Sweet Georgia Brown
 

I wrote this arrangement in September, 1963 for the USAF Band's Airmen of Note jazz band. I've entered it into Notation Composer for my own enjoyment and to play along with on my Clavinova. The open part after Letter C with just bass and drums is set up for a jazz soloist. The chord symbols are Free Text and are transposed into the bari sax key. I need to learn how to put incidental piano comping in for solo sections like this. I don't have the skills to put a jazz solo into a piece like this, either, but I can play along with it in the privacy of my home. Perhaps you can, too.

Re: Sweet Georgia Brown
 

Hi Ralph,

You know, as I've been listening to this piece previously I thought it sounded a lot like some of my favorite military jazz band pieces, and now I know why :) I didn't know you were the staff arranger (I found you in the History of the Airmen of Note, at http://www.airmenofnote.com/history/Osiecki3&4.htm) but it sure makes sense to me!

I'd mentioned before that I love this bass line (that of course being one of the first things I listen to as a bass player :) ) You've done a great job of bringing this performance to life using the MIDI tools in Composer. Not to mention it's always really cool to see how the arrangement is done. You obviously put a lot of work into the score. That was a neat idea, to put in the chord names for the pianist in the conductor's score. (We do have it on the "to do" list to support placing the chord names above whichever staff/staves you want, not just the top staff.)

Thanks so much for sharing this! I don't play keys, but I just might try playing a bass solo (or maybe whistle) over that solo section. That'll be a lot of fun.

I'll also consider this a birthday present, since that's when you wrote it ;)

Just great! I for one will be looking forward to seeing and hearing more from you!

ttfn,
Sherry

p.s. Searching ("googling") for "Airmen of Note" turns up a lot of good information and some audio recordings as well, for those who are interested.

Re: Sweet Georgia Brown
 

This is another great and detailed arangement.

You had me looking up tailgate, which, is apparently a type of glissando that only trombones can do ?

I have been asked to re-arrange my piece for a group with alto and tenor sax, so I will be looking at scores like this for guidance, as I've never used them before.

Well done.

Re: Sweet Georgia Brown
 

Hi Ralph

A very professional and sweeeet arrangement.I took the liberty to misuse this peace
by slowing it down a bit and trying to make some jazzy sounds on my electric guitar in the solo sessions,pretending to be Pat Metheny..............
Cool bass line too,a nice incentive for me to dive back into jazz bass playing again.
All in all,thanks for sharing this arrangement.
Looking forward to more......

Regards

Djim

Re: Sweet Georgia Brown
 

Hi Adrian - picture, if you will, a funeral in the French Quarter of New Orleans, where it is a joyous occasion and a dixie-style band is hanging on to a wagon or truck in the procession, particularly on the tailgate. It is a raucous musical event, and that's the feel I wanted the musician's to have as they played the coda. It's a term we used in school to evoke this style of play. So, it's not something specifically for the trombones, but with the trombones presenting the feel, the rest of the group should pick it up for the finale. The final lick by the saxophones is a tribute to one of my former Berklee teachers, Everett Longstreth, who loved it.

Ralph

Re: Sweet Georgia Brown
 

Hi Rrayner,

Enjoyed your arrangement a great deal and a number of times. Brings back a whole montage of memories starting with the 78 RPMs my parents had and (unfortunately) are long gone. A wonderful big band sound. How about some more?

all best,
mgj