Broadway

Broadway has been a cornerstone jazz standard since the Count Basie Orchestra's recording in 1940. This arrangement was written by longtime Basie arranger Ernie Wilkins for Wilkins' 1960 album Here Comes the Swingin' Mr. Wilkins, and is a short but sweet foray that provides several unique moments that help it stand out from the many other covers this tune has received over the years. Things kick off with a joyful full band fanfare and a short break for bassist Eddie Jones before the familiar melody commences at measure 5. The sax section (with Zoot Sims' tenor leading the way) handles the first two A sections, with some jabbing accompaniment from Eddie Costa's vibraphone and the brass section alike. Costa handles the bridge, followed by the trombones taking point for the final A section, which is briefly extended with some screaming brass parts over a rhythm section pedal. A miniature shout chorus occurs at measure 35, with the fluid saxes trading figures with the punchy brass before Sims gets to solo for a moment at measure 43. Another extended tag stretches the form slightly before a key change occurs at measure 71 for an exuberant shout chorus. Unusually, the bridge is not played before the main melody returns in the muted brass at measure 87. Jones's bass gets a couple of short breaks before the band wraps things up in a warmly gregarious fashion. Note: the original recording cut down the length of Sims's solo, likely for time purposes. This publication presents the entire arrangement with the cut indicated so your ensemble has a choice in how to perform it. This publication was prepared using the original set of parts used for the recording session - this is not a transcription.