Nardis: Choral Instrumental Pak

Rutherford's wordless setting strips away any pretense and lets the tune breathe as pure vocal color. Choirs get to explore jazz vocabulary (scat syllables, rhythmic precision, timbral variety) without the barrier of text, and the resulting sound is genuinely fresh in a concert context. Your audience will recognize the sophistication of the original while hearing something they've never encountered before.

Sleek, modern, and slightly hypnotic. The wordless syllables create a shimmering backdrop while the harmonic content unfolds with the unhurried confidence of late-period Miles. It feels like stepping into a cool jazz club at midnight; sophisticated and inviting at once.

Choirs with jazz experience or genuine interest in expanding beyond traditional repertoire; directors who want to program something that respects jazz language without requiring vocalists to scat sing or improvise. The rhythmic requirement means your singers should read comfortably in 4/4 and follow a strong pulse without constant conductor direction.

• Emphasize the rhythmic pocket early in rehearsals. The syllables matter less than the precision of when they land; lock the ensemble into the groove before worrying about individual voice independence.
• Record a rehearsal mix featuring just the rhythm section and have singers listen during the week. Internalizing the harmonic movement against the groove transforms how they'll phrase the wordless passages.
• Treat the wordless syllables as instrumental colors rather than sung text. Lighter jaw tension and quicker vowel changes will give your choir that characteristic jazz brightness.

Pair this with another contemporary choral work to create a "beyond the standard" concert set that opens ears to what modern arranging can do. It also works brilliantly as a closer when you want to send your audience out remembering something unexpected and artfully done.

• Singing precise rhythms against a walking bass line
• Producing pure vowel sounds on jazz syllables (doo, bah, lee, etc.)
• Maintaining a locked ensemble sound while following harmonic chord changes
• Listening across voices to balance a jazz voicing rather than doubling traditional part writing