It's All Right with Me: Score

Gordon Goodwin's re-orchestration captures the swagger and polish of a modern big band without losing the elegant simplicity that makes Porter's melody so memorable. The chart sits at a genuine advanced level, requiring rhythmic precision and section blend from your players, but the payoff is a performance that sounds polished and confident on any stage. This is the kind of arrangement that makes your band sound professional.

Smooth, confident, and sophisticated. The tune swings with a contemporary big band sensibility while honoring Porter's gift for elegant melody. There's plenty of rhythmic energy and ensemble interplay, but never at the expense of the song itself.

This chart demands a well-trained jazz ensemble with strong section leaders and a drummer comfortable with modern big band swing. You need reliable readers who can handle chromatic passages and shifting ensemble textures without losing the groove. If your band has the chops and experience, this is a fantastic vehicle to showcase their maturity.

• Lock the rhythm section first. The swing feel depends entirely on the drummer and bass player moving as one unit; rehearse them separately before bringing in the full band.
• Balance the alto sax lead carefully against the ensemble fills. Goodwin's voicings are dense, so the lead voice needs space to cut through without pushing the dynamic.
• Shape the phrases like a vocalist would. Even though this is instrumental, Porter's melody has a natural legit singing quality; avoid clipping the ends of phrases and let them breathe.
• Bring out the flute double in alto 2 during key passages. The timbral shift adds color and sophistication when used intentionally rather than as a permanent doubling.

Program this in the second half of a concert where your band's best ensemble work and most experienced soloists are fresh. It pairs beautifully with other standards or modern big band charts, and audiences respond to hearing a familiar Porter melody delivered with this level of polish and swing.

• Reading dense harmonic voicings and complex ensemble textures
• Executing clean articulation across rapid rhythmic figures
• Balancing individual voice lines within thick big band voicings
• Sustaining swing feel over extended passages with syncopated rhythms
• Responding to sectional cues and musical phrasing in an ensemble context