Description: This straight ahead, Basie-style original is perfect for the Sinatra lover looking for new repertoire. The chart features a baritone male vocalist with tenor sax and trumpet soloists.

Appears On:

Seth Weaver Big Band (on YouTube)

Description: This fiery, Afro-Cuban influenced piece features a trombone soloist with modern post-bop changes. The perfect chart for a guest trombonist or with a band of mature soloists.

Appears On:

Seth Weaver Big Band (on YouTube)

Description: Slow and Mornful, Karma's Song tells a melancholic story with the main role being played by a baritone saxophone soloist.This is an atmospheric piece that need a strong ensemble.

Appears On:

Paul Tynan & Aaron Lington – “BiCoastal Collective: Chapter Five” (not yet released)

Description: Fast and aggresive, More Than Just a Single Road is inspired by a photograph by Twin Cities artist, Jennifer Sandquist. Full of twists and turns, it's a strong opener or closer for a well-rehearsed band. It featuring solos for trumpet, baritone sax and drums.

Appears On:

Paul Tynan & Aaron Lington – “BiCoastal Collective: Chapter Five” (not yet released)

Description: Charting Stars has a singable melody and is a strong feature for tenor and flugelhorn. It also features a duo with flugelhorn and piano, and a textural improvisation section. Strong counterpoint and forword motion drive the inner figures throughout the chart.

Appears On:

Paul Tynan & Aaron Lington – “BiCoastal Collective: Chapter Five” (not yet released)

Description: This fusion tune is inspired by the music of progressive jazz/funk groups such as Pat Metheny Group and the Yellow Jackets. The horns are challenged to play independently and blend in this tapestry of textures. A long expressive trombone solo comprises the middle section and an open drum solo leads up to the climax.

Appears On:

Tyler Mire Big Band – “Movin’ Day”

Description: This piece features a strong, yet simple melody. The harmony, as well as the melody of the song, is derived equally from the realms of pop and jazz. The melody is doubled by guitar and flugelhorn, while the ensemble writing is focused on reinforcing the strong melodic nature of the piece. The written intro performed by the rhythm section (piano, bass, drums) aims to outline the path of the song, harmonically.

Description: "Home" is a melodic tune with a straight 8ths feel. It showcases the band's ability to use dynamic contrast, build sections and blend well with and across the sections. There is an extended piano solo as well as a more aggressive solo section for the trumpet and drums. A distorted guitar adds to the rock feel of this section.

Appears On:

“Home” – Oscar Utterstrom Quintet (small group version)

Description: This was one of my more in-depth explorations of programmatic music. The image of the music is explained below: Moraine Lake is one of the most breathtakingly gorgeous places I've experienced, and it is just in my backyard in Calgary. The image I was going for was that of a camera traveling throughout the lake and surrounding scenery. For the introduction, I'm projecting the camera's frame of reference as only the surface of the lake at dawn, mirror-like, but shaded with the hue of the lake (D Lydian has a very turquoise hue for me). The continuo starts, and we plunge deep into the abyss of the lake, where we are at the mercy of the currents and turbulent waters (represented by the motion of the clarinets and the harmony, swirling, constantly unresolved, cadencing to places that are unrelated to the original key). We are pushed side to side by different forces (trumpets and bass clarinet), and weaving in and out of the detritus of the lake bed. The rise and fall of the counter-melody is representative of the he pulsation of the flora in the middle depths of the lake -- imagine seaweed at the mercy of currents. A few dramatic moments arise as we longingly see the light from the surface break through the darkness, but there is inherent sadness and conflict, as the camera is beneath the surface, at the mercy of the depths. We arrive at a shallow depth for the bass and piano solos, where the waters are no longer as dark and heavy, culminating in a frightening encounter with a northern pike, which immediately darts away, much to our relief. Finally, as the fauna of the lake begin to surround us, encouraging the camera ever skyward, we arrive at the surface to fly over the lake, and witness it in context for the first time -- the mountains appearing majestically, their sharp edges reflecting crisply off of the polished, reflective surface of the lake. The sun is blazing incandescently, and we end the piece by pointing the camera directly into the star, filling our entire field of view with light, blinding us and searing a vermilion hue onto our retinas.

Description: This piece features not only trumpet/flugel and piano, but some incredible ensemble writing that will help your band stand out. Some beautiful rubato writing leads into a latin feel that has many ensemble flourishes, ending with Trumpet/Tenor in a duet that leaves you wanting more.

Appears On:

One O’Clock Lab Band – “Lab ’92′”

Description: This lyrical, haunting ballad features your pianist a strong tenor saxophone soloist on modern, post-bop chord changes. A great chart for a guest saxophone soloist or for the band with mature soloists.

Appears On:

Woody Witt – “Woody Witt” (small group version)

Description: This uptempo burner composed by Woody Witt and arranged by Aaron Lington features tenor saxophone and trumpet with plenty of modal solo space for each. The saxophone section gets to sink their teeth into a melodic soli and the whole band shines as the chart screams to a close.

Appears On:

Woody Witt – “Woody Witt” (small group version)

Description: New Orleans feel, Melody is AABA, then an open solo section over the form, followed by an 8 bar horn/rhythm soli to lead us back to the melody out with a tag on the end. For Big Band (13 or 7 horns).

Appears On:

Performed by The Junkyard Horns on YouTube

Description: This brooding minor blues tune is an original by drummer Stockon Helbing. Enjoy the softer sound of big band, with these light textures and contrapuntal lines that swerve together to highlight this tune's distinct dark vibe. Great for high school and college bands. Two versions of this chart are included: intermediate/pro bands and one for high school level.

Appears On:

Stockton Helbing Quartet – “Handprints”

Description: An extended form piece for big band, the majority of which is at a brisk swing tempo. The middle section of the piece is a haunting ballad featuring a tenor saxophone solo.