Summertime (from Porgy and Bess): Brass Choir

Name: Summertime (from Porgy and Bess ): Brass Choir
Brand: Alfred Music
SKU: 00-31496
Price: 15.99 USD
Availability: InStock

Music and lyrics by George Gershwin, DuBose and Dorothy Heyward, and Ira Gershwin / arr. Calvin Custer

Item: 00-31496

$15.99

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Swing into jazz with masterful arrangements by Calvin Custer. Provide fun and exciting small ensemble music for school events, community concerts, church ensembles, parties, and many other settings. Flute, clarinet, saxophone, and brass choirs can play jazz and popular standards along with a rhythm section of piano, guitar, bass, and drums.

Arrangements include written-out solos with chord changes---perfect for the classically trained player or the experienced jazz soloist. The written-out solos are also included in the full-performance recordings and serve as models for proper style.

Download free full-performance and accompaniment recordings. Play along with the music and learn the correct style with the full-performance track. The accompaniment track includes only piano, guitar, bass, and drums, so if you don't have a rhythm section, you can play along with this track in rehearsal and performance.

Free Recording Downloads:
Full Performance Track
Accompaniment Track

Don't just read it, hear it, play along with it, and watch your students grow with it. In MakeMusic Cloud, Summertime (from Porgy and Bess): Brass Choir comes alive with professional accompaniment, adjustable tempo, and built-in practice tools that turn solo practice into real progress.

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Series: Ensembles That Swing

Publisher: Alfred Music

Page Count: 44

UPC: 038081341415

SKU: 00-31496

Instrumentation: Brass Choir

More about this title

About the Composer: George Gershwin

George Gershwin (1898-1937) was an American composer who bridged classical music and popular song with unprecedented fluency. His works for piano, orchestra, and stage earned him recognition as a defining voice of American music, and his harmonic language influenced generations of composers across genres.

Gershwin's opera Porgy and Bess (1935) remains a cornerstone of American musical theater. Written in collaboration with lyricist Ira Gershwin and librettist DuBose Heyward, the work drew on folk idioms, blues, and jazz to create music that transcends its original context. Educators value Gershwin's work because it demonstrates how concert-hall craft and vernacular music traditions can coexist powerfully.

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Why we love this

Calvin Custer's arrangement captures the essential swagger of this American standard while making it accessible to brass choirs without sacrificing musical sophistication. The written-out solos give players a direct model for jazz interpretation, and the availability of free accompaniment tracks means you can rehearse and perform regardless of whether you have a full rhythm section on hand.

What to expect

Warm, unhurried, and deeply lyrical. This arrangement honors the song's lullaby quality while infusing it with the gentle sophistication of swing era jazz. The brass voices create a rounded, almost vocal tone that lets Gershwin's melody breathe.

Who it's for

Brass choirs in schools, community ensembles, and churches looking for accessible yet stylish jazz repertoire. Musicians with classical training who want to explore swing interpretation in an arranged context, supported by models and chord changes.

How to get the most out of it

Study the full-performance recording before rehearsal to hear how the solos should sit rhythmically within the ensemble texture. Notice where the soloist plays ahead of or leans into the beat.
Balance the melody against the supporting brass voices; Summertime's accessibility comes partly from its singability, so let that quality emerge even in an arrangement with multiple moving parts.
The rhythm section track is usable in performance if your group lacks drums or bass, but rehearse with it early and often so the ensemble locks in with the recorded tempo and feel.
Adjust the overall volume of the accompaniment track during rehearsals to suit your space and your ensemble's blend, rather than accepting a single mix.

How to use it

Program this alongside other Broadway-derived jazz pieces to create a concert segment that shows audiences how great popular songs translate across styles and ensembles. It also works well as a closing or encore piece because its familiar melody and relaxed energy leave listeners satisfied.