This Is It!: Jazz Ensemble Conductor Score

Pendowski nails the high-energy swagger of Maynard Ferguson's sound without requiring the astronomical range demands that often sideline student trumpet sections. The optional screamer part is genuinely useful: you can feature an advanced soloist, double the lead, or leave it out entirely depending on your lineup. It's a chart that works harder than it looks.

High-octane and swaggering, with that unmistakable Maynard Ferguson swagger translated into a fast jazz-rock groove. The energy is relentless but grounded in blues language, giving it pocket and soul beneath the flash.

Jazz ensemble directors looking for a crowd-pleasing festival chart that sounds sophisticated but lands at an achievable Grade 3 difficulty. Ensembles with a capable lead trumpet player (or interested in featuring a guest) will get the most from the optional screamer part.

• Lock the articulation in the brass section during the fast unison passages. These lines cut through only when the ensemble attacks with precision and releases cleanly.
• Balance the rhythm section carefully at rehearsal tempo. The groove matters as much as the speed, and dragging the backbeat will flatten the whole chart's energy.
• If deploying the optional trumpet part as a solo feature, give that player marked independence in rehearsal so they're not buried by the section behind them.
• Nail the blues feel before you crank the tempo. This isn't a straight jazz chart; the rock edge lives in relaxed time and a heavy backbeat.

Use this as a festival or contest headliner. The combination of accessibility and showmanship makes it perfect for a spring jazz concert closer or a program slot where you need the audience (and judges) fully awake.

• Playing articulated fast passages in unison with rhythmic precision
• Reading and executing blues-based harmony and phrasing
• Balancing melody and rhythm section in a rock-inflected groove
• Responding to soloist gestures if the optional trumpet feature is used