How Sweet It Is: 2nd E-flat Alto Saxophone

Nestico's touch is unmistakable here: a chart that grooves with the ease and confidence of a Basie standard, yet remains genuinely playable by high school ensembles when the section work is solid. The solo opportunities span the front line and rhythm section intelligently, and that ensemble section truly delivers the payoff. This is writing that rewards clean fundamentals and collective listening rather than raw technique.

The tune settles into a medium swing groove that feels lived-in from the first measure, like putting on a favorite jacket. That Basie influence runs through the DNA of the voicings and rhythmic sensibility, and when the ensemble locks in on those tutti sections, there's an unmistakable warmth and inevitability to the sound. This is deeply comfortable, deeply swinging music.

Jazz ensembles at the advanced high school level and beyond will find this chart sits in the sweet spot between musicality and playability. Directors programming a mature ensemble looking for a groove-based vehicle that teaches ensemble balance and swing phrasing without requiring lead players to stretch into unsafe ranges will return to this one repeatedly.

• Lock the section heads and punches first, before soloists enter their improvisations. A tight ensemble foundation makes every solo sound better.
• Balance the ensemble swells dynamically so no single voice overwhelms; Nestico scored these blend passages to sing as a unified statement, not as competing lines.
• Give soloists space to breathe during their statements, but keep the rhythm section locked and energized underneath. The groove carries everything.
• Shape the tune's phrasing in phrases, not measure-by-measure. This music thinks in four-bar and eight-bar units, so conduct accordingly.

Pair this with other Nestico arrangements or classic big band repertoire to anchor a concert around the Basie tradition and the lineage of straight-ahead swinging jazz. It's equally at home in a casual jazz night as it is in a more formal concert setting. Consider programming it mid-set when your ensemble is thoroughly warmed up and ready to settle into serious groove work.

• Reading and executing precise dynamic control within ensemble voicings
• Playing behind the beat for authentic swing feel
• Responding to section-mate tuning and balance without a conductor's guidance
• Supporting soloists with rhythmic stability and groove consistency
• Phrasing swing articulations with long lines rather than note-by-note attacks