I was recently chatting with some close friends about the lack of jazz charts for school bands by current Canadian artists. Although they do exist, it is a challenge to find them at time. So, I decided to take a crack at writing my first arrangement for jazz band in many years.

The first time I heard this piece by bassist Lauren Falls I was immediately hooked. The driving rhythmic syncopated pattern in the bass and piano, in contrast to the flowing melody creates a wonderful juxtaposition, and challenges developing young jazz musicians.

The piece does require an octave and a half range from most players, and features a middle solo section for students to start exploring improvisation with a slightly more challenge harmonic structure than typically seen in student jazz charts.