The Best Things In Life Are Free (arr. Kirby Shaw): SAB Choral Octavo

Shaw's arrangement cuts straight to the joy of this standard. He crafts an SAB voicing that works equally well for developing choirs and skilled ensembles, avoiding the trap of oversimplification while keeping all three parts genuinely satisfying to sing. The jazz idiom feels natural and stylistically honest rather than grafted onto pop-style choral writing.

Warm, swinging, and optimistic. The arrangement lets the familiar melody shine while surrounding it with smart jazz harmonies that feel conversational rather than complicated. You'll sense the ease and confidence of Shaw's writing; this isn't a chart that calls attention to itself, but rather one that lets the singers and the song do the work.

Choirs with basic jazz exposure and solid blend will thrive with this arrangement. It works for middle school and high school choirs, community ensembles, and college singers looking for a accessible standard that doesn't compromise the style.

• Pay close attention to the swing articulation on eighth notes; the recorded accompaniment demonstrates the groove you're after, but make sure singers feel the rhythmic space rather than rushing the backend of beats.
• Balance the melody line across the three parts as it passes through the voicing, especially in the sections where the tune shifts between soprano and alto.
• Let the harmony breathe by resisting the temptation to lock everything into a rigid grid; jazz phrasing lives in the space between metronomic precision and interpretive freedom.
• Mark all dynamic and expression changes in your scores ahead of rehearsal; Shaw's chart includes specific indications that shape the emotional arc of the piece.

Place this on a concert celebrating American songbook classics or on a jazz-themed set where you want a lighter moment between heavier vocal jazz pieces. It pairs naturally with other big band or standards repertoire and works equally well as a closing number that sends audiences out smiling.

• Swing eighth-note articulation and interpretation
• Voice leading through close harmonic structures in jazz voicings
• Balancing individual lines within jazz chord progressions
• Phrasing and dynamic shaping in the jazz idiom
• Sightreading of jazz harmonies written in traditional notation