The Unique Jazz Ensemble Tailoring the arrangement to fit Michael Kearns www.drkmusic.com Why not just buy arrangements that fit your ensemble, whether that be range or orchestration? • You want to expose your ensemble to authentic material • You want to make your arrangement authentic • You have a fixed repertoire and not enough money for new arrangements • Cannot find suitable music, which matches the instrumentation and skill of the ensemble • You want to perform a song but are limited to the available arrangement Seven arrangements • Big Mama Cass – Don Sebesky • Soul Vaccination – arranged by Paul Murtha • Minnie the Moocher – arranged by Ralph Ford o https://youtu.be/no1najh5UKk • Uptown Funk – arranged by Victor López • Deed I Do – arranged by Bill Holman • Long in the Tooth – Frank Mantooth • This Bass Was Made For Walkin’ – Thad Jones Simple steps to alter arrangement • Easiest: write directly on the part • Scan the document and edit the part o E.g., Photoscore Lite and Sibelius Any instrumental arrangement can be turned into a vocal number, if it is the correct range • Identify and tacet the melody • Change form to match a recording • Singer learns the song from the recording • Investing a little time can really expand your repertoire Reducing a big band arrangement to fit your unique ensemble • First: can the arrangement be altered to match the original recording? • Cover all essential voices/lines • Use the trombones as base of any voicing • Fill other voices with select trumpet notes • Scan parts and alter in computer notation program