'Holland Park' is a 3/4 big-band original by Frank Griffith, scored for 5 Saxes, 4 Trumpets, 4 Trombones and Rhythm, which can be downloaded complete with a full 'conductor score'.  With voicings that sound 'west coast-ish', this piece will be a superb, modern addition to your band's repertoire   The arrangement will test the dynamics of your drummer, who is featured throughout, so he won't be able to just 'thresh about'.   There is an 'open for solos' section and all horn parts have the chords and suggested scales to help the players with their improvisation, if they want to 'have a go'.   Frank has directed this arrangement at a 'moderately easy' classification but don't let the deceptive simplicity fool you - Pete Cater featured the piece on his CD 'The Right Time' because of its quality (the track is used as the 'how to play it' download!)

Pete's drumming on the audio track is a master class in drum solo fills and the horn soloists, Sam Mayne on alto, Henry Collins on flugel and Simon Walker on trombone give an object lesson in negotiating the changes.   Get your bass player to note how Dave Jones 'walks' throught the solo section so that the 3/4 barline almost disappears in the groove.   The sample of the piece that you can hear on the player, below, starts just before the ensemble pick-up at bar 182.   The ensemble 'shouts' are not too demanding, an occasional top Eb for lead trumpet, but as usual on a relatively 'easy' piece, it will be the musicianship that shows.   Watch the dynamics and, if you want to learn a bit more about arranging, listen to the Pete Cater track, whilst reading Frank's score!

• Downloads
• Only 3 sample pages of the piece (from the section leads) are displayed on your monitor and you can get a full pdf download of all the parts and a 'conductor score' by clicking [this link]
• A download of the full MP3 audio version of the composition, played by the Pete Cater Big Band, is also available by clicking [this link]

© Frank Griffith 2006.   Frank's cool, piquant tenor has graced the bands of Ron Carter, Jon Hendricks, Jack McDuff, the Glenn Miller Orchestra (as lead on alto), Toshiko Akiyoshi, Mel Lewis, Buddy Rich and Mel Torme.   How impressive is that?   And, in choosing to be an expatriate in London, Frank is currently to be heard with the Pete Cater Big Band and his own group, the Frank Griffith Nonet.

Frank received his Masters Degree from Manhattan School of Music, and a BFA from City College of New York, where he also taught until 1995 - between gigs, he is now a lecturer in music at Brunel University.   So he's an academic, too, contributing articles, papers and lectures at workshops and seminars on all aspects of music.   You could ask 'where does he find the time?', when you also add to his CV, his canon as a composer and arranger.   Numbered among those who have used his composition and arranging skills are Mark Nightingale, Tony Coe, Norma Winstone, Joe Temperley, Dave Stryker, Ron Carter, Lionel Hampton, Jon Hendricks, the Royal School of Music, the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra and, of course, Pete Cater and Frank's own Nonet.   You can access the source of Frank's Nonet recording 'The Coventry Suite' by clicking on the image and you can download the full track of 'Milesteps' via the download tab on jazzorg's main menu.   Click [this link] to get to a commercial source of Frank's material.     Tell me more about Frank Griffith

Downloading of copies of the music manuscript are subject to the Jazzorg Licence 2, described under the 'Copyright' menu tab.       You can discuss or comment on this piece in the forums.