The Defibrillator: Jazz Ensemble Conductor Score & Parts

Re has written a piece that sounds genuinely professional without leaving your students behind. The solo lines sit comfortably in the range of young jazz musicians, the rhythm section parts offer specific harmonic guidance without dictating every note, and the optional instrumentation means you can build the ensemble to match your resources rather than searching for doubtful parts.

The Defibrillator pulses with propulsive energy that demands precision and swing from every player. Rhythmically driven and harmonically rich, it channels the forward momentum of contemporary jazz ensemble writing without losing sight of tunefulness and clear melodic lines.

This score and parts set works for high school jazz ensembles with solid fundamentals and for advanced junior high groups ready to tackle full-instrumentation repertoire. Directors managing flexible personnel will appreciate the optional parts, which let you field the piece even when flute, tuba, or doubling saxophones aren't available.

• Balance the written solos with the comping section. Even though solos are fully notated, the supporting voices need clear articulation and dynamic shape to make the soloist sound featured rather than surrounded.
• Draw attention to the chord voicings in the rhythm section parts. Guitar chord frames and suggested rhythms aren't crutches; they're windows into how the harmonies should breathe and move forward.
• Lock the ensemble's feel in the rhythm section first. Once drums, bass, and piano establish a consistent groove and pocket, the horns will fall into place more naturally.
• Separate rehearsal time for saxophones and brass yields quick results here. The section-specific technical demands (articulation, breath control, range shifts) clear up faster when each choir owns its own preparation time.

Include this in a concert that showcases your ensemble's technical range and swing facility. Pair it with a ballad and an uptempo funk-influenced piece to round out a set that demonstrates your students' versatility across jazz idioms.

• Reading and executing written jazz solos with precise rhythm and articulation
• Comping over chord changes with awareness of harmonic function
• Coordinating ensemble rhythmic feel across sections with mixed meter and syncopation
• Interpreting guitar chord frames and voicing suggestions to support harmonic color
• Managing range and breath control across an extended jazz ensemble arrangement