Reuben's Blues – Gene Roland
A riff blues head at a laid-back tempo. We have "thread" parts available that show the most important melodic material running through the arrangement, including a transcription of the first chorus of Gene Roland's soprano sax solo.
- Recording: Stan Kenton - Adventures In Blues
- Recorded on: December 7, 1961
- Label: Capitol (ST 1985)
- Concert Key: B-flat
- Style: Swing (medium slow)
- Soprano Sax - Gene Roland
- Trumpet - Dalton Smith, Marvin Stamm, Norman Baltazar, Bob Rolfe, Bob Behrendt
- Mellophone - Ray Starling, Dwight Carver, Keith LaMotte, Carl Saunders
- Trombone - Bob Fitzpatrick, Bud Parker, Dee Barton
- Bass Trombone - Jim Amlotte, Dave Wheeler
- Alto Sax - Gabe Baltazar
- Tenor Sax - Buddy Arnold, Paul Renzi
- Bari Sax - Allan Beutler, Joel Kaye
- Bass - Pat Senatore
- Drums - Jerry Lestock McKenzie
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This laid-back riff blues head is built on a descending bass line, with some interesting harmonizations of the bass notes. The turnaround doesn't go to a V chord but instead back to the IV, moving in a generally descending direction to V of V on the last two measures for a cyclic progression.
Gene Roland's arrangement is very subtle and effective. After a four-measure walking bass intro, the trombones play the melody twice. Both of these choruses begin softly with a crescendo all the way to the ninth measure, dropping again in volume in the eleventh measure. The second chorus adds a simple countermelody from the saxes. After the head, Gene solos on soprano sax for two choruses, with muted trumpet backgrounds on the second chorus. These choruses use standard blues changes rather than the variation from the head. The solo is followed by the melody again, played by the mellophones a fourth higher in the key of E-flat. The trombones then have the melody yet again back in B-flat, but with a different texture: instead of an even crescendo, every alternate note is accented (largely beats 2 and 4). Yet a third repeat of the melody follows, this time with trumpets added to the trombones with the same backbeat accents. On this chorus the mellophones play the line the saxes had in the second chorus, with the saxes here adding a third line for the first eight measures and then joining the trumpets and trombones. After this chorus, four measures of walking bass bring the dynamic down to a final chorus that starts with the trombones, the same as the first head. The full band comes in for the last four measures, arranged like those of the previous chorus with a brief tag.
The format of this arrangement that we have available on jazzleadsheets.com is a transposed set of "thread" parts. These parts show the most important melodic material running through the arrangement as a single line. For example, the second chorus of the thread shows the saxes' countermelody only, as the trombones are playing the same melody as the first chorus. The first chorus of Gene's soprano solo is included; in the second chorus the thread switches to the trumpet backgrounds. With these thread parts, instrumentalists can play along with the recording.
Gene Roland's arrangement is very subtle and effective. After a four-measure walking bass intro, the trombones play the melody twice. Both of these choruses begin softly with a crescendo all the way to the ninth measure, dropping again in volume in the eleventh measure. The second chorus adds a simple countermelody from the saxes. After the head, Gene solos on soprano sax for two choruses, with muted trumpet backgrounds on the second chorus. These choruses use standard blues changes rather than the variation from the head. The solo is followed by the melody again, played by the mellophones a fourth higher in the key of E-flat. The trombones then have the melody yet again back in B-flat, but with a different texture: instead of an even crescendo, every alternate note is accented (largely beats 2 and 4). Yet a third repeat of the melody follows, this time with trumpets added to the trombones with the same backbeat accents. On this chorus the mellophones play the line the saxes had in the second chorus, with the saxes here adding a third line for the first eight measures and then joining the trumpets and trombones. After this chorus, four measures of walking bass bring the dynamic down to a final chorus that starts with the trombones, the same as the first head. The full band comes in for the last four measures, arranged like those of the previous chorus with a brief tag.
The format of this arrangement that we have available on jazzleadsheets.com is a transposed set of "thread" parts. These parts show the most important melodic material running through the arrangement as a single line. For example, the second chorus of the thread shows the saxes' countermelody only, as the trombones are playing the same melody as the first chorus. The first chorus of Gene's soprano solo is included; in the second chorus the thread switches to the trumpet backgrounds. With these thread parts, instrumentalists can play along with the recording.
The Stan Kenton big band recorded three albums over seven sessions in December 1961. Besides "Adventures In Blues" highlighting Gene Roland's compositions and arrangements, there were "Adventures In Standards," entirely arranged by Lennie Niehaus, and "Adventures In Jazz," which includes arrangements by Gene Roland, Bill Holman, Sam Donahue, and Dee Barton.
Gene Roland
September 15, 1921 – August 11, 1982
The only composer with the distinction of working for Stan Kenton for all four decades of Kenton’s band’s existence, Gene Roland was born in Dallas, Texas, and began studying the piano at age eleven. Over the course of his career, he mastered many instruments, from trombone to trumpet to mellophonium to drums, but his real success came through his talent as an arranger and composer. Read more...