Don't Get Around Much Anymore: Brass Choir

Custer's arrangement captures the sophisticated ease and swing feel that made Ellington's composition enduring, while making it accessible to brass choirs without requiring a full rhythm section. The included accompaniment track lets you rehearse and perform with authentic jazz accompaniment regardless of your school's available rhythm players, removing a genuine logistical barrier to programming this standard.

Urbane and sophisticated, with the unhurried elegance of a standard that has aged beautifully. The melody sits comfortably in the brass range, allowing players to focus on the swing feel and the interplay between sections rather than technical struggle. There's a gentle sophistication here, an invitation to inhabit a world of refined jazz expression.

Brass choirs and brass ensembles with intermediate to advanced reading ability who want to explore jazz repertoire with a composition of genuine sophistication. Directors seeking material for jazz festivals, contest programming, or concert variety will find a piece that sounds polished and rewarding without requiring rhythm section players.

• Reference the full-performance track early in rehearsal to internalize the swing articulation and phrasing Ellington's music demands; this standard needs a relaxed, behind-the-beat feel that differs markedly from classical brass idiom.
• Balance the melody through the brass voices rather than letting a single part dominate; Ellington's orchestration distributes the tune across registers, so adjust blend and dynamics to keep the song's narrative clear.
• Let the accompaniment track shape your rhythmic feel in performance; locking to the piano, guitar, bass, and drums creates the cohesion that makes the arrangement swing.
• Shape phrases with dynamic contour rather than mechanical dynamics markings; listen for how the full-performance track breathes through each section and mirror that musical intention.

Pair this with other Ellington compositions or jazz standards to build a concert set that showcases your ensemble's versatility and interpretive depth. The 38 pages suggest sufficient material for a substantial program segment, making it ideal for a jazz-focused concert, festival showcase, or as the centerpiece of a broader American standards program.

• Swing articulation and phrasing in a jazz idiom
• Balance and blend in homophonic brass writing
• Reading and responding to jazz accompaniment tracks
• Harmonic awareness in jazz chord progressions
• Ensemble synchronization across multiple brass parts