Strong Like Bull!: Jazz Ensemble Conductor Score & Parts

DiBlasio nails the balance between groove and musicality here. The layering of New Orleans percussion traditions with Latin horn writing creates a piece that sounds genuinely modern while giving your section leaders real harmonic and rhythmic material to own. Your soloists get room to breathe with clear background support, and the guitar frames make early improvisation feel achievable rather than terrifying.

Energy with pocket. The piece swaggers a bit, mixing the loose street feel of New Orleans drumming with the precision of Latin horn writing. There's a cool confidence in the arrangement that makes your ensemble sound tighter and more intentional than they might be, and the solos invite personality while staying musical.

High school and college jazz bands with solid fundamentals and at least one reliable soloist per section. The Grade 4 difficulty sits well for established programs that have tackled swing figures and Latin feels before. Directors who want a chart that sounds contemporary without losing clarity will find this rewarding.

• Lock the marching beat in the drum section first. Once the kick and snare anchor that New Orleans feel, the piano and bass can lock in cleanly, and everything else slots into place.
• Balance the Latin horn melodies against each other during sectional rehearsals. The interplay between lines is what makes the arrangement sing, not individual power.
• Give your soloists time to work the chord frames. Assign them to study the changes before full ensemble rehearsals so they can focus on phrasing and conversation with the rhythm section when you're all together.
• Pay attention to the background parts during improvised sections. They're active and conversational, not just filler. They respond to what the soloist does.

This works well as a concert centerpiece for a mixed repertoire set where you want to show your ensemble's jazz credentials alongside more traditional literature. Program it in the second half of a concert where your rhythm section and soloists have warmed up. It also makes a strong selection for jazz festival competitions where committees appreciate writing that's both playable and musically substantial.

• Reading and executing New Orleans-style drum feels in contemporary settings
• Balancing swing and Latin rhythmic vocabularies within a single arrangement
• Improvising over chord changes with background figures providing harmonic and rhythmic anchoring
• Listening and responding as an ensemble when horn lines interweave and cross
• Guitar comping from chord frames in a jazz context
• Section independence while maintaining cohesive ensemble sound