After years of development (and procrastination!) we have assembled a daring short list of big band essentials. The level is grade two for the most part as the list started out life as a play list for the high school big band ball fundraisers which have been quite popular in this area. In that situation you need a lot of music (30 to 50 tunes would be nice) at a level that your best high school players would not have to spend a lot of time learning. The level and variety also serves well for typical community based adult big bands made up of non-professional players.

Essentially most of this music works to create an atmosphere for dancing and conjuring up distant memories, …and educationally, covers a wide variety of styles that work in the big band/jazz ensemble.

The most obvious exception to this level, in this first edition of the list, is the inclusion of the original edition of In The Mood because, well, I just couldn't leave it out. Although there is no publisher's recording link for this one, the arrangement is what you hear on most of the original Glenn Miller recordings complete with solos, -written transcriptions of the recorded improvisations.

Listen to ALL of the Big Band Recordings below, in one playlist!

Listen to all of the Grade 1 Recordings below, in one playlist!

Media Links	Title	Arranger	Grade	Set Price	Quantity

	American Patrol	M. Lewis	1	$

	Auld Lang Syne	G. Lombardo	1	$

	Azure (Ellington)	M. Lewis	1	$

	Birth of the Blues	M. Lewis	1	$

	Blue and Sentimental	R. Phillippe	1	$

	Chase the Clouds Away	M. Lewis	1	$

	Dreamsville	V. Gassi	1	$

	Embraceable You	M. Lewis	1	$

	Get Back	M. Sweeney	1	$

	Orinoco Cocoa	V. Gassi	1	$

	Over the Rainbow	P. Cook	1	$

	Satisfaction, (I Cant Get No)	M. Story	1	$

	Sing Sing Sing	V. Gassi	1	$

	Sunny	M. Story	1	$

	Think (from The Blues Brothers)	M. Story	1	$

Listen to all of the Grade 1.5 Recordings below, in one playlist!

Media Links	Title	Arranger	Grade	Set Price	Quantity

	Bad, Bad Leroy Brown	J. Nowak	1.5	$

	Basin Street Blues	M. Sweeney	1.5	$

	Brazil	J. Nowak	1.5	$

	Cant Buy Me Love	M. Sweeney	1.5	$

	Cant Help Falling In Love	J. Berry	1.5	$

	Caravan	J. Berry	1.5	$

	Counting Stars	J. Berry	1.5	$

	Crazy Train	P. Murtha	1.5	$

	Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)	J. Berry	1.5	$

	Fly Me to the Moon	M. Sweeney	1.5	$

	Fun, Fun, Fun	J. Berry	1.5	$

	Hey Jude	R. Stitzel	1.5	$

	I Want to Hold Your Hand	J. Berry	1.5	$

	I Will Follow Him	J. Berry	1.5	$

	In The Midnight Hour	J. Nowak	1.5	$

	Ja-da	M. Sweeney	1.5	$

	Joy To The World	J. Berry	1.5	$

	Limbo Rock	P. Murtha	1.5	$

	Louie, Louie	M. Sweeney	1.5	$

	Moon River	R. Stitzel	1.5	$

	Night Train	P. Blair	1.5	$

	Perfidia	M. Sweeney	1.5	$

	Puttin On The Ritz	J. Berry	1.5	$

	Rock Around the Clock	M. Sweeney	1.5	$

	Satin Doll	M. Sweeney	1.5	$

	Sentimental Journey	P. Murtha	1.5	$

	Spinning Wheel	M. Sweeney	1.5	$

	Summer Nights (GREASE)	J. Berry	1.5	$

	Sway (Quien Será)	R. Stitzel	1.5	$

	Tequila	M. Sweeney	1.5	$

	The Look of Love (Latin)	P. Murtha	1.5	$

	Traces	P. Murtha	1.5	$

	What a Wonderful World	R. Stitzel	1.5	$

Listen to all of the Grade 2 Recordings below, in one playlist!

Media Links	Title	Arranger	Grade	Set Price	Quantity

	25 or 6 to 4	P. Blair	2	$

	Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy	M. Sweeney	2	$

	Hello	R. Stitzel	2	$

	I Cant Turn You Loose (Blues Brothers)	P. Murtha	2	$

	In the Mood	M. Sweeney	2	$

	Let the Good Times Roll	P. Murtha	2	$

	Misty	M. Lewis	2	$

	Rockin Robin	M. Sweeney	2	$

	Shut Up and Dance	J. Berry	2	$

	Soul Bossa Nova (Austin Powers)	R. Stitzel	2	$

	Tiara	D. Sorenson	2	$

	Yesterday	R. Stitzel	2	$

Listen to all of the Grade 3 to 5 Recordings below, in one playlist!

Media Links	Title	Arranger	Grade	Set Price	Quantity

	Alamode	P. Murtha	3	$

	Born This Way	J. Wasson	3	$

	Doxy	M. Taylor	3	$

	Enter Sandman	R. Holmes	3	$

	Get Smart	R. Holmes	3	$

	Hawaii Five-O	P. Murtha	3	$

	Y.M.C.A.	J. Berry	3	$

	Blackbird	M. Tomaro	4	$

	In the Mood (Original Edition)	R. Garland	5	$