Just One Of Those Things

The title track from a 1957 album by Nat "King" Cole, "Just One Of Those Things" features several sounds that Billy May essentially trademarked: swooping saxophones, cutesy flutes, and rocket-powered brass, all wrapped up in a relentlessly swinging package. The brisk pace of the arrangement is established right off the bat, with a quickly moving syncopated ensemble figure riding on top of the pounding backbeat in the rhythm section. Cole enters with the melody at measure 9, supported by a series of clever and diverse background figures in the band. Initially, May's swooping saxes dominate the accompaniment, followed by some brightly punchy brass hits around fluttering flutes at measure 33. A gently ascending figure in the saxes and trombones at measure 41 gives way to a screaming trumpet rip, followed by a retreat back to the swooping saxes at measure 57. The band doesn't get a full fledged shout section all to themselves. Instead, they trade figures on the melody with Cole's vocals beginning at measure 73 with some riffs that resemble but do not replicate those from the introduction. Cole takes the spotlight back for himself at measure 105, with the band backgrounds operating at a much simpler level than before. Some more brief back and forth between Cole and the band occurs at measure 129, before the band plays one last riff before landing on the warm but powerful final chord. This arrangement is for jazz big band featuring male vocalist. It also includes parts for harp and percussion; the percussionist doubles on bells, xylophone, marimba, vibraphone and timpani. The harp is cued in the piano part. It is not a transcription - it has been prepared from Billy May's original score and the set of parts used during the 1957 recording session.