Featuring a tenor saxophone soloist, Curveball is in the style of the Ray Charles big band. It opens with huge ensemble brass and bluesy sax lines that switch in and out of a double-time swing feel. The navigation from swing ballad style, double-time feel, and true medium swing and the return to the original swing ballad style helps to define the chart throughout. A soulful melody for the soloist, which is written and improvised, is icing on the cake, along with an improvised solo and cadenzas at the end. Brass ranges: trumpet to written high D and trombone to written G. This is a real powerhouse chart for the entire band and an important addition to the tenor sax solo repertoire!