Merry Christmas and All That Jazz: Jazz Ensemble Conductor Score & Parts

Story keeps the ensemble moving with a genuine jazz waltz feel while anchoring the piece in two instantly recognizable melodies. The optional parts mean you can customize for your instrumentation without sacrificing the arrangement's integrity, and the straightforward chart lets developing improvisers focus on feel rather than complexity.

A relaxed, swinging waltz that brings warmth to familiar carols without nostalgia or cuteness. The jazz treatment breathes life into melodies students know by heart, letting them experience what it means to jazz a standard rather than simply transpose it.

Beginning to early-intermediate jazz ensembles ready to play something recognizable and seasonal without needing advanced harmonic or rhythmic reading. Directors programming winter concerts who want a genuine jazz piece that doesn't sound like a classical arrangement in disguise.

• Balance the jazz waltz rhythm gently in the rhythm section. A light touch on the kick drum on beat 1 and a crisp snare on the backbeat will keep the 3/4 groove honest rather than bouncy.
• Let the trumpet section carry the melody with warmth. At 128 BPM, the pace is comfortable enough that phrasing matters more than technical facility.
• Use the optional parts strategically. If you're short trombones, pull the trombone lines into the second trumpet part rather than leaving gaps; the chart supports this flexibility.

Ideal for a winter concert opening or closer. It works equally well as a show-opener that sets a sophisticated tone or as an encore that sends the audience out smiling. Consider pairing it with a more introspective holiday arrangement to give your program texture.

• Reading and maintaining jazz waltz rhythm in 3/4 time
• Balancing melody and comping in an ensemble setting
• Articulation and phrasing in a swing style
• Flexibility with optional instrumental parts