Some standards of the big band library that can showcase this are Duke Ellington’s Satin Doll, Neal Hefti’s Li’l Darlin’, and Sammy Nestico’s arrangement of Witchcraft. This articulation pattern also helps to reinforce the upbeat swing accent, triplet rhythmic offset, and legato articulation throughout, all keys in making a line swing. Moving around the circle of fourths, play up to the 9th and back down, following a pattern of slurring to the beat. In order to get players in the habit of swinging to the end, a scale routine can be useful. Players need to always feel the swing accent and communicate that to the audience. There are a variety of possible reasons why, but what it comes down to is the listener being jarred out of hearing a cool line at the worst time. The line up to that point can be swinging, but then it is as though the needle is yanked across the record, pulling it out of the groove. What follows are three of the key elements of playing swing lines that young jazz bands tend to struggle with, a solution on how to improve it, and some big band charts to showcase mastery.įrom experience, one of the hallmarks of a novice band is when the last two eighth notes of a swing line are rushed/compressed. To use an analogy, the drummer is the engine that powers the band, the bass player serves as the wheels to get you places by outlining the chords, and the lead trumpet is the driver, keeping everyone on the road. This means the lead trumpet has to be especially tuned into the rhythm section.
Being the highest pitched instrument and perched in the back of the band, it is the lead trumpet’s job to communicate forward to the others how the horn sections should be playing in terms of style of attack, how laid back to play, and cutoffs. On the horn side of the band, the lead alto, trumpet, and trombone also have to be of like mind. The drummer has to have a clear feel on the ride cymbal, the bass player has to be locked right onto the drummer for time, and the horns have to be listening to what the rhythm section is communicating. Getting a good swing feel in a band of any age and experience is one of the most difficult elements of jazz. Most young jazz bands can do an excellent job learning the notes and rhythms of a tune, but something keeps them from making a tune really swing.
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