Songs With Horn Arrangements You Can Follow Part by Part

The horns begin with a bright fanfare, then break into accents that leave Wonder plenty of room to sing. After the chorus, they join the rhythm section in a quick instrumental line. Follow how the same players announce the song, answer the lead, and lock in with the band.

The horn hook gives the opening a tune you can sing back. Rico Rodriguez’s trombone later takes time over the individual notes and leaves a conspicuous gap before the next little figure. The brisk backing keeps moving across that gap, which helps you hear the difference between the solo and the tidy hook.

Hear the brass and reeds answer the lead between lines, then follow James Pankow’s trombone as it climbs while the other two lines keep closer to their starting notes. Once you can hear that rising part, the horns start to sound like three players with something to say over the guitar riff.

The trumpet sings at the top of the theme while a lower saxophone line fills out the harmony beneath it. The parts move as a block until Freddie Hubbard’s trumpet breaks away. When the arranged theme returns, focus on the low note movement and the upper melody will still be easy to place.

The opening disco passage makes the first low salsa horn figure feel like a change of setting. Follow the trombones as they deliver short answers to Blades and then come forward with written phrases of their own. After the lead and coro get going, the horns tell you when a new round is about to start.

The bass keeps its quick pattern while the horns land short chords at chosen moments. Listen for the lower end of the section underneath the bright hits, then to the places where the whole section pulls back for the singer. The changes in weight tell you where to listen even when the pulse never changes.

A lone saxophone gets a stretch to itself before the rhythm establishes the larger groove. As the other horns enter, the phrasing moves from loose solo lines to short group patterns you can anticipate. Much later the voice arrives and those patterns make room for a different kind of argument.

The opening horn fanfare throws out short high phrases against broader chords below. When the singing begins, the same bright sound slips into the gaps rather than filling them all. You can follow how the opening calls turn into little signs that the chorus is about to open up.

Start with the clipped descending phrase and hear how often the horns leave the beat exposed around it. When Brown takes the song into its next section, the horns change their figure with him. Pee Wee Ellis’s arrangement tells you where the form is going even while the groove stays in place.

The repeating bass makes an easy reference point for Lee Morgan’s trumpet and Joe Henderson’s tenor. They share the opening tune before Morgan takes the first solo and Henderson follows. Their separate turns make it easier to pick out the different edges of the two horns when they come back together.

Roger Ball’s alto and Molly Duncan’s tenor play the main figure together. Once you know that clipped tune, follow the spots where the saxophones step away from it and the solo stretches out across the beat. When the tight figure returns, you know how much freedom the band has just taken with it.

Bobby Timmons’s piano calls and the horns answer in a much broader sound. Lee Morgan’s trumpet then steps out of that blend and Benny Golson’s tenor gets its own turn. The shared answer is easy to find again after you’ve heard what each musician does alone.

The horns set out a dark figure at the start and come back with short answers to Jones. When the rhythm eases partway through, those replies have more space around them. The shift makes it easier to hear where a horn begins to speak and where Jones takes the line back.

Follow the reeds as they move through the tune, then listen for the brass figures that come forward around them. The ending lets you hear the final chorus again after Basie calls the band back. You can use the repeat to follow a different section through the same passage.

The horns keep up short replies around Paul Janeway’s lines and then come in together with a more emphatic figure. The alternation makes it easy to hear which phrases belong to the singer and which ones the band finishes for him. Try following the horn line through a whole chorus before going back to the voice.

The section answers the two singers in short, clipped phrases. Follow those jabs through the verses, then notice where the horns and voices move together to mark the chorus. The part has its own rhythm even when the singers are at their busiest.

Use the full album version, which runs just over four minutes. The horns give the singer quick answers and return with a louder statement between sections. Listen for Lew Soloff’s trumpet breaking away from those tight group phrases during the jazz interlude.

Follow the low reeds holding down the riff and the brighter voices coming forward with a tune above them. The repeated low figure is an easy landmark each time the upper part changes. The band gives you time to switch back and forth between the two without losing the beat.

A low repeating figure gets the track moving while the higher horns stack up a bright tune above it. The sharp group hits and the more fluid lead line take turns catching your ear. Follow the low part through one pass and the higher phrases come into focus on the next.