"Malaguena" performed by the Stan Kenton Orchestra

History:

• Latin tune first arranged for jazz big band by Bill  Holman
• Stan Kenton Orchestra's 1961 album "Adventures in Jazz"
• Stan Kenton is known for usng alternative instruments in his band
• This recording, Kenton even mentions the use of the "mellophoniums"
• it was used to "bridge the gap" between the trombone and trumpet sections
• He used a 4 man mellophonium section between the years 1961-1963 to create 11 albums
• Upon his death in 1979, he donated his entire music collection to the music department of The University of North Texas (A collegiate jazz powerhouse)
• There is a recital hall in the University of North Texas named after Stan Kenton
• Listen to the intensity that his band plays with
• all of the phrases use a contant air stream with energy
• The complexity of the Latin rhythms

"Take the A Train" by Billy Strayhorn

History:

• Written by Billy Strayhorn (piano) in 1939
• ASCAP (American Society of  Composers and Publishers) raised their broadcasting fees in 1940
• This made it very expensive to play live recordings over the radio (compositions by ASCAP members - Ellington was a member)
• Most radios hired bands to perform live over the air to broadcast to a jazz hungry audience
• Strayhorn, a non-ASCAP member, was playing in Ellington's band at the time and composed this as The Duke Ellington Orchestra's new "signature" jazz chart
• Duke Ellington is considered one of America's best composers (he wrote over 1000 compositions)
• Billy Strayhorn collaborated with Duke Ellington for almost 30 years
• Duke Ellington's band was a symbol of racial equality - it toured around the country with both black and white jazz performers
• That is Duke Ellington playing the opening piano solo in this video clip
• The Duke Ellington Orchestra still tours the world to this day 
• after Duke's death, Mercer Ellington (his son) took over as bandleader and it is currently being led by Paul Ellington

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

History:

• Written by Joe Zawinul for Cannonball Adderley's album "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy! Live at The Club"
• 1966
• reached #11 on the Billboard Charts
• Been performed by many bands from beginners to professionals

Factoids:

• The above band is the Buddy Rich (drummer) Memorial Big Band
• Dave Weckl is playing drums (he rocks the mullet really well, don't you think? ha)
• Theme is first played twice in the introduction
• Notes from the major pentatonic scale
• The chord progression has a 20 bar structure (unusual)
• The chords are mostly dominant 7th chords building on the first, fourth and fifth scale degrees giving it a "12 bar blues" effect
• This arrangement is driven by the high intesity of the drummer (there's also a key change towards the end)