HINDUSTAN

 

by Harold Weeks and Oliver G. Wallace, 1918

Lead sheet

For use with lessons #3, #11, and #15

Public Domain

 

“Hindustan” is an old pop song that has become a “standard tune” for traditional jazz.  It received its first significant recorded jazz interpretation in 1939 by Bob Crosby’s Bob Cats.

The melody (minus the seldom-played verse) is a very simple one, and works well as a vehicle for different styles of traditional jazz.  In the Teacher’s Guide and Lesson Plans,  the students are challenged to interpret this tune in three styles: New Orleans Brass Band, New Orleans Revival, and Chicago.  The printed version included here is a “lead sheet”, such as is found in a “fake book”.  This lays out the basic melody in concert key (Bb in this instance), with chord names above the bars.  Only your trumpeter/cornetist should play the melody (loosely) in ensemble passages; the other horns should improvise around that line.  The rhythm section should improvise an accompaniment to the ensemble and soloists based on the chord structure of the piece and the movement of the melodic line.

Learning to play from a lead sheet is a basic skill that any aspiring jazz musician should master.  Bb instruments (trumpet/cornet, clarinet, tenor) will need to mentally transpose up a full step from the lead sheet, while the trombonist doesn’t need to transpose but will be seeing the melody in treble clef.  The goal—especially for a tune as structurally simple as this one—should be for the students to learn the tune after practicing from the lead sheet, and to be able to improvise over it without visual reference to the chord names or printed melody.  To fashion a performance from a lead sheet requires that the ensemble either pre-determine a sequence of events (order of soloists etc.), or that the routine be improvised as well, with a designated “floor leader” giving real-time instructions to the band (pointing to soloists etc.).

The basic chord pattern of “Hindustan” is one of the most common patterns in traditional jazz, showing up in dozens of other tunes commonly associated with the genre.  These include “Tiger Rag” (third strain), “Bill Bailey”, “Washington and Lee Swing”, “Bourbon St. Parade”, and “Milenberg Joys”.  Some of these tunes contain a place where an alternative chord is substituted in the basic pattern; in the case of “Hindustan”, such a place is the bVI chord occurring in measure 27.

Tempo:  Quarter note = 184-208

 

 

BLACK BOTTOM

STOMP

 

by Ferd “Jelly Roll” Morton, 1925

Transcription by Don Vappie

for Essential Jazz Editions

For use with lesson #6

Difficulty: Level 3.5

Cornet (or Trumpet)

Clarinet

Trombone

Piano

Banjo

Bass

Drums

Director’s score

Reprinted by permission of Hal Leonard Corporation.

 

Jelly Roll Morton’s “Black Bottom Stomp”, named for a popular dance step of the 1920s, was first copyrighted in 1925 as “Queen of Spades”, but was re-named for its debut recording by Morton’s Red Hot Peppers in 1926.  That milestone recording is heard among the audio tracks in this Kit (track 5), and the present arrangement is a note-for-note transcription of that recording.  This transcription is from the Essential Jazz Editions series.

This complex piece in the Classic New Orleans Style will challenge your most accomplished students, and will give all young players an appreciation for the richness of the style.  Because all parts are written out (including the original improvisations), improvisation skills are not deployed in performing this transcription; with the exception of chord names in the piano and banjo parts, it’s a “straight read” (though by no means an easy one).  Students should listen to the original recording repeatedly, and strive to re-create it as authentically as possible, adopting the nuances of phrasing that distinguish the style.  This approach to jazz performance is known as “repertory”.

The transcription includes detailed notes regarding performance considerations.

Tempo:  Half note = 112-120

 

 

THANKS A MILLION

 

by Arthur Johnston and Gus Kahn, 1935

Arranged by David Robinson, Jr.

for the Traditional Jazz Curriculum Kit

For use with lesson #19

Difficulty: Level 3

Trumpet (or Cornet)

Clarinet

Trombone

Rhythm Section (Piano/Guitar/Bass/Drums)

Director’s score

Composition held by EMI Robbins Catalog Inc.

This arrangement © 2014 David Robinson, Jr.

 

“Thanks a Million” first appeared in the movie by that name in 1935, and was recorded that year by Louis Armstrong, as well as by the Mound City Blue Blowers.  It’s a medium-tempo tune with a memorable melody, and has been arranged here (without the verse) in the small-group Swing Style of traditional jazz, with scored horns alternating with improvised ensemble.

The title of this tune makes it an ideal vehicle for a special dedication from the bandstand; use it to thank a sponsor publicly, or to thank a venue for presenting your group.

This arrangement calls for improvised solos for trombone and guitar; you may substitute other instruments as desired.

Tempo:  Quarter note = 104-112

 

 

TIN ROOF BLUES

 

by Leon Roppolo, Paul Mares, Ben Pollack,

George Brunies and Mel Stitzel, 1923

Arranged by David Robinson, Jr.

for the Traditional Jazz Curriculum Kit

For use with lesson #19

Difficulty: Level 2

Trumpet (or Cornet)

Clarinet

Tenor sax

Trombone

Piano

Guitar

Bass

Drums

Director’s score

Composition held by Edwin H. Morris & Co. Inc.

This arrangement © 2014 David Robinson, Jr.

 

“Tin Roof Blues”—named for New Orleans’ famed Tin Roof Café—is one of the most familiar “standard tunes” in traditional jazz.  Written and first recorded by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings in 1923, it was quickly “covered” during the next couple of years by such groups as the Original Indiana Five, Original Memphis Five, Young’s Creole Jazz Band, Tennessee Ten, California Ramblers, New Orleans Jazz Band, and Ted Lewis Jazz Band, followed by King Oliver’s Dixie Syncopators in 1928 and Wingy Manone in 1930. The tune survived into the swing era with recordings by Louis Prima and his New Orleans Gang, Bob Crosby’s Bob Cats, the big bands of Charlie Barnet and Tommy Dorsey, and even a reconstituted New Orleans Rhythm Kings; and in the 1950s its second strain formed the basis for a vocal pop hit.  For many decades this tune has been ubiquitous among traditional jazz groups.

The tune contains two strains, both in Bb, both based on the 12-bar blues.  The descending chromatic motif of the second strain is typically played in harmony by the horns.  A frequent device used in performing this piece, but not employed in the present arrangement, is to go into a double-time feel on the first seven bars of the final chorus before returning to the original meter.

The present arrangement is an entry-level arrangement in the small-group Swing Style of traditional jazz.  It is designed to be executable by players who have not yet developed improvisation skills.  The arrangement alternates between horns (including optional tenor sax) scored in harmony, and written-out ensemble counterpoint.  Playing the written contrapuntal lines will give the non-improvising wind player a feel for how his/her instrument functions in an improvised ensemble situation.  Simple solos are written out as well.  The piano and guitar parts contain not only the chord names, but written-out voicings and tablature diagrams, respectively.  This will begin to familiarize young chord players with the process of realizing chords from chord names.  Piano chords are shown using note values corresponding to the duration of each chord; the pianist should use these as a guide and add his/her own rhythmic ideas.

Of course, more advanced players can also use this arrangement, replacing the written-out ensemble passages, solos, and chord voicings with their own improvisations.

Tempo:  Quarter note = 88-100

 

 

ORIENTAL STRUT

 

by Johnny St. Cyr, 1926

Arranged by Frank Powers

for the Traditional Jazz Curriculum Kit

For use with lesson #21

Difficulty: Level 3

Cornet (or Trumpet)

Clarinet

Trombone

Piano

Banjo

Tuba

Drums

Director’s score

Composition held by Universal Music Corp.

This arrangement © 2014 David Robinson, Jr.

 

“Oriental Strut” was written by New Orleans banjoist Johnny St. Cyr, and was first recorded in 1926 as one of Louis Armstrong’s legendary Hot Five series, with St. Cyr on board.  Typical of the “Classic New Orleans” approach, the tune has an introduction and three strains, moving from C minor to its relative major of Eb.

The present arrangement, however, is to be played in the San Francisco Style, emphasizing a swaggering 2-beat rhythm, prominent brass, and the other elements of this style.  The tempo is marked at a significantly brighter setting than Armstrong’s original recording; this tempo is likely to work better for the students.

Note that at letter C, the trombone takes the lead with the clarinet in harmony; the cornet/trumpet drops out.  This leads to a cornet/trumpet solo at letter D against a stoptime background from the rhythm section.  The written-out solo here is based on Armstrong’s 1926 recording; the player has the option of recreating this historic solo, improvising his/her own solo, or combining the two approaches.  Solo choruses are also included for piano and clarinet, though other instruments could be substituted.

The banjo breaks at measures 71-72 and 183-184 go by quickly but are important.  Your banjoist needs to fill these holes with a strummed (not single-string) figure that maintains the forward momentum and sets up the passages that follow.  Dropping tempo in these breaks risks derailing the performance; these breaks need to fly!

Tempo:  Half note = 104-112

© 2014 David Robinson, Jr.