Day In, Day Out

Nat "King" Cole seemed to have a magical way of drawing out a song's natural warmth, and his performance of "Day In, Day Out" (recorded in 1961) is no exception to this rule. This arrangement provides a marvelous backdrop for Cole's sonorous vocals with the brightness and hard swing that Billy May's work was known for. A powerful yet inviting 8 bar introduction sets up Cole's vocal entrance at measure 9. The accompanying backgrounds are fairly simple and riff based, but they offer enough rhythmic and dynamic variance that they never wear out their welcome. One particular thing to note is for the ensemble to take on an almost string-like quality when playing lengthy slurred phrases (for an example of this, see the saxophones at measure 57). A two-bar setup in the brass leads into the full band shout section at measure 65. This shout covers the first half of the tune's form, and is marked by a notable contrast between the mellow saxophones and feverish brass beginning at measure 73. The backgrounds behind Cole's re-entry at measure 81 largely adhere to the more string-like figures from earlier. Things begin to gradually build in complexity at measure 109, with three flutes and harp playing an interweaving, almost fugal line underneath the brass. This gradual build begins to really pick up steam at measure 113, with the ensemble consistently swelling under Cole's vocals until a rather abrupt and sinister conclusion, consisting of a softly dissonant saxophone chord and a brief melody reference from the harp. This arrangement is for jazz big band with male vocalist. In addition to standard big band instrumentation, there are also harp and percussion parts; the percussionist doubles on xylophone, marimba, timpani and bells. The harp part is cued in the piano part. This is not a transcription - it has been prepared from Billy May's original score and the parts used during the recording session.