Post 300: ARRANGING JAZZ BAND MUSIC - THE THREE METHODS

Before a band plays a tune, it needs to have some idea of how to tackle it. In which key will it play? Who is going to state the melody in the first chorus? Who is likely to take solos, and when? Are we going to do anything unusual, such as playing a verse after a chorus?

A correspondent in the USA has asked me to say something about how musicians answer these questions.

There are three ways in which the questions can be answered. Most bands use METHOD ONE (On The Fly) for most tunes and METHOD TWO (Head Arrangements) for a few tunes. Very few bands use METHOD THREE (Orchestration).

METHOD ONE: ON THE FLY

There is no preparation. Someone picks a tune and a key; someone beats it in; and away they go. Musicians who often play together know well what everyone is expected to do. During the playing, the Leader may signal to individuals to take a chorus or half-chorus or middle eight, and may indicate whether some particular sort of backing to solos (e.g. stop chords or offbeats) is to be provided. The Leader can even signal a change in key: fingers representing the number of flats [down] and sharps [up] are a popular way of doing this. The Leader may signal a return to the first theme (usually by pointing upwards or by tapping his hand on the top of his head). The Leader will usually signal the out-chorus. If there is to be a tag, this is likely to arise spontaneously, with one player leading it and the others instantly joining in. This method is used and works very well for 90% of all tunes performed by traditional jazz bands. It often has great results. It is particularly suited to 32-bar standard tunes.

METHOD TWO: HEAD ARRANGEMENT

Before the performance, the band is likely to have rehearsed the tune or at least to have agreed who will do what and when. All the members of the band have to remember in their heads what has been agreed: hence the expression 'head arrangement'. Head arrangements are more likely to be used with complex tunes, rather than with straightforward 32-bar standards. A specimen head arrangement is as follows. I'm using the tune She's Crying For Me (Santa Pecora, 1925) and I'm showing you the head arrangement currently being followed by one of my local bands.

She's Crying for Me
1. Theme A : 16 Bars in F minor. Ensemble. Once.
2. Theme B : 16 bars in Ab. Ensemble. Twice - second time at Bar 15 merging into BRIDGE.
3. Bridge : Start on Bar 15 of Theme B; add 4 bars transition to F.
4. Theme C : 12 bars in F. Ensemble.
5. Theme C: Trumpet 12-bar solo with offbeats from rhythm section.
6. Theme C : Piano 12-bar solo, ending with transition to Ab.
7. Clarinet solo Ab on Theme B (16 bars).
8. Trombone solo on first 8 bars of Theme B.
9. Ensemble final 8 bars of Theme B.
10. 2- bar tag (trombone). All in on final note.

Most bands have in their repertoire a few tunes at least  that involve a head arrangement, though I know of one adequate and entertaining band that does not bother with any and sticks entirely with METHOD ONE.

METHOD THREE: ORCHESTRATED

Parts are printed or written out for the instruments and these will either have been learned by heart or will be on music stands in front of the players. This is particularly necessary with big bands where the effects can be terrific when, for example, the parts of the reed players are scored in close harmony.

I have seen this method used only occasionally by conventional traditional jazz bands: mostly it is used by beginners who have purchased some 'dixieland arrangements'. These published arrangements are good and will usually include provision for improvised solos: the orchestrator prints the chord sequence and leaves you to create your own solo. In traditional jazz, METHOD THREE has a place but it should be used sparingly. It can take some of the 'soul' and spontaneity out of the music.

Jazzers in the Seventeenth Century using METHOD THREE

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FOOTNOTE
The book Playing Traditional Jazz, by Pops Coffee, is available from Amazon.

Post 5: THE NEW ORLEANS RHYTHM KINGS

The New Orleans Rhythm Kings in 1922

Despite their name, The New Orleans Rhythm Kings (nicknamed NORK) were not a New Orleans-based band. They were a mixture of musicians who came from the Chicago region, as well as from New Orleans. They started out in Chicago, where they were seeking better-paid gigs than those available in New Orleans. In 1921, they secured seventeen months of employment at The Friar's Inn, East Van Buren Street in Chicago, so they called themselves The Friar's Society Orchestra. They started making records in 1922 - with Jelly Roll Morton as guest on some of them. They played classic standards (such as Panama, Clarinet Marmalade, Milenberg Joys, Maple Leaf Rag and Tiger Rag) as well as some of their own compositions (such as Farewell Blues and Oriental).

Although the band fragmented after the Friar's Inn residency, the driving forces - Leon Roppollo (clarinet) and Paul Mares (cornet) - still occasionally assembled musicians to record under the name of The New Orleans Rhythm Kings. This was a good and popular move. Their well-crafted music proved that jazz was to be taken seriously.

They appear to have made about 34 recordings in the 1920s, though only seven of these were actually recorded in New Orleans (over a three-day period in 1925). The others were recorded in Richmond, Indiana. There were usually eight musicians in the band, but almost thirty different players appeared over the years. Important (and left to right in the photo at the top of this article) were Leon Roppollo, Jack Pettis, Elmer Schoebel, Arnold Loyacano, Paul Mares, Frank Snyder and George Brunies.

Among the others, some of the most noteworthy were Santo Pecora (trombone), Bill Eastwood (banjo), Chink Martin (bass), and Mel Stitzel (piano). Several of the musicians also played in The Halfway House Orchestra during the 1920s. (You can read my article about The Halfway House Orchestra BY CLICKING HERE.)

So The New Orleans Rhythm Kings were a short-lived band. They dissolved completely in 1925. (Actually there were feeble attempts at revival: in 1934 and 1935, another thirteen recordings were made under the band's name in New York, but only one member - George Brunies - of the 1920s band took part.)

The Band had a big influence on later traditional jazz, however. Some of their compositions have entered the standard repertoire. And their careful arrangement and interpretation of tunes have made a big impression and been directly imitated. The band contained some significant composers, notably Paul Mares, Santo Pecora, George Brunies, and especially their pianist Elmer Schoebel, who probably was responsible for much of the arranging. We can tell they were a band who took a lot of trouble with getting things right. We must infer that they had regular serious rehearsals. Their playing was polished and varied. Leon Roppolo - the band's best improviser - showed how creative and 'bluesy' a clarinet could be.

If you are new to this band and would like to sample its music, may I make two recommendations?

(1) I Never Knew What a Girl Could Do  composed by their pianist Elmer Schoebel and recorded (with eight musicians) in New Orleans in 1925. CLICK HERE to play it. This is a merry tune much copied and still in the repertoire of many of our bands today. You will note how well crafted it is, with a four-bar Introduction, 16-bar Verse and 32-bar Chorus. Admire the teamwork. Enjoy the simple, clear lead and solo chorus provided by Paul Mares on cornet. Note the clever arranged 'turn around' at 54 seconds and again at 1 minute 31 seconds (after which the Verse - too good to waste - is played for a second time). Enjoy Roppolo's solo chorus starting at 1 minute 54 seconds. The final ensemble chorus offers collective improvisation as good as it comes. Throughout the whole, the rhythm section keeps the pulse going at a tempo that feels exactly right.

(2) She's Crying For Me recorded three days later in New Orleans, with Santo Pecora (the tune's composer) on trombone. Listen to it BY CLICKING HERE. It's a quite complex piece. We have a tricky 16-bar minor-key Introduction; then (at 33 seconds) a 24-bar Main Theme (making good and repeated use of flattened thirds). At the end of this, we have an intriguing key change as the instruments 'climb the ladder' note by note (starting at 1 minute 6 seconds) to the new key. (This is evidence - if any were needed - of how much trouble they took over their arrangements and how they had obviously rehearsed.) Next comes a 12-bar strain, played through twice by the clarinet and - as that ends - the whole band comes in with some well-rehearsed transitional chords (at 1 minute 46 seconds) that take us back to the original key. And so we return to the Main Theme, with clarinet and cornet alternating the lead. So much for us to study, learn from and be inspired by.