Rob Bargad

• Celebrate these birthdays & anniversaries

  The temperatures are rising in New York and we're ready for a summer full of hot music. This week, we're wishing happy birthday to Eli "Lucky" Thompson, who would have turned 91 on this Tuesday, June 16, and Billy Drummond, who turns 55 on Thursday, June 19. We're also celebrating some anniversaries of a few recording sessions we love that feature compositions from our catalog: Grant Stewart's "More Urban Tones" (June 15, 1995), Hank Mobley's "Dippin'" (June 18, 1955), Benny Golson's "Gone With Golson" (June 20, 1959), and Nat Adderley's "Good Company" (June 20 & 21, 1994). There's no better way to celebrate than releasing some new lead sheets, transcriptions, and arrangements!

  Check out these new additions to jazzleadsheets.com:

  ELI "LUCKY" THOMPSON: To A Mornin' Sunrise
  master this sensitive ballad with lucky's own melody transcription

  GRANT STEWART: Manhattan Bridge
  a moody post-bop ballad

  CURTIS FULLER: Bit Of Heaven
  a bit of your own jazz heaven -- try the Fuller-Golson two horn arrangement for yourself

  RAY BRYANT:  Staccato Swing
  a minor medium up swing with parts for tenor, trombone, & piano

  ROB BARGAD: Rob's New Song
  distinctive soulful flair & powerful changes

  ROB BARGAD: War Zone
  a driving uptempo swing

  HANK MOBLEY: The Break Through
  NEW for drums - Billy Higgins drum transcription

  
  Psst! Did you know you can see all of our transcribed solos in one place? Check out this tour of the Transcribed Solos page!

  Enjoy the music,
  Don Sickler and the jazzleadsheets.com team

• Be jolly: Deck your music stands with new lead sheets.

  'Tis the season of giving, so we're keeping these holidays merry and bright with a new collection of lead sheets.

  HANK MOBLEY: Night Watch
  That’s right — we’ve got more of this classic composer and we can’t wait to share it! Hank Mobley’s winning melodic style — singable, simple lines — is on display here in this Latin/swing hybrid.

  NORMAN SIMMONS: Slumberettes
  Don’t sleep on this jazzy lullaby. This sweet, lilting waltz by composer/pianist Norman Simmons is sensitive and graceful. Pianists, be sure to check out our solo piano arrangements: one by Norman himself and an easy piano arrangement by Don Sickler. Both were recorded exclusively for jazzleadsheets.com by maestro Kenny Drew, Jr. Concert condensed score and second parts available.

  BILL BARRON: Minor Mode
  Don’t confuse this piece with the Booker Little composition of the same name! This energetic medium swing makes a great introduction to the underrated (but always impressive) hard bop composer Bill Barron. Second and third parts available.

  JON BURR: Rainbow Over Harlem
  Jon Burr’s charming medium swing has a memorable and dreamy melody — and it’s available in editions both for instrumentalists and singers! Vocalists will love stretching their ears with this piece that we’ve made available in both female- and male-friendly keys. And everyone will enjoy the laid-back feel that supports the alluring melody.

  ROB BARGAD: Tears
  A sultry, slow Latin piece that mixes a modern jazz melody with a smoldering cha-cha/bolero groove. Rob Bargad flaunts his compositional prowess on this chart. If you’re not hip to this current composer yet, now’s the time to start!

  Share the joy with us at jazzleadsheets.com!

• New lead sheets in April

  Ready for some exciting news? As you might remember, our last group of leadsheets brought on two new composers to jazzleadsheets.com. It was such a hit that we’re keeping the new artists coming with two more this week: MELBA LISTON and ROY HARGROVE!

  Melba Liston, trombone virtuoso and composer-arranger extraordinaire, joins the roster with the gorgeous ballad Just Waiting. Honest, plaintive, and emotional, this composition is everything a ballad should be. We’re offering it in the original key of E-flat as well as the recorded key of C for maximum playing options — take your pick or try them both, and check out our audio excerpts in both keys.

  Also new to jazzleadsheets.com is the modern hard-bop pioneer Roy Hargrove, joining us with Dream Traveler. This Cuban-jazz hybrid has a strikingly modern harmonic progression and an appealing Latin groove — no surprise, given that it comes off the album that won Roy the 1998 Grammy for best Latin Jazz Performance!

  Hoping to see more of your favorite composers? We’ve got more from them, too! Ray Bryant is back this week with a classic, 18th Century Ballroom. This charming medium-up swing was first recorded by Cannonball Adderley, and it’s easy to see why he chose the chart: it’s a memorable, tuneful, upbeat, and immensely catchy melody that is sure to brighten your spirits. Just a few months later, it was recorded again by Toots Thieleman, so we’re offering arrangements from both recordings to double the possibilities.

  It’s been a while since we’ve featured saxophonist Harold Vick, so we’re bringing him back with his composition Night Flight. This lightning-speed chart is a real adrenaline rush and a whole lot of a fun to play. Our lead sheet includes suggested background voicings on the solos to take your arrangement to the next level.

  Finally, we’ve got our first instrumental composition from Rob Bargad. We’ve featured him before with beautiful vocals like Another World and All Because Of You, but you’ll see him in a whole new light after hearing Little J.J., a high-energy composition full of anticipation and syncopation. It’s an unusual piece — it has an unexpected form and harmonic structure — and it’s sure to invigorate your next set. Although it was originally recorded as a trio, we’ve made it available with a quintet arrangement as well.

• Lots of news for the new year!

  Have you noticed all the latest developments on jazzleadsheets.com? 2014 has barely begun, but it’s already proving to be a huge year for us! If you haven’t been on our site in a while, check it out — you’ll see some new categories, with even more exciting changes to come as the year goes on.

  At the beginning of this month, we celebrated the 75th anniversary of Blue Note Records’ first session with the releases of Melancholy and Solitude, both from that historic January 6, 1939 date. But our celebration of the long partnership between our composers and Blue Note Records is far from complete! We’re introducing our Blue Note collection. Now you can easily find all of the compositions that have been featured on Blue Note releases throughout the years. But even more good news — we’ll be adding to this collection every month to celebrate more anniversaries throughout the year!

  This release, we have several anniversaries to celebrate, which means of course another set of top quality lead sheets. January 19th saw the 46th anniversary of a great Hank Mobley session that culminated with the release of “Reach Out!” In honor of Hank (and all of his fans at jazzleadsheets.com), we’re commemorating this anniversary with Lookin’ East, a laid-back medium groove piece with a bit of Latin flavor. Second parts available.

  The next day, January 20th, marked the 52nd anniversary of a lesser-known release: saxophonist Ike Quebec’s “Easy Living,” featuring Congo Lament by Bennie Green. This composition also has a Latin influence — maybe a touch more than Lookin’ East — and features a nice bluesy lick for the melody. Second parts available.

  Just a few days later we celebrated the 64th anniversary of the recording of Kenny Drew’s Fuguetta (Jan. 23rd, 1950). Originally recorded by trumpeter Howard McGhee, Fuguetta is an unexpected combination of Baroque and bebop, which go together surprisingly well. Try it for yourself and see!

  With all that celebrating, we thought we’d add a couple of ballads to cool us off. First, we’re introducing J.J. Johnson to the jazzleadsheets.com family with his classic ballad Enigma. Many musicians are familiar with the way Miles Davis recorded it, but only at jazzleadsheets.com can you find the original leadsheet, drawn from J.J.’s own manuscript and notated the way he first heard it. We’re very excited to offer this exclusive look inside such a tender, lyrical ballad.

  Finally, a treat for vocalists and their accompanists: Rob Bargad’s Another World. This sensitive, dreamy 20-bar ballad comes complete with an accompaniment-only track so singers can practice along with a professional ensemble to back them up. After you hear Dena DeRose’s plaintive rendition of it, we’re sure you’ll want to try it yourself.

• end-of-2013 additions from jazzleadsheets.com

  Here are our last additions to jazzleadsheets for 2013. We’re looking forward to adding many more, plus new features, in 2014. We can't wait to see you then! And we wish you a Happy New Year.

  Freddie Redd’s sunny Latin So, Samba! celebrates its 25th recording anniversary. It’s a lot of fun with one melody instrument, and it was first recorded as a quintet arrangement so second parts are also available.

  The beautiful ballad Dark Beauty by Kenny Drew, trio & quintet versions with second parts, plus Drew’s piano arrangement from his original manuscript.

  Arioso, James Williams’ soaring melody, plus his solo piano arrangement recorded by Kenny Drew, Jr.

  J.R. Monterose’s lilting Waltz For Claire, a quartet version.

  New composer Grachan Moncur III debuts with Riff Raff, from Jackie McLean’s “Destination … Out!” Blue Note album, plus Grachan’s trombone solo.

  A memorable & delightful vocal, All Because Of You, from new composer/pianist/organist/vocalist Rob Bargad.

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