Sy Johnson

This up-tempo swinger has become the signature tune for the Mingus Big Band. It opens with a free-wheeling baritone sax solo and features raucous ensemble passages and group improvisations. You won't...

This is probably Charles Mingus' best-known composition. Sy Johnson's updated chart is the authentic version as performed by the Mingus Big Band on the CD Blues and Politics.

From the Mingus Big Band CD Live In Time, this is one of the most creative charts in the band's book. Don't be fooled by the apparent normal sounds at the beginning, as this multi-styled production nu...

Originally written for the 1959 John Cassavetes film Shadows, Nostalgia in Times Square is a medium tempo blues but with a unique harmonic structure. Beautifully scored for younger ensembles by Sy Joh...

Originally written for the 1959 John Cassavetes film Shadows, Nostalgia in Times Square is a medium tempo blues but with a unique harmonic structure. Beautifully scored for younger ensembles by Sy Joh...

From the Mingus Big Band CD Blues and Politics!, this intense minor blues opens with a bass solo then gradually unfolds layer by layer until the entire ensemble is screaming. Includes plenty of solo s...

Titled in honor of Charles Mingus' good friend and mentor Oscar Pettiford, this swing chart opens with the two tenors, followed by all the saxes, and finally the entire ensemble. Whether you play this...

This classic Mingus composition is meant to be performed with a sense of an anger or sarcasm, and definitely projects an edginess. The bari sax and bass bone will have fun with the opening and there i...

The unique genius and originality of Charles Mingus is nowhere more apparent than in this symphonic masterpiece adapted for big band by Sy Johnson. Involving no improvisation but rather a series of th...

Originally recorded by Charles Mingus on his Mingus Ah Um album in 1959, Sy Johnson has transformed this through-composed ballad into a stunningly beautiful setting for full jazz ensemble. Featuring e...

Spreading the 'gospel of jazz' according to well-respected composer/arranger Sy Johnson, this medium slow shuffle chart features a distinctive personality and style. With lots of tutti ensemble procla...

Originally written for the 1959 John Cassavetes film Shadows, Nostalgia in Times Square is a medium tempo blues but with a unique harmonic structure. Beautifully scored for younger ensembles by Sy Joh...

The style heading is simply fast which doesn't begin to hint at the energy packed into this Mingus powerhouse. The intensity is built up in layers starting with the bass, followed by the baritone sax,...

The style heading is simply fast which doesn't begin to hint at the energy packed into this Mingus powerhouse. The intensity is built up in layers starting with the bass, followed by the baritone sax,...

The style heading is simply fast which doesn't begin to hint at the energy packed into this Mingus powerhouse. The intensity is built up in layers starting with the bass, followed by the baritone sax,...

The style heading is simply fast which doesn't begin to hint at the energy packed into this Mingus powerhouse. The intensity is built up in layers starting with the bass, followed by the baritone sax,...

Mingus loved the blues, and this powerful and highly energized arrangement from the CD Live In Time is a staple in the book of the Mingus Big Band. It features the signature bass line scored for the l...

One of the most engaging and lighthearted of all Mingus' compositions, this was originally meant to provide a musical bridge from Jelly Roll Morton to Mingus' own unique compositional voice. Here is a...

One of the most engaging and lighthearted of all Mingus' compositions, this was originally meant to provide a musical bridge from Jelly Roll Morton to Mingus' own unique compositional voice. Here is a...

This classic Mingus composition is meant to be performed with a sense of an anger or sarcasm, and definitely projects an edginess. The bari sax and bass bone will have fun with the opening and there i...

This classic Mingus composition is meant to be performed with a sense of an anger or sarcasm, and definitely projects an edginess. The bari sax and bass bone will have fun with the opening and there i...

Titled in honor of Charles Mingus' good friend and mentor Oscar Pettiford, this swing chart opens with the two tenors, followed by all the saxes, and finally the entire ensemble. Whether you play this...

Written in a medium-tempo, swing style, the saxes take the lead in the beginning answered by screaming brass figures. Soprano sax and a solo trombone engage in an ongoing bluesy dialogue interspersed...

Written in a medium-tempo, swing style, the saxes take the lead in the beginning answered by screaming brass figures. Soprano sax and a solo trombone engage in an ongoing bluesy dialogue interspersed...