Count Basie

The Turnabout

It should come as no surprise that bringing together the arranging prowess of Benny Carter and the iconic sound of the Count Basie Orchestra resulted in some of the greatest big band jazz ever captured on record. This collaboration would ultimately culminate in two albums: 1960's 'Kansas City Suite' and 1961's 'The Legend.' This particular arrangement comes from the latter. The arrangement begins with a typical Basie-style fanfare that leads into a surprisingly tricky melody line in the trumpets. All of this ultimately serves as a set-up for the main attraction - an old-fashioned Kansas City tenor sax battle, fought on the original recording by Frank Foster and Budd Johnson. The battle eventually pours over into a brief soli section between the two tenors beginning at bar 93. After an additional trumpet solo (originally performed by Al Aarons), the band launches into a typically brilliant sax soli at bar 141, with Carter's alto leading the charge throughout. The twisting melody line is restated by the entire band at measure 181, with brief interjections from Basie's piano and Henry Coker's trombone before the piece comes to a roaring (and slightly dissonant) conclusion. This arrangement is for standard big band instrumentation, with the exception of three trombone parts as opposed to the usual four. This publication has been based on Benny Carter's original score - this is not a transcription. We hope you enjoy playing this arrangement as much as we enjoyed preparing it for you!