Hey Pete

Don't let its silly trappings catch you off guard – this Quincy Jones arrangement of the Dizzy Gillespie novelty blues was written for Gillespie's famous 1956 State Department-sponsored big band and contains more than enough bebop brilliance to balance out the comic lyrics and overall goofiness. The band wastes no time making its presence known with a corkscrewing chromatic line that sets up the dissonant opening fanfare. This virtuosic introduction yields to a simple riff-based melody, with the entire band engaging in some lighthearted vocal whimsy for a couple choruses. Make sure the rhythm section keeps their volume level down so as to not overwhelm the singing. Gillespie snaps the mood back to more serious territory with a blistering solo break at measure 29. He continues on for four total 12-bar blues choruses, followed by four more choruses from Billy Mitchell's tenor sax. For each solo, some simple riff-like backgrounds are played behind the third and fourth choruses. A simple and short Wynton Kelly piano solo sets up the arrangement's true highlight – a three-chorus-long ensemble shout beginning at measure 93. It serves as a textbook example of how to write a bebop big band arrangement, with a melody line that includes both rhythmic and harmonic complexity throughout. Make sure your ensemble pays attention to not only the intricate dynamics, but also the subtle shifts in the groove that occur at various times (for example, Charli Persip's drums shifting to a backbeat for a few bars at measure 109). Gillespie's trumpet soars over the top of the ensemble before returning to the silly vocal melody at measure 129. The melody is repeated twice more before the ensemble launches into one last hurrah at measure 155. Based on the original set of parts from Dizzy Gillespie's library – this is not a transcription.