About The Arrangement
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This arrangement for string ensemble and vocals (solo and duet) sounds best when performed by a string ensemble of 20 or more players, as I often include passages that require splitting a section into subsections.
This jazz ballade-style arrangement eschews a steady tempo, giving vocalists and the conductor incredible freedom for expressive interpretation.
I wanted the arrangement’s vivid, dynamic, and emotional qualities match the beauty and romance of this song. Strings are, of course, perfect for that.
How this arrangement came about
When I was 25 years old, I got the opportunity to write for a string quartet for a jazz performance of this beautiful jazz standard written by Johnny Mandel. I’ve never written anything for strings before, so I did some serious research before I started. It definitely helped that I played the violin for one year when I was 8 years old. One thing that I learned from writing this arrangement is that playing jazz piano does not qualify one for arranging the strings. More about this later.
Over the years, I reworked it several times until I had a version that I was happy with. It was performed at a performance series called Pride and Joy at the Getz Theater in Chicago, where I acted as music director and pianist.
Years later, I got the chance to adapt it for vocals and string sectionfor a performance with the Bari Symphonic Orchestra in Italy.
With the vocalist added, the strings, of course, mainly function as an accompaniment. So I started implementing some fancy voicings into the accompaniment. Unfortunately, at the first rehearsal, the arrangement completely bombed, although it sounded great when I played it back on the computer. Real string players simply could not handle the complex dissonances between the parts without proper voiceleading. It was a very important lesson for me. It took me over 15 years until I finally had enough experience to arrange it in a way that can be performed by a real ensemble.