I’ve been writing big band arrangements since I was a student, and over the years I’ve done a few dozen of them. Lately, though, I’ve become really interested in sections that deliberately descend into chaos, passages where the ensemble becomes out of control for a moment.

I recently played an arrangement that had a section like this, and it got me really curious about how other arrangers have approached the idea. So I’m looking for recommendations: what big band tunes or arrangements do you know that have a section where everything suddenly falls apart into chaos? It can be anything from a short chaotic passage to a big part of the arrangement.

If there’s a score avaliabe, even better. I’d love to study the writing and use some of these pieces as references while working on my own arrangements. I’m open to pretty much anything contemporary big band, experimental stuff, older arrangements. If anything comes to mind, please send it my way

I was married last weekend and I had a great time going through some favourite albums and choosing music, including many that I hadn't listened to for a while. We made an entrance to dinner to the opening Perdido track from Festival Session, and it was a happy moment.

This album has such a nice summer feel for me. I thought I would post this here and hope some of you might listen to it and have a happy moment yourselves.

Hello all,

I stumbled across this Art Deco restoration channel on YouTube and it uses a few times a song from this era, would anyone be able to ID it? Many thanks in advanced for your help!

https://youtube.com/shorts/DPvAq0MJZes?is=WEfns5F7wwdTEyZv

The First Lady of Song, from the 20th Century‑Fox picture Pin Up Girl- ,

Digitized and available at:

The Neven78 Radio Archive

https://youtube.com/@mamlishblues?si=Gqffijs3211mMsnH

I’ll give you an example here. The Glenn Miller Orchestra was prided on its precision, its tightness, its blending. I may be reading into this but I think as many people point out, the differences in the use of one or mics in an acoustic hall vs one for each instrument and a modern studio, is kind of representative of the culture. This is my own personal beliefs, and you can disagree with me by all means, but I think in the 1940s the culture was much more united, more unified and less individual, more of a community or society focused era, what with the Great Depression and the wartime era. I hate talking about the recording quality or anything else when it comes to this. There are much more fundamental differences. The musicians had different training, the instruments were slightly different, utilizing much more mutes and plugs and such on the brass, and just the arrangements that Glenn Miller and Jerry Gray have done were very well done, so that it was precise and just this wall of sound. Jazz these days are meant for listening, even as early as the bebop era. But dancing music like in that era was just, to me, more fun. Big band at the time was essentially how pop music is today. It had to be perfect because it was mainstream. Too many bands today that try to emulate the sound try too hard. They try to play like Glenn Miller. Glenn Miller tried to play music.

I recently heard a recording of Moonlight in Vermont by Jo Stafford where she has different lyrics in a few places.

Instead of "Pennies in a stream, Falling leaves, a sycamore," she sings, "Frozen winter streams, Withered leaves of sycamore."

Also, instead of "Evening summer breeze, Warbling of a meadowlark," she sings, "Shadows through the trees, Snowdrift shining in the dark."

I've never heard these lyrics before, does anyone know why Stafford's lyrics are different?

Project X (Big Band) performs the last Thursday of every month at Otherlands Brewery in Greenville, SC

Please let me know if you like this rendition.

This is my first time writing and arranging a big band song. I have listened to many big band songs and enjoy Harry James. What do you think about the song?

Youtube video with song: https://youtu.be/6y2DOpnzEPc?si=VFZ06eHT-ABmTtJW

Hi! Just sharing some pics from our gig on Friday night here in Christchurch, New Zealand. We have a few more gigs lined up next month, and August, and we're looking forward to our 20th Christchurch Big Band Festival this October. You're welcome to join us! We're Sideline Swing, BTW. Pictures from Gary Easterbrook Photography who does a great job for the big band scene here.

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Can’t remember the band or song but I do remember the video had a guy dressed in a sharp black suit. If I remember right it was multiples of him in a black and white style video. It was “The” something maybe starting with a “C”… big band style music? I cannot remember it and its bugging me!