It’s been a minute, but I think I’m done arranging for the Rolling Stones part of performance that’s coming up. My group, The Hampton Brass, will have four Rolling Stones tunes to present for the Stones half of the show. They all feature an expanded version of the brass quartet.
- Paint It Black – Brass Quartet & Drums
- She’s a Rainbow – Brass Quartet and Drums
- Mother’s Little Helper – Brass Quartet, Drums & Vocals
- Jumpin’ Jack Flash – Brass Quartet, Drums &Vocals
Paint It Black was arranged for Brass Quartet a couple of years ago for Brass Quartet. It’s heavily influenced by the amazing renditions done on Netflix’s Wednesday and HBO’s West World. We’ve played it on a program once before (watch here) and we noticed it really kept the audience’s attention. This will be the first time we get to perform it with drums.
She’s A Rainbow goes through a whole gamut of styles. It opens with the introduction similar to the Rolling Stones song, quickly moves into a quasi New Orleans style with an improvised trumpet solo, treats the interlude in 3, back into the brass band style and ends like it begins. We’ll be performing this as a quartet with drums, but honestly, I think it works better as a quintet with drums.
Mother’s Little Helper was a fun one to arrange. It’s for Quartet, Drums & Vocals. It almost has a ragtime/show tune kind of vibe to it. One of the things I’ve come to love about diving deeper into Rolling Stones tunes is seeing their ability to take a simple motif and make a song out of it. This one is no exception. The arrangement will be listed soon.
Lastly, Jumpin’ Jack Flash arranged for Brass Quartet, Drums and Vocals. I’ve played this tune countless times over the years in various bar/wedding bands. Honestly, I’ve never listened to the lyrics. My first impression was it’s too dark to do for a library performance. But then, after a few times, I realized it’s really an uplifting song. Everything will be a “Gas, gas, gas!” We slowed this down and made a bossa out of it. This arrangement will be listed soon as the ensemble described here and probably as a quintet with drums.
Thanks for following along.
Mike
