SKU: A0.808684

Irving Berlin’s composition Alexander’s Ragtime Band was not only his first hit, it was also one of the most popular songs ever. It first gained widespread recognition when Emma Carus sang it in Chicago in 1911, and then it really took off when Al Jolson performed it in New York.
 It’s no wonder the popularity of Alexander’s has been so long-lived. Both words and music are absolutely bouncy and upbeat. The lyrics proclaim the Ragtime Band to be the best . . . in the land and invite the listener to come on and hear the group, even to meet its leader! The tune is energetic and lively, a salute to the toe-tapping Dixieland style that even then was developing in New Orleans.
 This arrangement takes the natural exuberance of the melody and raises it a couple of notches. Wide open and sprightly, it features the trombone, but also gives each of the other parts a chance to shine, too. In addition to several iterations of the well-known chorus, it also includes the seldom-heard verse and even throws in a few true ragtime licks, quotes from Scott Joplin and Percy Wenrich. The tempo is a bouncy, cut-time 76, with some fairly tricky rhythms and one ritardando near the middle. Trumpet 1 plays a couple of notes above its staff, one A and one B. Trombone plays F above its staff several times and one brief G. Tuba’s lowest note is F below the staff.
 This arrangement was completed in 2018, and performance time runs about 4 minutes, 33 seconds. The arranger, Les Smith, would be very interested in your comments; contact him at lessmith@ufl.edu or leave a review on the SheetMusicPlus website. For more arrangements by Les, enter Sweetwater Brass Press (without the quotation marks) in the SheetMusicPlus or Sheet Music Direct search box. (Also, purchase of this piece entitles you to your choice of another of his arrangements at no charge; send a copy of your purchase receipt directly to him at lessmith61@bellsouth.net.)

SKU: A0.808697

    Henry Alford (1810–1871), Church of England cleric and man of many talents, wrote the words for Come, Ye Thankful People, Come in 1844. Fourteen years later, Alford’s hymn was set to a melody composed by George J. Elvey (1816–1893). Elvey had named the tune St. George’s, Windsor after the chapel in Windsor, England, where he was organist. The first verse of the hymn rejoices in the harvest and calls for celebrants to Come to God's own temple, come; raise the song of harvest home! As such, the hymn gained popularity in the United States as a celebration of Thanksgiving.
    In keeping with the song’s celebratory and triumphal nature, this arrangement uses a fanfare as the recurring motif. The fanfare opens the piece, followed by a rejoicing, exultant first statement of the melody. In the second statement, the fanfare figure returns and forms the structure for the section. The third statement is styled as a kind of rondo; the fourth and last, grandioso. The fourth statement also changes key twice--F to B-flat, then to E-flat--includes a walking bass part and ends with, again, the fanfare. The piece should be played Allegro moderato, about 120 bpm, and there are no really tricky rhythmic figures. Most notes are well within the normal range of the five instruments-Trombone’s highest are a couple of high F notes; Trumpet 1, high A notes. So most players will have little or no trouble.
    This arrangement was completed in 2019, and performance time runs about 3 minutes, 44 seconds. The arranger, Les Smith, will be happy to provide substitute parts (for example, treble clef baritone for trombone) at no charge; contact him directly at lessmith61@bellsouth.net. For more arrangements by Les, enter Sweetwater Brass Press (without the quotation marks) in the SheetMusicPlus search box. (Also, purchase of this piece entitles you to your choice of another of his arrangements at no charge; send a copy of your purchase receipt directly to him at lessmith61@bellsouth.net.)

SKU: A0.886403

Frank Loesser's Academy Award winning Baby It's Cold Outside is a Christmas Classic but started life as a party piece for Loesser and his wife to sing at at celebrity parties. It has been covered by dozens of singers, including Zooey Deschanel and Leon Redbone for the 2003 film Elf. However, this version is based on Tom Jones & Cerys Matthews' recording from his 1998 album Reload. 

During the 1940s, when Hollywood celebrities attended parties, they were expected to perform. In 1944, Frank Loesser wrote Baby, It's Cold Outside for his wife, Lynn Garland, and himself to sing at a housewarming party in New York City at the Navarro Hotel. They sang the song to indicate to guests that it was time to leave. The song was an instant success and according to his wife We become instant parlor room stars. We got invited to all the best parties for years on the basis of 'Baby.' It was our ticket to caviar and truffles. Parties were built around our being the closing act.

The song started to reach a wider audience when in 1948, after years of performing the song, Loesser sold it to MGM for the 1949 romantic comedy Neptune's Daughter. In the film, Baby, It's Cold Outside was sung by Esther Williams and Ricardo Montalbán, then by Betty Garrett and Red Skelton, who reversed the roles. The song won the Academy Award.