Jazz Standards-4part

Hello fellow composers. For my first post I decided I would put 2 arrangements that I did last year. I know they are short but I arranged them for a saxophone quartet at my school one night.

The arrangements are in 4 parts and though they were written for saxophones I put the midi to piano because saxophone midi sounds like a dying duck on my computer.

autumn leaves.MID

Imagination.MID

Please tell me if there are any problems with this post as it is my first one, thanks.

Hey, man. My first post here, too.

Well I'm sure this sounded really impressive live. If I may, though, I'd like to ask you about some of the voice leading you've got going on in there. For example, I can dig what you're doing in the first full bar of Autumn Leaves, but what instead if you made it A, E, Eb, D? (written) It's just sort of a more resolved sound in root position than in 2nd inversion, you know?

As for Imagination, I liked a lot what you were doing in there! However, I think there were some sour notes when you had the bari start walking. Other than that, it felt very comfortable. Also, as a matter of taste, what you say to having some altered chord in the penultimate measure? I'm thinking the bari could go Db (written) to C (written) to give you your tritone substitution over the dominant.

Either way, though, great work for just one night, as you said!

Cheers,

-Greg

Autumn Leaves:

I was not bothered by anything. I do think that maybe you could have used a little bit more rhythmic variation in there, especially in the latter half of piece. Maybe not so much in the melody, but in the inner two parts. It also could have been longer, without offending me.

Imagination:

Same as with Autumn Leaves, I felt like I wanted to hear more. That certainly means you're doing some things right. I think that hearing it live with saxophones might abolish any doubts I had about the necessity for rhythmic movement, I'm not sure.

Nice harmonisations (mostly pretty conventional, which is refreshing), probably needing a bit more movement, and stick a jazz solo in somewhere or other. Have you heard the ToonTown Tuners? They're a sax quintet (SATBBass) and if you have a look at some of their vids on youtube you'll get some ideas of how to make phrases move in this style. Nevertheless, good work!

Hi,

It sounds nice. nice harmonisation; but, I think the arrangemants are missing the endings cos' and some development. Try to stick in a solo or shout chorus. Also I think you could check the rhythm in Autumn Leavs, jazz is more about off-beats then

on-beats.

Otherwise good work,