Blue Moon: Vocal Solo with Jazz Ensemble Conductor Score & Parts
Vocal Feature - Key of C
By Richard Rodgers / arr. Mike Carubia
Grade: 4 (Medium Advanced / Difficult)
Item: 00-PK-0002542
$54.00
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Description
Take a nice standard, add a Mike Carubia arrangement, and it turns to magic! This one features a vocal quartet (SATB or SSAA) with big band and has all of those big sounds everyone likes. Nice voice leadings and a bossa interlude for a change of pace. Great for programming! (3:02)
Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, Blue Moon: Vocal Solo with Jazz Ensemble Conductor Score & Parts comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.
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Additional Details
Series:
Jazz Vocal Series
Publisher:
Alfred Music
Page Count:
130
SKU:
00-PK-0002542
More about this title
About the Composer: Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) shaped the sound of American musical theater across five decades. His melodic gifts and harmonic sophistication elevated the Broadway standard from novelty song to enduring art form, giving singers and instrumentalists material that rewards both technical mastery and emotional depth.
Rodgers's compositions remain central to jazz repertoire because they offer clear harmonic architecture, memorable lines, and genuine emotional content. Teachers and arrangers return to his songs repeatedly because they teach voice leading, harmonic analysis, and phrasing in a context students actually want to perform.
Why we love this
Carubia's arrangement takes a timeless standard and reinvents it with genuine jazz sophistication. The bossa nova section breaks the energy arc intelligently while the four-part vocal writing sits beautifully over the big band; this is jazz ensemble writing that respects both the singers and the rhythm section.
What to expect
Sophisticated yet swinging. The arrangement honors the song's romantic lineage while injecting genuine jazz vocabulary: the rhythm section is conversational and alive, the horns voice rich harmonic colors, and the bossa break offers a moment of lightness before returning to the soulful core.
Who it's for
Jazz ensembles with strong vocalist(s) or a vocal quartet that can handle Grade 4 harmonic complexity and sustained ensemble awareness. This works equally well for mixed or same-voice ensembles (SATB or SSAA), making it flexible for your particular group's strengths.
How to get the most out of it
- Balance the vocal quartet sound against the ensemble from rehearsal one. The arrangement is scored generously, so singers need secure intonation and blend to cut through without strain.
- Shape the bossa interlude with relaxed swing feel rather than strict rhythm; let the section breathe and lean into the groove change.
- Mark phrase endings clearly in all parts. With this much ensemble texture, singers need secure visual cueing from the conductor to stay locked with the big band.
How to use it
Program this as a feature for spring or end-of-year concerts when you want to showcase both the ensemble's maturity and your vocalist(s) as soloists. The three-minute length fits perfectly between instrumental features in a balanced jazz concert set.
Skills your students will build
- Singing over dense jazz harmonies while maintaining independence from the ensemble
- Trading phrases and cues between vocal and instrumental sections
- Executing stylistic contrast between ballad and bossa sections
- Blend and intonation in four-part voicing across sustained phrases
- Reading and interpreting jazz articulation and phrasing marks