When a Big Band is TOO Big

If one considers the vast amount of published big band music on the market today (think Hal Leonard, Excelcia, and others) then yes, there is a standard set up.

And here it is:

5 saxophones: alto I and II, tenor I and II and baritone (doubles can include flute, clarinet and bass clarinet along with soprano saxophone)

4 trumpets (with the full range of mutes, doubles can include flugal horns)

3 tenor trombones and one bass trombone (with the full range of mutes, occasionally the bass trombone can double on tuba)

Rhythm section: guitar (both hollow body or Freddie Green-style acoustic and solid body with the full range of pedals) piano (doubles on synth) bass (both acoustic and electric…not at the same time!) drum set and cymbals, occasionally an extra percussionist.

Once again, that instrumentation has become the tradition for published “educational” big band music. And therein lies the rub! If you have chosen to subscribe to the “all are welcome” methodology and you have 15 saxophones, 20 trumpets, 2 trombones, a euphonium, two extra bari saxes, and a rhythm section of two guitars three piano players, two bassists, a drummer and three percussionists, AND a vibes player… then please don’t make them play something that is written for the “standard” instrumentation! It is simply not what the composer had in mind, and the students end up getting a bad experience with the music.

If we consider the published format “normal,” the above-augmented ensemble seems “wacky” and comical. However, …and this is a HUGE, however…what if we think of said happy-happy joy-joy aggregation as creative with vast potential rather than wacky? I think we can… but NOT by playing Bob Mintzer’s “Elvin’s Mambo” with three guitars, a vibraphone and two euphoniums, or Brookmeyer’s “First Love Song” with fourteen alto saxophones, a tuba, three violins, a bassoon, and twelve bari saxophones (although I would very much like to hear THAT!) Instead, I think band directors who decide on the “Y’all come on!” approach to instrumentation try the following:

1. Have the band create “riff tunes” on a 12-bar blues
2. Choose a standard and write your own arrangement that takes full advantage of your unusual instrumentation!
3. If you dearly love a chart that was written for the standard published setup, create your own adaptation or arrangement that fits your ensemble!
4. What you have fielded is not a “big band” it is a large creative jazz ensemble! Come up with a cool name: “The Bedford Falls Jazz Collective” or some-such.

Any of those options are infinitely better than hearing thirty saxophones, one trombone, and eighteen trumpets with a rhythm section that consists of three guitars, two drums, a synth bass, and three pianos trying to play Sammy Nestico’s “Hay Burner.” (HEY! Don’t laugh… I’ve actually heard a band with similar instrumentation DO that!)

I believe that if you, as an educator, want to commit to wildly non-standard instrumentation for various good-hearted reasons, then it is also incumbent upon you–as an educator–to write some original arrangements for the band and teach them how to create “riff tunes” (more on riffs in another post!) If you aren’t comfortable with writing music, then sadly your education in undergrad was a bit lacking…but so what? Take a summer and study some basic arranging principles. I HIGHLY recommend Gary Lindsay’s seminal “Jazz Arranging Techniques” as a great resource. Go pick one up and get really good at writing music for your band! It’s a win-win for everyone!

With customized charts, the “comical” orchestration turns into a seriously creative jazz ensemble full of fresh colors and texture choices. You dig? Kinda cool. The kids would feel better about themselves (and even take pride and ownership if it is a riff tune that they wrote!), the band would sound better, and I can GUARANTEE (having been there myself) that the adjudicators at a festival would be THRILLED!

In the deeply philosophical words of The Beach Boys: “Wouldn’t it be nice?”

You can also use a wonderful series of texts called “The Real Easy Book” that has three-part arrangements written for concert treble clef, concert bass clef, Bb and Eb parts along with backgrounds for solos. Pass these books out and come up with some really cool charts that actually fit your instrumentation! Ta Da!