These Are a Few of My Favorite....Charts

Jack Bowers

Senior Contributor since 1997

A former newspaper writer / editor who has been writing about big-band Jazz for more than fifteen years.

Recent articles (1,749 total)

Published: October 1, 2010

The Heat's On (*Sammy Nestico). I Remember Clifford (*Benny Golson). It Might as Well Be Spring (Don Schamber). I Remember You (Bill Holman). (It's Just) Talk (Bob Curnow). Junk Mail Special (*Bob Florence). Just Friends (Rob McConnell). Just One of Those Things (Rob McConnell). Keeper of the Flame (*Shorty Rogers). Kingfish (*Bill Holman). La Fiesta (Kenichi Tsunoda). Laura (Jim Martin). Leo the Lion (*Tiny Kahn). Limehouse Blues (Phil Kelly). Little Pony (*Neal Hefti). Lookin' for the Back Door (*Alf Clausen). Main Street News (*Jim Martin). Mean to Me (Frank Mantooth). The Meaning of the Blues {Bill Mathieu). The Midnight Sun Will Never Set (*Quincy Jones). More Moon (*Shorty Rogers). My Shining Hour (Mark Anderson). Not Really the Blues (*Johnny Mandel). Not While I'm Around (Ed Vezinho). The Opener (*Bill Holman). Playground (*Bill Potts). Purple Porpoise Parkway (*Tom Kubis). Quintessence (Rob McConnell). The Red Door (*Gerry Mulligan / *Zoot Sims). Reuben's Blues (*Gene Roland).

Robbins Nest (Sammy Nestico). Sail Away (Jim Martin). Samba Dees Godda Do It (*Tom Kubis). Shhhhhhh! (*Bill Potts). Secret Love (Jim Martin). Short Stop (*Shorty Rogers). Sleep (Ralph Burns / Nat Pierce). Smile (Ed Vezinho). Soon (Don Schamber). Spain (Kenichi Tsunoda). Stella by Starlight (Slide Hampton). Strike Up the Band (Sammy Nestico). Summertime (Bill Potts). Swing House (*Gerry Mulligan). Symphony in Riffs (*Benny Carter). That Old Black Magic (Frank Mantooth). Them There Eyes (Rob McConnell). Time After Time (Don Schamber). Time for a Change (*Hank Levy). Titter Pipes (*Tommy Newsom). Tristesse (*Raul Romero). Tuxedo Junction (Gene Roland). Walkin' Shoes (*Gerry Mulligan). When Lights Are Low (*Benny Carter). Whirly Bird (*Neal Hefti). Willowcrest (*Bob Florence). Without a Song (Rick Stitzel). Ya Gotta Try (*Sammy Nestico). Young Blood (*Gerry Mulligan). Zoot! (*Bill Holman).

As noted, these charts comprise no more than a handful of the many wonderful big-band arrangements ensconced in the ever-growing library. If you have any personal favorites you'd like to share, I'd be more than happy to hear from you, as chances are they'd include some I've overlooked. Sorting through the library is a daunting task, and many of these were retrieved from memory. They are, however, charts that have given me great pleasure, and I can heartily commend them to anyone who appreciates the singular artistry and power of big-band jazz.

Jazzed Media Plans Woody Herman Documentary

Graham Carter, owner of Jazzed Media, one of the US' foremost big-band record labels, has announced plans to produce a documentary film, Blue Flame, examining the life of the legendary bandleader Woody Herman. Carter has already released documentaries on saxophonists Phil Woods (A Life in E Flat) and Bud Shank (Against the Tide) and is preparing a third, Artistry in Rhythm, on the life of Stan Kenton for release early in 2011.

Herman was responsible for bringing to the forefront a number of luminaries who cut their jazz teeth in his Thundering Herds including the brothers Pete and Conte Candoli, Flip Phillips, Neal Hefti, Terry Gibbs, Stan Getz, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, Sal Nistico, Bill Chase, Frank Tiberi, Alan Broadbent, Joe Lovano, John Fedchock and Jeff Hamilton. Herman's topnotch arrangers included Hefti, Ralph Burns, Nat Pierce, Shorty Rogers, Gene Roland, Gerry Mulligan and Bill Holman.