So What: Jazz Ensemble Conductor Score & Parts

Mossman's arrangement captures the essence of the Davis sound while giving your ensemble real work to do. The head features genuine call-and-response writing between reeds and brass, and the background figures during solos are sophisticated enough to hold the band's attention while soloing students find their footing. This is a standard that swings hard without becoming a routine.

Cool but never cold. The arrangement unfolds with the kind of intelligent simplicity that feels effortless until you try to execute it. There's plenty of room for individual voices, yet the writing ensures the ensemble voice stays coherent throughout.

Jazz ensembles at the intermediate level looking for a genuine standard with substantial solo opportunities. This works for groups ready to balance ensemble precision with the stylistic freedom that jazz demands.

• Lock the reeds and brass together on the opening melody statement; the answering figures need clarity and unity so the arrangement's architecture reads clearly.
• Shape the background figures as integral to the solo sections, not accompaniment. These lines carry the composition forward and should breathe with the soloist.
• Balance the tutti ensemble section carefully. The density here should feel organic and forward-moving, not cluttered.
• Reserve full dynamic power for the head returns. Contrast makes this moment land.

Anchor a jazz-focused concert or use it alongside other modal-era standards to explore how Davis and his arrangers approached form and texture. The open solo section makes this ideal for featuring developing soloists within a well-structured ensemble context.

• Reading and executing written jazz articulations and phrasing within ensemble voicings
• Listening and responding to background figures while maintaining solo independence
• Balancing section blend across reed and brass instruments in call-and-response passages
• Understanding modal harmony and how to navigate changes through listening and bandleader direction
• Managing dynamics and release in ensemble tutti sections to avoid muddiness