured, requiring fairly strict adherence to the written page, and in a sense resembles the rigourously structured forms in classical music (at least, I'd like to think so). But the energy and spontenaity of smaller groups can be missed or forgotten. This chart is an attempt to develop and reinforce those skills, both for individuals and ensembles.

RS

For more charts for jazz ensemble, visit www.russellscarbrough.com or contact Russell Scarbrough by email: rscarbro@gmail.com.