Taking a Chance on Love: SoundTrax Digital Audio Download

Shaw's jazz sensibility transforms this standard into a sophisticated yet accessible choral experience. The arrangement honors the song's elegance while leaving room for your singers to bring personality and swing to the tune, making it genuinely rewarding to rehearse and perform.

Elegant and warm, with the easy confidence of a standard that has earned its place in the jazz canon. There is lightness here, but never frivolity; the arrangement invites singers to swing and smile while maintaining genuine musicality.

Intermediate to advanced choirs ready to tackle jazz and pop standards with sophistication. This arrangement works for mixed voices with a solid grasp of blend, intonation, and rhythmic flexibility.

• Encourage your singers to feel the underlying swing rhythm rather than forcing it; a relaxed approach to the eighth-note subdivision will feel more natural than metronomic precision.
• Use the recorded accompaniment in early rehearsals to establish harmonic confidence, then gradually reduce reliance on it as singers claim the tuning and blend.
• Shape the dynamic and emotional arc intentionally; this standard can feel slight if treated as background music, but gains real presence when you commit to the lyrical moments and the jazz-inflected passages.

Program this during a jazz or American songbook segment of a concert, or pair it with other Shaw arrangements to showcase the breadth of his work. It's also strong enough to stand alone as an opener or closer that leaves your audience in good spirits.

• Swing rhythm and jazz phrasing conventions
• Intonation and blend within jazz harmonies
• Balancing rhythmic flexibility with ensemble precision
• Interpreting jazz standards with stylistic authenticity