Preview: Alexander’s Ragtime Band
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SKU: A0.808684
Composed by Irving Berlin (1888–1989). Arranged by F. Leslie Smith. Holiday,Jazz,Patriotic. Score and parts. 42 pages. Sweetwater Brass Press #3582931. Published by Sweetwater Brass Press (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.)
This product was created by a member of ArrangeMe, Hal Leonard’s global self-publishing community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. ArrangeMe allows for the publication of unique arrangements of both popular titles and original compositions from a wide variety of voices and backgrounds.
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