When You're Smiling

Legendary West Coast arranger Tom Kubis takes a crack at the classic Count Basie formula with his take on the standard When You're Smiling. Recorded on his album Slightly Off the Ground, the whole chart exudes a mellow atmosphere throughout, even at higher volume levels. The band plays the melody in rhythmic unison, with only a few minor exceptions along the way. The melody is followed up by a solo; it's marked as a tenor solo in the score, but is actually a trombone solo on the recording. Chord changes have been provided in each part depending on what you'd like to do with your ensemble. This gives way to a classic Basie-style soft shout chorus at measure 65 - think Shiny Stockings. A gradual build in intensity leads itself into the full-bore shout chorus at measure 97, with the brass roaring over top of a unison sax line. There's a brief drop in volume at measure 113 before the band returns to its initial intensity 8 bars later. The arrangement ends in a clean, effective fashion with a quick sax riff preceding a warm final chord.