Temptation: Marching Band Conductor Score & Parts

Jerry Burns captures the essential swagger of this standard while keeping every section genuinely playable at the 1.5 level. The arrangement maintains rhythmic energy and harmonic interest without resorting to technical complexity, giving your band an authentic Latin sound they can actually execute cleanly.

Bright, propulsive Latin energy with a smooth jazz sensibility underneath. The piece moves with infectious forward motion, balancing swagger with refinement in a way that feels both fun to play and genuinely musical.

Directors building a marching band repertoire that showcases authentic musicality without overwhelming young ensembles. This works equally well for instructional purposes and actual performance, letting students experience a real musical style at an accessible level.

• Lock the clave rhythm in your percussion section first; once the underlying pulse is rock solid, the winds will find their pocket naturally.
• Balance the Latin groove against the written articulations in the brass; crisp tonguing on the syncopated figures keeps the chart from dragging.
• Allow the lead voices (likely trumpet and alto sax lines) to breathe slightly ahead of the beat on the characteristic syncopations without rushing the overall tempo.

Slot this into a Latin or standards-focused concert where you want to demonstrate your band's stylistic versatility without sacrificing ensemble precision. Its accessibility also makes it excellent for showcasing improvement across the season.

• Latin rhythmic feels and clave-based phrasing
• Syncopated articulation and breath control
• Reading and executing written percussion patterns
• Balancing solo lines with ensemble texture
• Maintaining tempo consistency through repeated harmonic figures