Non-traditional Instrumentation in a Jazz Big Band

Walter D.  Pittson Jr.

doi:10.7273/000006456

Through a variety of circumstances, many high schools and middle school jazz ensembles are understaffed and often lack the necessary instrumentation to perform large jazz big band pieces. A typical jazz ensemble can have thirty members, for a smaller school this can be quite difficult to fill all the spots. This presents a chance for students who play instruments that are not normally in a jazz ensemble to gain valuable experience in jazz. This is like the common “flex” arrangements, however in this project it allows for greater freedom for jazz directors for part assignment, allowing for less worry of holes in instrumentation. In this way any instrument would be able to play any part of the music. With a “flex” arrangement there are often parts assigned simply based on several parts, parts one through five or sometimes six. However, specific instruments are only able to play certain parts, often the bass instruments can only play parts five or six. While higher pitched instruments can only play parts one or two. In this project an ensemble may have too many of one specific instrument. Thus, it would be useful and worthwhile for that instrument to be more dispersed to accommodate a more balanced ensemble. This can also allow for non-traditional instruments to be used in the ensemble to add another level of inclusivity. This is a unique level of control that the director can use their discretion in deciding the sound and style. For the project there had to be consideration as to what type of ensemble would need this and what the playing level should be. The project's scope focuses mainly on arranging jazz pieces for an early high school jazz program with the goal of providing a foundational understanding of jazz articulations and styles and allowing for non-traditional instrumentation. The level of “early high school” was chosen due to students already having some background musical knowledge that has been taught and understood without having to teach entirely new concepts in terms of jazz style. Providing biographical information on the composers and performers of the pieces will illustrate how these facts are relevant to the chosen pieces. Thought and consideration had to be put into what jazz pieces would be arranged to cater to either a fledgling ensemble or a declining ensemble. This led to the arrangement of flexible arrangements of four tunes; Chattanooga Choo Choo, Pennsylvania 6-5000, Moonlight Serenade and Begin the Beguine.

Non-traditional Instrumentation in a Jazz Big Band

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