Mike Titlebaum

Stellar Tune

The opening section is played by trumpets in harmon mutes and optional flutes over a Metheny-like Latin groove. Solos are provided for tenor saxophone and trumpet. A contrapuntal section builds all the way to the end. Medium.Advance Music is proud to present our new Groovin' Easy Series. We've taken 10 tunes from two popular Advance Music publications (Reading Key Jazz Rhythms and The Ramon Ricker Improvisation Series) and asked our writers to give us creative and musically challenging charts that are also playable by young bands.To the normal big band instrumentation of 5 saxes, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones and rhythm section we've added optional parts for flute, clarinet, French horn, guitar and auxiliary percussion. In addition, each chart is written to sound full with a reduced instrumentation of only 3 saxes, 2 trumpets, 1 trombone and rhythm section.The brass ranges are reasonable with the lead trumpet never going above a written C and the rhythm section parts are carefully notated and thought-out.There is plenty of room for improvising, but just in case we've provided written solos.