Exit Stage Left – Gene Roland

This riff-based swinger is a classic example of Gene Roland's writing for the Stan Kenton band. The head is very simple; the A section melody uses only one note, E, almost throughout in a swinging rhythmic riff. The bridge, based on the dominant, adds a bit of melodic interest.

Gene Roland really finessed the challenge of arranging for a big band with an additional section of instruments, the mellophones; far from being cluttered or chaotic, everything is very clearly laid out in his writing. His approach to form is full of subtle surprises.Exit Stage Left begins with three A sections instead of the expected two, to build up three layers of counterpoint. First the saxes play the melody riff with the rhythm section; in the second A the trombones add figures that fill in around the melody. The third A section introduces the mellophones, which augment the texture with harmonies that float in the background. Two measures of drum solo are added at the end of this section to lead into the bridge, which is dominated by the brass. The C section ("last A") reverses the counterpoint from the previous sections, with mellophones on the melody answered by the saxes playing what was previously the trombones' figure. A break at the end of this section launches Gene's mellophone solo. The second chorus is split between mellophone and alto sax solos, with backgrounds all based on the melody. After the solos the key modulates to F for a shout chorus, with trumpet and trombone figures answered by the mellophones; each of the two phrases of this section are extended to ten measures with a rising pyramid that crescendos to the next section. Four measures of bass solo then lead back to the key of C for two more A sections, arranged the same as the second and first A sections of the in head. These are followed by a four-measure drum solo which builds back up to another shout section, again in F, with a stop-time tag that winds down with a muted trumpet solo fill at the end.

Our Concert Condensed Score shows the lead lines of all important figures. It contains a transcription of Gene's mellophone solo up to the second A section, where muted trumpet backgrounds come in. Our thread parts have the main melodic lines further condensed into a single line almost throughout, with counterpoint only in the shout sections, and consolidated into a playable range. They contain a complete transcription of Gene's solo.