Arrangements

All arrangements © Ned Kantar

This week’s Hot New Local Single comes to us from the prolific Ned Kantar, who has been a main stay in the Twin Cities Music Scene for fifty years.

It’s an arrangement of “Indiana” performed by the Budapest Scoring Big Band.

The song was published in January, 1917 by Tin-Pan Alley songwriter James Hanley in collaboration with lyricist Ballard McDonald. It has been a jazz standard since it was first recorded by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band in 1917 and  artists as diverse as Louis Armstrong, Jim Nabors, and Bobby Darin have committed the song to wax. Improvising musicians have always been fond of the chords for “Indiana”  and there are a number of contrafacts, i.e., melodies based on the original chords. The most famous of these is “Donna Lee,” composed by Charlie Parker or Miles Davis or even perhaps drummer Tiny Kahn, depending on who you believe.

For this chart, Kantar says he added his own chord embellishments and opted for a flugelhorn solo as opposed to trumpet. There’s something about the opening chorus and the drum fills that make me think of tap dancing and glitzy Broadway numbers. There are good solo spots for tenor sax, flugelhorn, and trombone, and a chorus in which the pianist and the guitarist trade fours.

By the way, if you enjoy Ned Kantar’s big band writing, don’t forget to check out Big Band Scene, hosted by Larry Neumann Sunday nights at 6 on Jazz88.

HEAR THE TRACK BELOW!

All arrangements © Ned Kantar

There are some great transcontinental collaborations happening in the Twin Cities Jazz scene! Technology has made it feasible for arrangers from all over the world to get their charts performed and recorded by a topflight big band without having to muster all the players individually. Adi Yeshaya, Ned Kantar and other arrangers in town have connected with the Budapest Scoring Big Band in Hungary to read down their charts and commit them to tape. Kantar connected with a 13-piece version of the band for a new rendition of the standard “Softly As In a Morning Sunrise”. In addition to the authoritative swinging of the big band, Kantar tapped the Twin Cities treasure Jennifer Grimm to provide the vocal. The grandness of the score combined with the intimacy of Grimm’s performance covers all the bases for a song that can reach epic heights of energy while still carrying the melancholy tone of the lyric. I tip my hat to Kantar, Grimm and the band for finding the right balance to let the song be the true star.

Hot New Local Singles highlights new, local songs. Minnesota has a lot of great jazz, funk, soul, and jazz- adjacent music, and Jazz88 is highlighting what is fresh.

HEAR THE TRACK HERE! https://youtu.be/wCx9NYp2EoE

Big Band

After You’ve Gone	Layton/Kantar
Alexander’s Ragtime Band	Berlin/Kantar
All by Myself	Berlin/Kantar
Always	Berlin/Kantar
Bill Bailey	Cannon/Kantar
By the Beautiful Sea	Cannon/Kantar
Do It Again	Gershwin/Kantar
I’ll See You in My Dreams	Jones/Kantar
It Had to Be You	Jones/Kantar
Limehouse Blues	Braham/Kantar
Oh Lady Be Good	Gershwin/Kantar
Softly as in a Morning Sunrise	Romberg/Kantar
Swingin’ Down the Lane	Jones/Kantar
Three O’Clock in the Morning	Robledo/Kantar
Tico Tico	Zequinha de Abreu/Kantar
Who’s Sorry Now?	Snyder/Kantar

Brass Quintet Arrangements

Use the LISTEN links to hear clips from these songs. Visit Spotify to hear full versions.

For questions or to inquire about custom arrangements, please contact us at ned@nedkantar.com or call 612-926-5655