Product Description
This is my jazz band arrangment of my original song Through The Portal. Originally, this song was intended to be a jazz fusion piece using a liberal amount of synthesizers to combine it with a dark synthwave sound. However, when I lacked the materials and software at the time to realize the song in this way, I decided to try adapting it into jazz band with a suprising degree of success. I adapted the song into a calypso style, with the drums focusing on a tresillo groove while the electric bass plays the main bassline. To differentiate the bridge from the A section, I switched it to a more standard bossa nova style. The outro of the song utilizes Son Clave 2:3 beat in the drums, approximating a mambo, and the final section has a Baião drum groove to almost give it a pumping double time feel. In conjunction with the drums, the guitar plays a samba strum pattern to solidify the double time feel with the Baião. This song's vibe is meant to ellicit a mysterious, atmoshperic sound, similar to the spy sountracks of old like James Bond. This arrangement is heavily ensemble focused, however there are a few solo passages for various instruments as well as improvisational solo space for Alto 1 and Trumpet 2. The most notable passages in the arrangement are the part layering during the intro and outro, the tutti passage in the first bridge, the stop time winds spotlight after solos, the ensemble tutti passage on the melody, and the Baião outro. The instrumentation for this arrangment is a little strict, requiring harmon mutes for all four trumpets, a flute doubling in the Alto 1 part, bass trombone (though the range of the part may make this optional depending on your player's ability to play pedal Eb on a standard trombone), and the usage of electric bass and electric piano. Trumpet 3 has a switch to flugel horn, but it can be exempted for the simplicity of instrumentation. Electric piano could be swapped for regular piano if absolutely necessary, though this is not recommended. However, electric bass IS required as the range and style of the basslines are not conducive to or ergonomic for an upright bass. Lead trumpet range tops out at concert C above the staff with an optional D and E above that, and lead trombone tops out at concert A above the staff. If you can get around the tricky instrumentation, this arrangment will prove to be an excellent semi-modal piece to bring mistique and energy to your ensemble's setlist! If you have any questions regarding this arrangement or have an ensemble planning to play it, you can contact me at mathernenp@att.net.
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