Listening | Composing for Jazz Orchestra | Music and Theater Arts

These recordings are primarily organized by composer/arranger name. In cases where the band that recorded the selection is more prominent, the name of the bandleader is given, with the composer/arranger indicated in bracket.

Three primary collections are indicated by abbreviated titles. (Unfortunately, these Smithsonian Collection recordings went out of print in 1998, although many libraries have them and used copies can be found for sale.)

[BBJ] Big Band Jazz: From the Beginning to the Fifties. Smithsonian Collection of Recordings, 1983. 4 CDs.

[BBR] Big Band Renaissance: The Evolution of the Jazz Orchestra. Smithsonian Collection of Recordings, 1995. 5 CDs.

[SCCJ] Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz. Smithsonian Collection of Recordings, 1987. 5 CDs.

Compositions for which scores are provided to students are marked with §.

Compositions and recordings.
COMPOSITIONS	RECORDINGS
Muhal Richard Abrams
Hearinga	BBR v. 5, #15; or The Hearinga Suite. Black Saint, 1989.
Toshiko Akiyoshi - Lew Tabackin Big Band
Sumie	BBR v. 3, #11.
Count Basie
9:20 Special Moten Swing	Atomic Swing. Blue Note, 1999.
April in Paris §	April in Paris. Polygram, 1997.
Basie Straight Ahead §	On the CD accompanying Wright, Rayburn. Inside the Score. Delevan, NY: Kendor Music, 1990. ASIN: B000MMKKWO.
Everyday I Have the Blues §	Vol. 3, #10 on Swing that Music! Smithsonian Collection of Recordings, 1994.
One O'clock Jump Sent for You Yesterday	Count Basie: Complete Decca Recordings. Verve, 1992.
Sent for You Yesterday [Arr.: M. Harvey] §	Private recording
Carla Bley
On the Stage in Cages Birds of Paradise	Big Band Theory. ECM, 1993.
Anthony Braxton
Composition No. 286 (Ghost Trance Music)	Six Compositions (GTM) 2001. Rastascan, 2002.
Creative Orchestra Music, 1976	Creative Orchestra Music. RCA/Bluebird, 1976 [original release]; reissued on The Complete Arista Recordings of Anthony Braxton, Mosaic Records, 2008.
Willem Breuker Kollektief
Congratulation Cigar	BBR, v. 5, #13; or Parade. BVHaast, 1991.
Bob Brookmeyer
Big City Life	[See: Gerry Mulligan]
St. Louis Blues §	Monday Night: Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Jazz Orch. recorded live at the Village Vanguard. Solid State, 1968 [original release]; reissued on The Complete Solid State Recordings of the Thad Jones / Mel Lewis Orchestra, Mosaic Records 5-151, 1994.
Willow Weep for Me	[See: Thad Jones / Mel Lewis]
Don Cherry and Krysztof Pederecki
Humus - the Life Exploring Force [Don Cherry] Actions for Free Jazz Orchestra [K. Penderecki]	Actions. Intuition, 2002.
Either/Orchestra
Soul Tezeta	Live in Addis: Ethiopiques Vol. 20. Buda Musique, 2005.
Duke Ellington (some jointly-credited compositions with Billy Strayhorn, marked '+')
Across the Track Blues § Black Beauty Chelsea Bridge +§ Concerto for Cootie § Harlem [aka A Tone Parallel to Harlem] Koko §	Beyond Category. Buddha, 1994.
Almost Cried +§ Pie Eye's Blues [aka More Blues]	Anatomy of a Murder. Columbia, 1999 (original release 1959).
Black and Tan Fantasy Come Sunday [1965] Daydream + Jack the Bear Take the A Train +§	The Best of Duke Ellington Centennial Edition. RCA Victor, 1999.
Blood Count +	…And His Mother Called Him Bill. RCA, 1990 (original release 1967).
Blue Serge [Mercer Ellington]	SCCJ v. 3, #8.
Come Sunday §	The Duke Ellington Carnegie Hall Concerts, January 1943. Prestige, 1991.
Cottontail	SCCJ v. 3, #6.
Far East Suite (excerpts): Tourist Point of View § Bluebird of Delhi Isfahan Mount Harissa Agra § Amad	Far East Suite. RCA, 2003 (original release 1966).
Far East Suite, arr. Anthony Brown (excerpts): Tourist Point of View Bluebird of Delhi Isfahan Mount Harissa Agra Amad	Anthony Brown's Asian American Orchestra. Far East Suite. Asian Improv Records, 1999.
Harlem Air Shaft §	CD accompanying Jazz Styles: History and Analysis, 6th ed. Compiled by Mark Gridley. East Rutherford, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996. ISBN: 9780132609852.
In a Mellotone	SCCJ v. 3, #7.
In a Sentimental Mood [Arr: H. Pomeroy] §	Private recording
The Mooche §	Early Ellington: The Original Decca Recordings [aka "Complete Brunswick and Vocalion Recordings, 1926-1931."] Verve/GRP, 1994.
The Nutcracker Suite + Overture Sugar Rum Cherry Danse of the Floreadores Arabesque Cookie	Three Suites. Columbia, 2008 (original release 1960).
On a Turquoise Cloud	BBR v. 1, #4.
The River [suite]	The Private Collection, Vol. 5: The Suites, New York 1968 & 1970. Atlantic/WEA, 1990.
The Second Sacred Concert	The Second Sacred Concert. Prestige, 1990 (original release 1968).
Solitude [Arr. M. Harvey] §	Private recording
Such Sweet Thunder	Such Sweet Thunder. Columbia, 1999 (original release 1957).
Gil Evans and Miles Davis
Boplicity § Moon Dreams §	The Complete Birth of the Cool. Capitol/Blue Note, 1998.
Maids of Cadiz My Ship §	Miles Ahead. Columbia, 1997 (original release 1957).
Porgy and Bess tracks #1-5: Buzzard Song Bess, You is My Woman Now Gone § Gone, Gone, Gone § Summertime	Porgy and Bess. Columbia, 1997 (original release 1958).
Robbins Nest §	Claude Thornhill Orchestra. Claude Thornhill and his Orchestra, 1947. Hindsight Records, 1994.
Saeta Solea Will o' the Wisp	Sketches of Spain. Columbia, 1997 (original release 1959).
Maynard Ferguson
On Green Dolphin Street	BBR v. 2, #9.
Erroll Garner
Misty [Arr. M. Harvey] §	MIT Festival Jazz Orchestra. Transformations. MIT, 2004.
Misty [Arr: G. Wilson]	The Complete Pacific Jazz Recordings of Gerald Wilson and His Orchestra. Mosiac Records, 2000.
Dizzy Gillespie
Chorale [Lalo Schifrin]	BBR v. 5, #2.
Cubano Be/Cubano Bop In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee Manteca	The Complete RCA Victor Recordings: 1947-1949. RCA, 1995.
Hot House Relaxin' at Camarillo	Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Diz n' Bird at Carnegie Hall. Blue Note, 1997.
Things to Come	BBJ v. 4, #16.
Jimmy Guiffre
Cork n' Bib § Palo Alto § Mobiles 1-16	Lee Konitz Meets Jimmy Giuffre. Verve, 1996.
Four Brothers §	[see Woody Herman recordings]
Suspensions	Bill Evans and Orchestra. Brandeis Jazz Festival, 1957. Gambit, 2005.
Vinny Golia
Views	Vinny Golia Large Ensemble. Pilgrimage to Obscurity. Nine Winds NWCD0130, 1985.
Benny Golson
I Remember Clifford	BBR v. 2, #14.
I Remember Clifford	Oscar Pettiford: Complete Big Band Studio Recordings. Lonehill Jazz, 2005.
Whisper Not §	Benny Golson's New York Scene. Contemporary/OJC, 1997 (original release 1957).
Whisper Not	Dizzy Gillespie. Birks Works: The Verve Big-Band Sessions. Verve, 1995.
Whisper Not	Private recording
Benny Goodman
Blue Skies	The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert. Columbia/Sony, 1999.
Bugle Call Rag § One O'clock Jump Roll 'Em Sing, Sing, Sing	Sing, Sing, Sing. Bluebird, 2008.
Undercurrent Blues	BBR v. 1 #9.
Charlie Haden
The Circus We Shall Overcome	Liberation Music Orchestra. Impulse/GRP, 1996 (original release 1969).
Lionel Hampton
Flying Home §	BBJ v. 4, #6.
Mark Harvey
Blue Sequence § Echoes § Scamology	Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. Aardvark Steps Out. Nine Winds NWCD 0155, 1993.
Flex §	Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. Recorded live at Regattabar, Cambridge MA, July 18, 2001. iTunesU (MP3 - 38MB) Internet Archive (MP3 - 38MB)
Flex §	MIT Festival Jazz Orchestra. Recorded live at MIT Kresge Auditorium, December 9, 2000. The Tale of the Sky Swimmer. HerbMIT Productions, 2002. (Courtesy of Frederick Harris, Jr. and the MIT FJE. Used with permission.) iTunesU (MP3 - 33MB) Internet Archive (MP3 - 33MB)
No Walls	Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. No Walls. Aardmuse, 2007.
The Prophet §	Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. Bethlehem COUNTERPOINT. Aardmuse, 2002.
The Seeker §	Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. Recorded live at Regattabar, Cambridge MA, March 21, 2001. iTunesU (MP3 - 16MB) Internet Archive (MP3 - 16MB) Alternate recording: Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. The Seeker. Leo Records, 2000.
Spirals	Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. Trumpet Madness. Leo Records, 2005.
St. James Infirmary [arr. Mark Harvey] § Three Bs & a Bop	Private recording
Swing Landscape	Aardvark Jazz Orchestra. Paintings for Jazz Orchestra. Leo Records, 1993.
Fletcher Henderson
The Stampede § Wrappin' It Up	SCCJ v. 2 #1-2.
Woody Herman
Blue Flame Four Brothers	The Thundering Herds 1945-1947. Columbia/Sony, 2008.
Ebony Concerto	Ebony Concerto. Sounds of Yesteryear, 2006.
Sister Sadie Stompin' at the Savoy	BBR v. 1, #17-18.
Baird Hersey
The Prince Your Voices Like Wind on a Mountaintop	The Year of the Ear. Have You Heard? Arista Novus, 1979.
The International Sweethearts of Rhythm
Bugle Call Rag	Hot Licks, 1944-1946. Sounds of Yesteryear, 2006.
Thad Jones & Mel Lewis
Kids are Pretty People §	On the CD accompanying Wright, Rayburn. Inside the Score. Delevan, NY: Kendor Music, 1990.
Quietude	Central Park North. Blue Note, 2004 (original release 1969).
Willow Weep for Me [Arr: B. Brookmeyer]	BBR v. 3, #5.
Stan Kenton
A Trumpet [Bob Graettinger] Cuban Carnival [Pete Rugolo]	BBR v. 2, #1 & #3.
by Bill Russo: Dusk Egdon Heath Thisbe by Bill Holman: Kinash My Funny Valentine Theme and Variations	Kenton Showcase: Music of Bill Russo & Bill Holman. Capitol/Blue Note, 2000.
Andy Kirk
Big Jim Blues	[see Mary Lou Williams]
McGhee Special [H. McGhee]	Vol. 3, #15 on Swing that Music! Smithsonian Collection of Recordings, 1994.
Moten Swing	Andy Kirk & The 12 Clouds of Joy, with Mary Lou Williams. ASV, 1993.
Guillermo Klein
Impacto Gaudi	MIT Festival Jazz Orchestra. Recorded live at MIT Killian Hall, May 2001. The Tale of the Sky Swimmer. HerbMIT Productions, 2002.
Ray McKinley
Idiot's Delight	BBR v. 1 #3.
Glenn Miller
String of Pearls [comp. Jerry Gray]	BBJ v. 3 #11.
Charles Mingus
Adagio Non Troppo The I of Hurricane Sue The Shoes of the Fisherman's Wife are Some Jiveass Slippers	Let My Children Hear Music. Columbia/Sony, 2008 (original release 1971).
The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, tracks #1-4 §	The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady. Impulse/GRP, 1995 (original release 1963).
Duke Ellington's Sound of Love	Mingus Big Band 93: Nostalgia in Times Square. Dreyfus, 1993.
E's Flat Ah's Flat Too Moanin' Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting	Blues and Roots. Atlantic/WEA, 1998 (original release 1959).
Epitaph (excerpts)	Epitaph. Conducted by Gunther Schuller. Sony, 1990.
Fables of Faubus Open Letter to Duke	Mingus Ah Um. Columbia/Sony, 1999.
Haitian Fight Song §	MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble. Flexology. MIT, 2005.
Revelations (1st movement) §	Brandeis Jazz Festival, 1957. Gambit, 2005.
MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble (FJE)
Raga Jog [w/ Natraj]	World Fusions. MIT CD, 2002.
[See also: compositions by Harvey, Klein, Mingus, Sharifi, Souriau]
Thelonius Monk
Evidence	Big Band and Quartet in Concert. Columbia/Sony, 2008 (original release 1963).
Four in One	BBR v. 5, #4.
Round Midnight [Arr: Marty Paich] §	Art Pepper + Eleven. Contemporary/OJC, 1991 (original release 1959).
Round Midnight [Arr: Oliver Nelson]	Oliver Nelson: The Argo, Verve & Impulse Big Band Studio Sessions. Mosaic #233, 2007.
Round Midnight [Arr: H. Mancini]	BBR v. 5 #7.
Butch Morris
Conduction #28, II – X Conduction #26, E	Testament: A Conduction Collection. New World Records, 1995.
Bennie Moten
Moten Swing	BBJ v. 1 #15.
Moten Swing	[see Andy Kirk]
Moten Swing	[see Count Basiel]
Moten Swing	Private recording
Gerry Mulligan
Godchild §	The Complete Birth of the Cool. Capitol/Blue Note, 1998.
Jeru [both takes] §	The Original Gerry Mulligan Quartet with Chet Baker. Pacific Jazz Records/Blue Note, 1998.
Walkin' Shoes [Arr: Marty Paich] [both takes]	Art Pepper + Eleven. Contemporary/OJC, 1991 (original release 1959).
Walkin' Shoes §	Pete Rugolo and his Orchestra. Adventures in Sound. Fresh Sound Records, 2006 (original release 1956).
Little Rock Getaway [Arr: Al Cohn] Ballad [G. Mulligan] Big City Life [B. Brookmeyer] Pretty Little Gypsy; Bridgehampton South; Bridgehampton Strut [G. McFarland]	The Complete Verve Gerry Mulligan Concert Band Sessions. Mosaic Records, 2003.
Oliver Nelson
Blues and the Abstract Truth § The Jazzhattan Suite Miss Fine § Soundpiece §	Oliver Nelson: The Argo, Verve & Impulse Big Band Studio Sessions. Mosaic #233, 2007.
Emancipation Blues §	Afro-American Sketches. OJC, 1993 (original release 1960).
Intro to a Samba [C. Adderley/Arr: O. Nelson]	Cannonball Adderley. Domination. Capitol/Blue Note, 2005 (original release 1965).
Stolen Moments §	Blues and the Abstract Truth. Impulse/Verve, 2007 (original release 1961).
See also these suites: The Kennedy Dream [a tribute to John F. Kennedy] Peter and the Wolf [featuring Jimmy Smith, organ]	Oliver Nelson: The Argo, Verve & Impulse Big Band Studio Sessions. Mosaic #233, 2007.
New York Composers Orchestra
92 + (30, 32, 139) + (108c, 108d) For Creative Orchestra [Comp: Anthony Braxton] Dance Music for Composers Orchestra [Comp: Lenny Pickett]	First Program in Standard Time. New World Records, 1992.
Jaco Pastorius
Punk Jazz	The Birthday Concert. Warner Bros., 2008 (original release 1981).
Liberty City	Word of Mouth. Warner Bros., 2002 (original release 1981).
Oscar Pettiford
Deep Passion The Gentle Art of Love Little Niles Sunrise-Sunset	Oscar Pettiford: Complete Big Band Studio Recordings. Lonehill Jazz, 2005.
Herb Pomeroy
Theme for Terry	BBR v. 2 #12.
Sun Ra
The Cosmos Dancing in the Sun The Sun Myth A House of Beauty Cosmic Chaos	The Heliocentric Worlds of Sun Ra, Vol. 1 & 2. ESP Disk, 2006.
Boyd Raeburn
A Night in Tunisia Boyd Meets Stravinsky	BBJ v. 4 #12-13.
Dalavatore Sally	BBR v. 1 #2.
Buddy Rich
Goodbye Yesterday	BBR v. 2 #10.
Johnny Richards
Nipigon	BBR v. 2 #13.
Pete Rugolo
Cuban Carnival	[see Stan Kenton]
Impressionism	Pete Rugolo and his Orchestra. Adventures in Sound. Fresh Sound Records, 2006 (original release 1956).
George Russell
The African Game, #1-#4	The African Game. Blue Note, 1983.
All About Rosie §	Bill Evans and Orchestra. Brandeis Jazz Festival, 1957. Gambit, 2005.
Cubano Be/Cubano Bop	[see Dizzy Gillespie]
Electronic Sonata for Souls Loved by Nature So What	The 80th Birthday Concert. Concept Publishing, 2005.
Maria Schneider
El Viento Bombshelter Beast	Coming About. Enja, 1996.
Gunther Schuller
Blue Moon Jumpin' in the Future	Jumpin' in the Future. GM Recordings, 2001.
Transformation	Bill Evans and Orchestra. Brandeis Jazz Festival, 1957. Gambit, 2005.
Jamshied Sharifi
Katarina's First Song	MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble. JAMIT Productions, 1990.
Artie Shaw
Begin the Beguine [Cole Porter] Evensong [Paul Jordan] The Glider [Buster Harding] Krazy Kat [Johnny Mandel] Similau [Arr: G. Russell] Suite #8 [Paul Jordan]	Self Portrait: The Artie Shaw Collection. Bluebird, 2001.
Magali Souriau
The Tale of the Sky Swimmer [feat. Herb Pomeroy, trumpet]	MIT Festival Jazz Orchestra. Recorded live at MIT Kresge Auditorium, December 9, 2000. The Tale of the Sky Swimmer. HerbMIT Productions, 2002.
Walter Thompson
PEXO - A Soundpainting Symphony	PEXO - A Soundpainting Symphony. Nine Winds, 2003. Video of the Walter Thompson Orchestra: climbersax. "Soundpainting - Walter Thompson." November 4, 2007. YouTube. Accessed June 6, 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA4nnxG30og.
Gerald Wilson
Out of This World Viva Tirado Misty	The Complete Pacific Jazz Recordings of Gerald Wilson and His Orchestra. Mosiac Records, 2000.
Mary Lou Williams
Big Jim Blues § Walkin' and Swingin'	Andy Kirk & The 12 Clouds of Joy, with Mary Lou Williams. ASV, 1993.
In the Land of Oo-Bla-Dee	[See Dizzy Gillespie]
Scorpio §	The Zodiac Suite. Smithsonian Folkways, 1995 (original release 1945).
Scorpio	The Dutch Jazz Orchestra. The Rediscovered Music of Mary Lou Williams: The Lady Who Swings the Band. Challenge, 2006.
Scorpio	Oscar Pettiford: Nonet & Octet 1954-1955 Recordings. Fresh Sounds, 2007.
Scratchin' in the Gravel	Andy Kirk & Mary Lou Williams. Mary's Idea. Decca/GRP, 1993 (original release 1936).
Trumpets No End (Blue Skies)	Duke Ellington and his Orchestra. Happy Birthday Duke, Vol. 3. LaserLight, 1992.