JAZZ AT LINCOLN CENTER LIBRARY

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Black And Tan Fantasy

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Music by DUKE ELLINGTON and BUBBER MILEY

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Arranged by DUKE ELLINGTON

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Transcribed by David Berger and Mark Lopeman for Jazz at Lincoln Center

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FULL SCORE

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This transcription was made especially for Essentially Ellington 1998: the Third
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Annual Jazz at Lincoln Center High School Jazz Band Competition and Festival.

Essentially Ellington is made possible with special support from the Jack and Susan Rudin
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Educational and Scholarship Fund, the Surdna Foundation, The New York Times
Company Foundation, the O’Grady Family Foundation, and the Fan Fox and Leslie R.
Samuels Foundation.
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Special thanks to Jon Faddis for editing, and David Schumacher, Scott Munson, and Randa Kirshbaum for engraving.
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Wynton Marsalis,
Artistic Director
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Rob Gibson,
Executive Producer and Director
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NOTES ON PLAYING ELLINGTON 7. Crescendo as you ascend and diminuendo as you descend. The upper notes of phrases
receive a natural accent and the lower notes are ghosted. Alto and tenor saxophones need
At least 95% of modern-day large ensemble jazz playing comes out of three traditions: Count to use subtone in the lower part of their range in order to blend properly with the rest of the
Basie’s band, Duke Ellington’s band and the orchestrations of small groups. Those young players section. This music was originally written with no dynamics. It pretty much follows the natural

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interested in jazz will be drawn to small groups for the opportunity to improvise and for practical tendencies of the instruments; play loud in the loud part of the instrument and soft in the soft
reasons (it is much easier to organize 4 or 5 people than it is 15). Schools have taken over the part of the instrument. For instance, a high C for a trumpet will be loud and a low C will
task (formerly performed by dance bands) of training musicians to be ensemble players. Due to be soft.
the Basie Band’s popularity and its simplicity of style and emphasis on blues and swing, the bet-

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ter educators have almost exclusively adopted this tradition for teaching jazz ensemble playing. 8. Quarter notes are generally played short unless otherwise notated. Long marks above or

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As wonderful as Count Basie’s style is, it doesn’t address many of the important styles developed below a pitch indicate full value: not just long, but full value. Eighth notes are played full

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under the great musical umbrella we call jazz. Duke Ellington’s comprehensive and eclectic value except when followed by a rest or otherwise notated. All notes longer than a quarter
approach to music offers an alternative. note are played full value, which means if it is followed by a rest, release the note where the
rest appears. For example, a half note occurring on beat one of a measure would be
The stylistic richness of Ellington’s music presents a great challenge to educators and performers released on beat three.

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alike. In Basie’s music the conventions are very nearly consistent. In Ellington’s there are many
more exceptions to the rules. This calls for greater knowledge of the language of jazz. Clark
; accent then diminish the volume. This is important so that the moving parts can be heard
9. Unless they are part of a legato background figure, long notes should be played somewhat

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Terry, who left Count Basie’s band to join Duke Ellington, said, “Count Basie was college, but
Duke Ellington was graduate school.” Knowledge of Ellington’s music prepares you to play any over the sustained notes. Don’t just hold out the long notes, but give them life and personality;

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big band music. that is, vibrato, inflection, crescendo or diminuendo. There is a great deal of inflection in
this music, and much of this is highly interpretive. Straight or curved lines imply non-pitched
The following is a list of performance conventions for the great majority of Ellington’s music. glisses, and wavy lines mean scalar (chromatic or diatonic) glisses. In general, all rhythmic
Any deviations or additions will be spelled out in the individual performance notes which follow. figures need to be accented. Accents give the music life and swing. This is very important.

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1. Listen carefully many times to the Ellington recording of these pieces. There are many subtleties 10. Ellington’s music is about individuality. One person per part — do not double up because
that will elude even the most sophisticated listener at first. Although it was never Ellington’s you have extra players or need more strength. More than one on a part makes it sound

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wish to have his recordings imitated, knowledge of these definitive versions will lead musicians

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more like a concert band and less like a jazz band.
to make more educated choices when creating new performances. Ellington’s music, though
written for specific individuals, is designed to inspire all musicians to express themselves. In 11. This is acoustic music. Keep amplification to an absolute minimum; in the best halls almost
addition, you will hear slight note differences in the recording and the transcriptions. This is no amplification should be necessary. Everyone needs to develop a big sound. It is the
intentional, as there are mistakes and alterations from the original intent of the music in the conductor’s job to balance the band. When a guitar is used, it should be a hollow body,

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recording. You should have your players play what’s in the score. unamplified rhythm guitar. Simple three note voicings should be used throughout. An

e acoustic string bass is a must. In mediocre or poorly-designed halls the bass and piano may

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2. General use of swing phrasing. The triplet feel prevails except for ballads or where notations need a bit of a boost. I recommend miking them and putting them through the house sound
such as even eighths or Latin appear. In these cases eighth notes are given equal value. system. This should provide a much better tone than an amplifier. Keep in mind that the
rhythm section’s primary function is to accompany. The bass should not be as loud as a
3. There is a chain of command in ensemble playing. The lead players in each section determine
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trumpet. That is unnatural and leads to over-amplification, bad tone and limited dynamics.
the phrasing and volume for their own section, and their section-mates must conform to the Stay away from monitors. They provide a false sense of balance.
lead. When the saxes and/or trombones play with the trumpets, the lead trumpet is the
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boss. The lead alto and trombone must listen to the first trumpet and follow her. In turn the
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12. Solos and rhythm section parts without chord changes should be played as is or with a little
other saxes and trombones must follow their lead players. When the clarinet leads the brass
embellishment. Solos and rhythm section parts with chord changes should be improvised.
section, the brass should not overblow him. That means that the first trumpet is actually playing
However, written passages should be learned because they are an important part of our jazz
“second.” If this is done effectively, there will be very little balancing work left for the conductor.
heritage and help the player understand the function of his particular solo or accompaniment.
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4. In Ellington’s music, each player should express the individuality of his own line. He must Soloists should learn the chord changes. Solos should not be approached as opportunities to
find a musical balance of supporting and following the section leader and bringing out the show off technique, range, or volume, but should be looked at as a great opportunity to further
character of the underpart. Each player should be encouraged to express his or her personality develop the interesting thematic material that Ellington has provided.
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through the music. In this music the underparts are played at the same volume and with the
same conviction as the lead. 13. The notation of plungers for the brass means a rubber toilet plunger bought in a hardware store.
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Kirkhill is a very good brand (especially if you can find one of their old rubber ones, like I loaned
5. Blues inflection should permeate all parts at all times, not just when these opportunities occur Wynton and he lost). Trumpets use 5” diameter and trombones use 6” diameter. Where
in the lead. Plunger/Mute is notated, insert a pixie mute in the bell and use the plunger over the mute. Pixies
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are available from Humes and Berg in Chicago. Tricky Sam Nanton and his successors in the
6. Vibrato is used quite a bit to warm up the sound. Saxes (who most frequently represent the Ellington plunger trombone chair did not use pixies. Rather, each of them employed a Nonpareil
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sensual side of things) usually employ a heavy vibrato on harmonized passages and a slight (that’s the brand name) trumpet straight mute. Nonpareil has gone out of business, but the Tom
vibrato on unisons. Trumpets (who very often are used for heat and power) use a little vibrato Crown Nonpareil trumpet straight mute is very close to the same thing. These mutes create a
on harmonized passages and no vibrato on unisons. Trombones (who are usually noble) wonderful sound (very close to the human voice), but also some intonation problems which must
do not use slide vibrato. A little lip vibrato is good at times. Try to match speed of vibrato. be corrected by the lip only. It would be easier to move the tuning slide, but part of the sound is
Unisons are played with no vibrato. in the struggle to correct the pitch. If this proves too much, stick with the pixie — it’s pretty close.
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14. The drummer is the de facto leader of the band. He establishes the beat and controls the Riff — a repeated melodic figure. Very often riffs repeat verbatim or with slight alterations while
volume of the ensemble. For big band playing the drummer needs to use a larger bass drum the harmonies change underneath them.
than he would for small group drumming. A 22” is preferred. The bass drum is played softly Shout chorus — also known as the “out chorus,” the “sock chorus” or sometimes shortened to
(nearly inaudible) on each beat. This is called feathering the bass drum. It provides a very just “the shout.” It is the final ensemble passage of most big band charts and where the
important bottom to the band. The bass drum sound is not a boom and not a thud - it’s in climax most often happens.
between. The larger size drum is necessary for the kicks; a smaller drum just won’t be Soli — a harmonized passage for two or more instruments playing the same rhythm. It is customary

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heard. The key to this style is to just keep time. A rim knock on two and four (chopping for horn players to stand up or even move in front of the band when playing these passages.
wood) is used to lock in the swing. When it comes to playing fills, the fewer, the better. This is done so that the audience can hear them better and to provide the audience with
some visual interest. A soli sound particular to Ellington’s music combines two trumpets and a
15. The horn players should stand for their solos and solis. Brass players should come down trombone in plungers/mutes in triadic harmony. This is called the “pep section.”

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front for moderate to long solos, surrounding rests permitting. The same applies to the pep Stop time — a regular pattern of short breaks (usually filled in by a soloist).
section (two trumpets and one trombone in plunger/mutes). Swing — the perfect confluence of rhythmic tension and relaxation in music creating a feeling of

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euphoria and characterized by accented weak beats (a democratization of the beat) and
16. Horns should play close attention to attacks and releases. Everyone should hit together and eighth notes that are played as the first and third eighth notes of an eighth note triplet.
end together. Duke Ellington’s definition of swing: when the music feels like it is getting faster, but it isn’t.
ART]— a repeated two or four bar chord progression. Very often there may be a riff or riffs

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[VOICING SPOTVamp
17. Brass must be very precise when playing short notes. Notes must be stopped with the tongue, played on the vamp.

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à la Louis Armstrong!! Voicing — the specific spacing, inversion and choice of notes that make up a chord. For
instance two voicings for G7 could be:

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18. Above all, everyone’s focus should remain at all times on the swing. As the great bassist
Chuck Israels says, “The three most important things in jazz are rhythm, rhythm, and rhythm,
in that order.” Or, as Bubber Miley (Ellington’s first star trumpeter) said: “It don’t mean a
thing if it ain’t got that swing.”

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GLOSSARY
Note that the first voicing includes a ninth and the second voicing includes a  9 and a
The following are terms which describe conventions of jazz performance, from traditional New 13. The addition of 9ths, 11ths, 13ths and alterations are up to the discretion of the
Orleans to the present avant garde. pianist and soloist.

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Break — within the context of an ongoing time feel the rhythm section stops for one, two or four

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bars. Very often a soloist will improvise during a break.
Call and response — repetitive pattern of contrasting exchanges (derived from the church THE FOUR ELEMENTS OF MUSIC
procedure of the minister making a statement and the congregation answering with “amen”).
Call and response patterns usually pit one group of instruments against another. Sometimes The following are placed in their order of importance in jazz. We should never lose perspective
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we call this “trading fours,” “trading twos,” etc., especially when it involves improvisation. on this order of priority.
The numbers denote the amount of measures each soloist or group plays. Another term
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frequently used is “swapping fours.” RHYTHM — meter, tempo, groove and form, including both melodic rhythm and harmonic
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Coda — also known as the “outro.” “Tags” or “tag endings” are outgrowths of vaudeville bows rhythm (the speed and regularity of the chord changes).
that are frequently used as codas. They most often use deceptive cadences that finally MELODY — what players play: a tune or series of notes.

I V/IV IV  IVo I (second inversion) V/II V/V V I.

resolve to the tonic or they go from the tonic to the sub-dominant and cycle back to the tonic: HARMONY — chords and voicings.
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ORCHESTRATION — instrumentation and tone colors.

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Comp — improvise accompaniment (for piano or guitar).

Groove — the composite rhythm. This generally refers to the combined repetitive rhythmic patterns — David Berger
of the drums, bass, piano and guitar, but may also include repetitive patterns in the horns.
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Some grooves are standard (i.e. swing, bossa nova, samba), while others are manufactured
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(original combinations of rhythms).

Head — melody chorus.
Interlude — a different form (of relatively short length) sandwiched between two chorus forms.
Interludes that set up a key change are simply called modulations.
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Intro — short for introduction.

Ride pattern — the most common repetitive figure played by the drummer’s right hand on the
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ride cymbal or high hat.

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BLACK AND TAN FANTASY • Although the recording features a baritone saxophone solo at B and C, I have
notated the solo for the lead alto (which is how this arrangement was originally
conceived). If you choose, you may give the solo to your baritone player. In any case, this
Instrumentation: solo should be played with a light but somewhat sweet and floating sound; very lyrical. It

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should not be swung, but rather played with even eighth notes. This is the secondary melody
Conductor of this piece and needs to be played as written or slightly paraphrased.
Reed 1 (Alto Sax 1) Trombone 1
Reed 2 (Alto Sax 2) Trombone 2 • The trombone solo at D was a set piece for Tricky Sam, but the chord symbols have been

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Reed 3 (Tenor Sax 1) Trombone 3 (opt. valve) included so that the player can improvise his own blues solo. Even if the trombonist elects to

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Reed 4 (Tenor Sax 2) Guitar play his own solo, he/she should learn this classic blues chorus. Letter E should be played as

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Reed 5 (Baritone Sax) Piano is or paraphrased only slightly. This was Bubber Miley’s solo and is part of the melody of the
Trumpet 1 Bass piece. Incidentally, Tricky Sam only plays three beats in the first and third measures of E. This
Trumpet 2 Drums sounds a bit strange, so I have restored these measures to their original 4/4 structure.
Trumpet 3 (opt. cornet) These breaks at E must be played in time so that the punctuations on 4 of bars 2 and 4 feel

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Trumpet 4 absolutely natural. These ensemble responses should make the sound “WHOP.”

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• Dynamics are important. This is an understated, but swinging, piece.

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Original Recording Information:

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BLACK AND TAN FANTASY composed by Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley,
Notes from Wynton Marsalis:

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arranged by Duke Ellington (2:49)

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Recorded 5/11/45, New York City
Black, Brown & Beige (RCA/Bluebird; matrix D5VB-263-1; Br HMV J.O. 243/27-0057-A) Duke Ellington’s take on New Orleans’ funereal music. It must be played with feelings of nos-
talgia and pathos. Feeling, soul, and intensity come together under the supervisory eye of a
Otto Hardwick, Johnny Hodges, Jimmy Hamilton, Al Sears, Harry Carney, reeds;

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steady, march-like pulse. This arrangement can be opened up for solos, and is an excellent
Cat Anderson, Shelton Hemphill, Al Killian, Ray Nance, trumpets; Rex Stewart, cornet;
Lawrence Brown, Joe “Tricky Sam” Nanton, Claude Jones, trombones;

e vehicle for the development of muted vocal techniques in the brass. Duke and the fellas sound

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Duke Ellington, piano; Fred Guy, guitar; Junior Raglin, bass; Sonny Greer, drums. like they had a little trouble with that call-and-response break at the end. But that’s okay.
That’s life.
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Rehearsal Notes:
• The pep section (trumpets 1 and 3 and trombone 2) should move in front of the band for letter A.
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The trombone should stay there for the entire piece since he solos from D to the end. Being in
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the front will enable them to play with completely closed plungers and still be heard. This is
important — they have the melody.
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• The rhythm section needs to play with energy and forward motion throughout. Although the
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guitar, bass and drums mostly play quarter notes, it is essential for them to feel the underlying
eighth note triplet even though they rarely play it. The piano, bass and drum parts should be
learned. Then when the players understand the form sufficiently, they should play what they
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hear as good accompaniment to the ensemble (always keeping in mind the needs of the
composition). Improvisational interplay in the rhythm section is an essential part of any jazz
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performance.
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