21M.342 | Fall 2008 | Undergraduate

Composing for Jazz Orchestra

Listening

These recordings are primarily organized by composer/arranger name. In cases where the band that recorded the selection is more prominent, the name of the bandleader is given, with the composer/arranger indicated in bracket.

Three primary collections are indicated by abbreviated titles. (Unfortunately, these Smithsonian Collection recordings went out of print in 1998, although many libraries have them and used copies can be found for sale.)

[BBJ] Big Band Jazz: From the Beginning to the Fifties. Smithsonian Collection of Recordings, 1983. 4 CDs.

[BBR] Big Band Renaissance: The Evolution of the Jazz Orchestra. Smithsonian Collection of Recordings, 1995. 5 CDs.

[SCCJ] Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz. Smithsonian Collection of Recordings, 1987. 5 CDs.

Compositions for which scores are provided to students are marked with §.

COMPOSITIONS RECORDINGS
Muhal Richard Abrams
Hearinga BBR v. 5, #15; or The Hearinga Suite. Black Saint, 1989.
Toshiko Akiyoshi - Lew Tabackin Big Band
Sumie BBR v. 3, #11.
Count Basie

9:20 Special
Moten Swing

Atomic Swing. Blue Note, 1999.
April in Paris § April in Paris. Polygram, 1997.
Basie Straight Ahead § On the CD accompanying Wright, Rayburn. Inside the Score. Delevan, NY: Kendor Music, 1990. ASIN: B000MMKKWO.
Everyday I Have the Blues § Vol. 3, #10 on Swing that Music! Smithsonian Collection of Recordings, 1994.

One O’clock Jump
Sent for You Yesterday

Count Basie: Complete Decca Recordings. Verve, 1992.
Sent for You Yesterday [Arr.: M. Harvey] § Private recording
Carla Bley

On the Stage in Cages
Birds of Paradise

Big Band Theory. ECM, 1993.
Anthony Braxton
Composition No. 286 (Ghost Trance Music) Six Compositions (GTM) 2001. Rastascan, 2002.
Creative Orchestra Music, 1976 Creative Orchestra Music. RCA/Bluebird, 1976 [original release]; reissued on The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton, Mosaic Records, 2008.
Willem Breuker Kollektief
Congratulation Cigar BBR, v. 5, #13; or Parade. BVHaast, 1991.
Bob Brookmeyer
Big City Life [See: Gerry Mulligan]
St. Louis Blues § Monday Night: Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orch. recorded live at the Village Vanguard. Solid State, 1968 [original release]; reissued on The Complete Solid State Recordings of the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra, Mosaic Records 5-151, 1994.
Willow Weep for Me [See: Thad Jones / Mel Lewis]
Don Cherry and Krysztof Pederecki

Humus - the Life Exploring Force [Don Cherry]
Actions for Free Jazz Orchestra [K. Penderecki]

Actions. Intuition, 2002.
Either/Orchestra
Soul Tezeta Live in Addis: Ethiopiques Vol. 20. Buda Musique, 2005.

Duke Ellington (some jointly-credited compositions with Billy Strayhorn, marked ‘+’)

Across the Track Blues §
Black Beauty
Chelsea Bridge +§
Concerto for Cootie §
Harlem [aka A Tone Parallel to Harlem]
Koko §

Beyond Category. Buddha, 1994.

Almost Cried +§
Pie Eye’s Blues [aka More Blues]

Anatomy of a Murder. Columbia, 1999 (original release 1959).

Black and Tan Fantasy
Come Sunday [1965]
Daydream +
Jack the Bear
Take the A Train +§

The Best of Duke Ellington Centennial Edition. RCA Victor, 1999.
Blood Count + …And His Mother Called Him Bill. RCA, 1990 (original release 1967).
Blue Serge [Mercer Ellington] SCCJ v. 3, #8.
Come Sunday § The Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts, January 1943. Prestige, 1991.
Cottontail SCCJ v. 3, #6.

Far East Suite (excerpts):

Tourist Point of View §
Bluebird of Delhi
Isfahan
Mount Harissa
Agra §
Amad

Far East Suite. RCA, 2003 (original release 1966).

Far East Suite, arr. Anthony Brown (excerpts):

Tourist Point of View
Bluebird of Delhi
Isfahan
Mount Harissa
Agra
Amad

Anthony Brown’s Asian American Orchestra. Far East Suite. Asian Improv Records, 1999.
Harlem Air Shaft § CD accompanying Jazz Styles: History and Analysis, 6th ed. Compiled by Mark Gridley. East Rutherford, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996. ISBN: 9780132609852.
In a Mellotone SCCJ v. 3, #7.
In a Sentimental Mood [Arr: H. Pomeroy] § Private recording
The Mooche § Early Ellington: The Original Decca Recordings [aka “Complete Brunswick and Vocalion Recordings, 1926-1931.”] Verve/GRP, 1994.

The Nutcracker Suite +

Overture
Sugar Rum Cherry
Danse of the Floreadores
Arabesque Cookie

Three Suites. Columbia, 2008 (original release 1960).
On a Turquoise Cloud BBR v. 1, #4.
The River [suite] The Private Collection, Vol. 5: The Suites, New York 1968 & 1970. Atlantic/WEA, 1990.
The Second Sacred Concert The Second Sacred Concert. Prestige, 1990 (original release 1968).
Solitude [Arr. M. Harvey] § Private recording
Such Sweet Thunder Such Sweet Thunder. Columbia, 1999 (original release 1957).
Gil Evans and Miles Davis

Boplicity §
Moon Dreams §

The Complete Birth of the Cool. Capitol/Blue Note, 1998.

Maids of Cadiz
My Ship §

Miles Ahead. Columbia, 1997 (original release 1957).

Porgy and Bess tracks #1-5:

Buzzard Song
Bess, You is My Woman Now
Gone §
Gone, Gone, Gone §
Summertime

Porgy and Bess. Columbia, 1997 (original release 1958).
Robbins Nest § Claude Thornhill Orchestra. Claude Thornhill and his Orchestra, 1947. Hindsight Records, 1994.

Saeta
Solea
Will o’ the Wisp

Sketches of Spain. Columbia, 1997 (original release 1959).
Maynard Ferguson
On Green Dolphin Street BBR v. 2, #9.
Erroll Garner
Misty [Arr. M. Harvey] § MIT Festival Jazz Orchestra. Transformations. MIT, 2004.
Misty [Arr: G. Wilson] The Complete Pacific Jazz Recordings of Gerald Wilson and His Orchestra. Mosiac Records, 2000.
Dizzy Gillespie
Chorale [Lalo Schifrin] BBR v. 5, #2.

Cubano Be/Cubano Bop
In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee
Manteca

The Complete RCA Victor Recordings: 1947-1949. RCA, 1995.

Hot House
Relaxin’ at Camarillo

Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Diz n’ Bird at Carnegie Hall. Blue Note, 1997.
Things to Come BBJ v. 4, #16.
Jimmy Guiffre

Cork n’ Bib §
Palo Alto §
Mobiles 1-16

Lee Konitz Meets Jimmy Giuffre. Verve, 1996.
Four Brothers § [see Woody Herman recordings]
Suspensions Bill Evans and Orchestra. Brandeis Jazz Festival, 1957. Gambit, 2005.
Vinny Golia
Views Vinny Golia Large Ensemble. Pilgrimage to Obscurity. Nine Winds NWCD0130, 1985.
Benny Golson
I Remember Clifford BBR v. 2, #14.
I Remember Clifford Oscar Pettiford: Complete Big Band Studio Recordings. Lonehill Jazz, 2005.
Whisper Not § Benny Golson’s New York Scene. Contemporary/OJC, 1997 (original release 1957).
Whisper Not Dizzy Gillespie. Birks Works: The Verve Big-Band Sessions. Verve, 1995.
Whisper Not Private recording
Benny Goodman
Blue Skies The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert. Columbia/Sony, 1999.

Bugle Call Rag §
One O’clock Jump
Roll ‘Em
Sing, Sing, Sing

Sing, Sing, Sing. Bluebird, 2008.
Undercurrent Blues BBR v. 1 #9.
Charlie Haden

The Circus
We Shall Overcome

Liberation Music Orchestra. Impulse/GRP, 1996 (original release 1969).
Lionel Hampton
Flying Home § BBJ v. 4, #6.
Mark Harvey

Blue Sequence §
Echoes §
Scamology

Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. Aardvark Steps Out. Nine Winds NWCD 0155, 1993.
Flex §

Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. Recorded live at Regattabar, Cambridge MA, July 18, 2001.

iTunesU (MP3 - 38MB)
Internet Archive (MP3 - 38MB)

Flex §

MIT Festival Jazz Orchestra. Recorded live at MIT Kresge Auditorium, December 9, 2000. The Tale of the Sky Swimmer. HerbMIT Productions, 2002. (Courtesy of Frederick Harris, Jr. and the MIT FJE. Used with permission.)

iTunesU (MP3 - 33MB)
Internet Archive (MP3 - 33MB)

No Walls Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. No Walls. Aardmuse, 2007.
The Prophet § Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. Bethlehem COUNTERPOINT. Aardmuse, 2002.
The Seeker §

Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. Recorded live at Regattabar, Cambridge MA, March 21, 2001.

iTunesU (MP3 - 16MB)
Internet Archive (MP3 - 16MB)

Alternate recording: Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. The Seeker. Leo Records, 2000.

Spirals Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. Trumpet Madness. Leo Records, 2005.

St. James Infirmary [arr. Mark Harvey] §
Three Bs & a Bop

Private recording
Swing Landscape Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. Paintings for Jazz Orchestra. Leo Records, 1993.
Fletcher Henderson

The Stampede §
Wrappin’ It Up

SCCJ v. 2 #1-2.
Woody Herman

Blue Flame
Four Brothers

The Thundering Herds 1945-1947. Columbia/Sony, 2008.
Ebony Concerto Ebony Concerto. Sounds of Yesteryear, 2006.

Sister Sadie
Stompin’ at the Savoy

BBR v. 1, #17-18.
Baird Hersey

The Prince
Your Voices Like Wind on a Mountaintop

The Year of the Ear. Have You Heard? Arista Novus, 1979.
The International Sweethearts of Rhythm
Bugle Call Rag Hot Licks, 1944-1946. Sounds of Yesteryear, 2006.
Thad Jones & Mel Lewis
Kids are Pretty People § On the CD accompanying Wright, Rayburn. Inside the Score. Delevan, NY: Kendor Music, 1990.
Quietude Central Park North. Blue Note, 2004 (original release 1969).
Willow Weep for Me [Arr: B. Brookmeyer] BBR v. 3, #5.
Stan Kenton

A Trumpet [Bob Graettinger]
Cuban Carnival [Pete Rugolo]

BBR v. 2, #1 & #3.

by Bill Russo:

Dusk
Egdon Heath
Thisbe

by Bill Holman:

Kinash
My Funny Valentine
Theme and Variations

Kenton Showcase: Music of Bill Russo & Bill Holman. Capitol/Blue Note, 2000.
Andy Kirk
Big Jim Blues [see Mary Lou Williams]
McGhee Special [H. McGhee] Vol. 3, #15 on Swing that Music! Smithsonian Collection of Recordings, 1994.
Moten Swing Andy Kirk & The 12 Clouds of Joy, with Mary Lou Williams. ASV, 1993.
Guillermo Klein
Impacto Gaudi MIT Festival Jazz Orchestra. Recorded live at MIT Killian Hall, May 2001. The Tale of the Sky Swimmer. HerbMIT Productions, 2002.
Ray McKinley
Idiot’s Delight BBR v. 1 #3.
Glenn Miller
String of Pearls [comp. Jerry Gray] BBJ v. 3 #11.
Charles Mingus

Adagio Non Troppo
The I of Hurricane Sue
The Shoes of the Fisherman’s Wife are Some Jiveass Slippers

Let My Children Hear Music. Columbia/Sony, 2008 (original release 1971).
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, tracks #1-4 § The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. Impulse/GRP, 1995 (original release 1963).
Duke Ellington’s Sound of Love Mingus Big Band 93: Nostalgia in Times Square. Dreyfus, 1993.

E’s Flat Ah’s Flat Too
Moanin’
Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting

Blues and Roots. Atlantic/WEA, 1998 (original release 1959).
Epitaph (excerpts) Epitaph. Conducted by Gunther Schuller. Sony, 1990.

Fables of Faubus
Open Letter to Duke

Mingus Ah Um. Columbia/Sony, 1999.
Haitian Fight Song § MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble. Flexology. MIT, 2005.
Revelations (1st movement) § Brandeis Jazz Festival, 1957. Gambit, 2005.
MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble (FJE)
Raga Jog [w/ Natraj] World Fusions. MIT CD, 2002.
[See also: compositions by Harvey, Klein, Mingus, Sharifi, Souriau]  
Thelonius Monk
Evidence Big Band and Quartet in Concert. Columbia/Sony, 2008 (original release 1963).
Four in One BBR v. 5, #4.
Round Midnight [Arr: Marty Paich] § Art Pepper + Eleven. Contemporary/OJC, 1991 (original release 1959).
Round Midnight [Arr: Oliver Nelson] Oliver Nelson: The Argo, Verve & Impulse Big Band Studio Sessions. Mosaic #233, 2007.
Round Midnight [Arr: H. Mancini] BBR v. 5 #7.
Butch Morris
Conduction #28, II – X
Conduction #26, E
Testament: A Conduction Collection. New World Records, 1995.
Bennie Moten
Moten Swing BBJ v. 1 #15.
Moten Swing [see Andy Kirk]
Moten Swing [see Count Basiel]
Moten Swing Private recording
Gerry Mulligan
Godchild § The Complete Birth of the Cool. Capitol/Blue Note, 1998.
Jeru [both takes] § The Original Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker. Pacific Jazz Records/Blue Note, 1998.
Walkin’ Shoes [Arr: Marty Paich] [both takes] Art Pepper + Eleven. Contemporary/OJC, 1991 (original release 1959).
Walkin’ Shoes § Pete Rugolo and his Orchestra. Adventures in Sound. Fresh Sound Records, 2006 (original release 1956).

Little Rock Getaway [Arr: Al Cohn]

Ballad [G. Mulligan]

Big City Life [B. Brookmeyer]

Pretty Little Gypsy; Bridgehampton South; Bridgehampton Strut [G. McFarland]

The Complete Verve Gerry Mulligan Concert Band Sessions. Mosaic Records, 2003.
Oliver Nelson
Blues and the Abstract Truth §
The Jazzhattan Suite
Miss Fine §
Soundpiece §
Oliver Nelson: The Argo, Verve & Impulse Big Band Studio Sessions. Mosaic #233, 2007.
Emancipation Blues § Afro-American Sketches. OJC, 1993 (original release 1960).
Intro to a Samba [C. Adderley/Arr: O. Nelson] Cannonball Adderley. Domination. Capitol/Blue Note, 2005 (original release 1965).
Stolen Moments § Blues and the Abstract Truth. Impulse/Verve, 2007 (original release 1961).
See also these suites:
The Kennedy Dream [a tribute to John F. Kennedy]
Peter and the Wolf [featuring Jimmy Smith, organ]
Oliver Nelson: The Argo, Verve & Impulse Big Band Studio Sessions. Mosaic #233, 2007.
New York Composers Orchestra

92 + (30, 32, 139) + (108c, 108d) For Creative Orchestra [Comp: Anthony Braxton]

Dance Music for Composers Orchestra [Comp: Lenny Pickett]

First Program in Standard Time. New World Records, 1992.
Jaco Pastorius
Punk Jazz The Birthday Concert. Warner Bros., 2008 (original release 1981).
Liberty City Word of Mouth. Warner Bros., 2002 (original release 1981).
Oscar Pettiford

Deep Passion
The Gentle Art of Love
Little Niles
Sunrise-Sunset

Oscar Pettiford: Complete Big Band Studio Recordings. Lonehill Jazz, 2005.
Herb Pomeroy
Theme for Terry BBR v. 2 #12.
Sun Ra

The Cosmos
Dancing in the Sun
The Sun Myth
A House of Beauty
Cosmic Chaos

The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Vol. 1 & 2. ESP Disk, 2006.
Boyd Raeburn

A Night in Tunisia
Boyd Meets Stravinsky

BBJ v. 4 #12-13.
Dalavatore Sally BBR v. 1 #2.
Buddy Rich
Goodbye Yesterday BBR v. 2 #10.
Johnny Richards
Nipigon BBR v. 2 #13.
Pete Rugolo
Cuban Carnival [see Stan Kenton]
Impressionism Pete Rugolo and his Orchestra. Adventures in Sound. Fresh Sound Records, 2006 (original release 1956).
George Russell
The African Game, #1-#4 The African Game. Blue Note, 1983.
All About Rosie § Bill Evans and Orchestra. Brandeis Jazz Festival, 1957. Gambit, 2005.
Cubano Be/Cubano Bop [see Dizzy Gillespie]
Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved by Nature So What The 80th Birthday Concert. Concept Publishing, 2005.
Maria Schneider

El Viento
Bombshelter Beast

Coming About. Enja, 1996.
Gunther Schuller

Blue Moon
Jumpin’ in the Future

Jumpin’ in the Future. GM Recordings, 2001.
Transformation Bill Evans and Orchestra. Brandeis Jazz Festival, 1957. Gambit, 2005.
Jamshied Sharifi
Katarina’s First Song MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble. JAMIT Productions, 1990.
Artie Shaw

Begin the Beguine [Cole Porter]

Evensong [Paul Jordan]

The Glider [Buster Harding]

Krazy Kat [Johnny Mandel]

Similau [Arr: G. Russell]

Suite #8 [Paul Jordan]

Self Portrait: The Artie Shaw Collection. Bluebird, 2001.
Magali Souriau
The Tale of the Sky Swimmer [feat. Herb Pomeroy, trumpet] MIT Festival Jazz Orchestra. Recorded live at MIT Kresge Auditorium, December 9, 2000. The Tale of the Sky Swimmer. HerbMIT Productions, 2002.
Walter Thompson
PEXO - A Soundpainting Symphony

PEXO - A Soundpainting Symphony. Nine Winds, 2003.

Video of the Walter Thompson Orchestra: climbersax. “Soundpainting - Walter Thompson.” November 4, 2007. YouTube. Accessed June 6, 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA4nnxG30og.

Gerald Wilson

Out of This World
Viva Tirado
Misty

The Complete Pacific Jazz Recordings of Gerald Wilson and His Orchestra. Mosiac Records, 2000.
Mary Lou Williams

Big Jim Blues §
Walkin’ and Swingin’

Andy Kirk & The 12 Clouds of Joy, with Mary Lou Williams. ASV, 1993.
In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee [See Dizzy Gillespie]
Scorpio § The Zodiac Suite. Smithsonian Folkways, 1995 (original release 1945).
Scorpio The Dutch Jazz Orchestra. The Rediscovered Music of Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band. Challenge, 2006.
Scorpio Oscar Pettiford: Nonet & Octet 1954-1955 Recordings. Fresh Sounds, 2007.
Scratchin’ in the Gravel Andy Kirk & Mary Lou Williams. Mary’s Idea. Decca/GRP, 1993 (original release 1936).
Trumpets No End (Blue Skies) Duke Ellington and his Orchestra. Happy Birthday Duke, Vol. 3. LaserLight, 1992.

Course Info

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As Taught In
Fall 2008
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