Adam Bartczak

Composed by Mongo Santamaria, arranged by Adam Bartczak. This recording features University of Northern Colorado’s Jazz lab I with Jeff Coffin on soprano sax and Donny McCaslin on tenor sax.

Combo (6 piece). 3/4 Swing. This small group arrangement for 3 horns and rhythm section alternates between an Afro-Cuban feel and an easy 3/4 swing with fluid, richly harmonized melodic lines.

Big Band (9 Brass). Medium Swing. Written as a tribute to (and in the style of) a good friend and excellent pianist, Ronneka Cox, this chart features lead tenor and piano solos, as well as a short drum solo. Changes alternate between a harmonically rich textured “12-tone blues” and a straight-ahead minor blues.

Big Band (9 Brass) w/ vocals. Medium hip-hop. A vocal (alto) feature with solo opportunities for piano, guitar, and drums, this chart is hard-hitting and smooth at different times. The band and soloists are led through a series of musical textures that change shape, but are always grooving.

Big Band (8 Brass). Fast Swing. An energetic piece that brings to mind a prohibition-era bank robbery! Features clarinet, tenor sax, and drum solos, as well as plunger work for the brass. This recording features the West Point Jazz Knights.

Big Band (9 or 8 brass) w/ vibraphone (guitar can sub for vibes). Medium shuffling hip-hop. A vibraphone (or guitar) feature with alto sax solo, some flute doubling for alto sax 2 and tenor sax 1, and trumpets on flugels, this chart grooves throughout, contrasting a floating, smooth section with a hard-hitting, raunchy one.

Big Band (9 Brass) w/ sax doubles (see score). Medium swing. This is a great feature for the woodwind doubles with various opportunities for them to solo over different textures. The piece is in 3 movements (each based on a short story by Edgar Allan Poe) with interesting phrase lengths and flowing, independent, melodic lines throughout.