This arrangement starts with a slow statement of the melody, then starts swinging at very laid-back tempo, and finally moves to a faster, more lively tempo before ending broadly. It's the old New Orleans funeral routine--slow to the cemetery, and up-beat on the way back. There's plenty of call and response, and I think you'll enjoy the harmonies and the "improvised" lines. The arrangement is suitable for professionals or advanced amateurs. Please give the MP3 a listen. Duration: 2 minutes, 25 seconds.

Here's a fun-to-play, entertaining arrangement of one of the best-known winter holiday tunes. Published in 1857 as ?One Horse Open Sleigh? and re-titled ?Jingle Bells, or the One Horse Open Sleigh? in 1859, James Lord Pierpont's (1822-1893) composition has since become a Christmas-time favorite. This arrangement begins with a ballad-like statement of the verse, followed by verse-chorus-verse in a Latin/pop style and concluding with a swing chorus and Ellington ending. �Copyright2012 Todd Marchand / www.ConSpiritoMusic.com

The Jazz Age was a period in the 1920s, ending with the Great Depression, in which jazz music and dance styles became popular, mainly in the United States, but also in Britain, France and elsewhere. Jazz originated in New Orleans as a fusion of African and European music and played a significant part in wider cultural changes in this period, and its influence on pop culture continued long afterwards. The Jazz Age is often referred to in conjunction with the Roaring Twenties. This medley, scored for brass quintet, includes: The Entertainer, Fascinating Rhythm, After You?re Gone, It Don?t mean a Thing, You Made Me Love You, St. Louis Blues and The Charleston Duration 5:35.?

?American Patrol? is the best-known work by Frank White (F.W.) Meacham (1856?1909), an arranger and composer associated with Tin Pan Alley, the home of New York City-based songwriters and music publishers who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th century. ?American Patrol? incorporates both original musical themes by Meacham and melodies from patriotic songs of the era such as ?Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean? and ?Dixie.? The ?patrol? format was popular in the latter 19th century, and was intended to represent a military band approaching, passing, and fading into the distance. It typically included an introduction played pianissimo or piano, in imitation of bugle calls or drums, then themes played progressively louder until a recapitulation of the first theme(s), gradually fading away and finishing softly, like the march began. Published for piano in 1885 and for wind band in 1891, ?American Patrol? became and remained popular through World War I and II, enjoying renewed popularity during WWII and beyond thanks to a swing arrangement for Glenn Miller's band by Jerry Gray. �Copyright 2013 Todd Marchand / ConSpiritoMusic.com