1. Eddie Metz and his Gang, “It All Belongs to Me” (Irving Berlin)

For use in Lessons #2 and #17.

 

Style: Mainstream

Personnel: Randy Sandke trumpet, Allan Vache clarinet, Harry Allen tenor saxophone, John Allred trombone, Johnny Varro piano, Phil Flanigan bass, Eddie Metz drums. Recorded in 1999.

Issued on Nagel-Heyer CD 053.

This opening track presents the “mainstream” approach, and it has been placed first in the curriculum because this style sounds closest to what most young people are used to hearing. The four-man front line of trumpet, clarinet, tenor sax and trombone plays the “head” of the tune (inchorus and outchorus) in collective improvisation, but the spotlight is on the soloists, who play with considerable swing and creativity. The use of post-swing musical vocabulary is apparent throughout this performance; examples include Harry Allen’s 16th-note run at 1:53, his “sideslipping” to an Em chord played against an Eb major chord at 1:46, and John Allred’s boppish ascending triplet phrase at 1:48.

Sequence for this track

0:00 4-bar piano intro (with the rhythm section)

0:06 Ensemble inchorus

0:51 Clarinet solo

1:32 Tenor sax trades fours with trombone

2:15 Bass solo

2:57 Trumpet plays the verse

3:23 Ensemble outchorus, with drum solo on the bridge (3:45); “turnaround” ending (4:00) with fermata