Jazz Lines Publications Luck Be a Lady - Loesser/May - Jazz Ensemble/Vocal

Recorded by Frank Sinatra with Count Basie

Composer: Frank Loesser
Arranger: Billy May
Adapted: Quincy Jones
Format: Score and Parts
Instrumentation: Jazz Ensemble with Vocal
Style: Swing
Level: Difficult

Among the many arrangements that have been frequently requested by singers and enthusiasts, the music written for Frank Sinatra and the Count Basie Orchestra is high on the list. The arrangements were written during June and July of 1965 for a short tour that Sinatra and the Count (he was also called 'Splank', [short for Splanky] and that is the name listed on these scores) were embarking on. Among the dates they played together were a Newport Jazz Festival appearance on July 4, 1965 and a fundraiser with Sammy Davis, Jr. and Dean Martin at the Kiel Opera House in St. Louis. It was during this tour that the band road-tested the many arrangements that were written. This collaboration culminated at a show in Las Vegas, at the Sands Hotel in January of 1966. This appearance resulted in a double album of Sinatra and Basie, and an album of the Basie band alone that was released many years later. It is interesting to note that there were many arrangements written for the 1965 summer tour that were not performed and recorded at the famous Sands show. Some of the titles include: It's Easy to Remember; All the Way; Too Marvelous for Words; Call Me Irresponsible; I'll Never Smile Again; In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning; and others. These previously unknown arrangements were written by Billy Byers and Chico O'Farrill. Many of the arrangements that were performed during the 1965 tour and the 1966 Sands concert were adaptations done by Quincy Jones of previously recorded arrangements. Such is the case with this arrangement of Luck Be a Lady.

This arrangement was written by Billy May for a July 23, 1963 live date in Los Angeles. Quincy Jones then modified the original studio orchestra arrangement for the tour that Sinatra was embarking on with the Count Basie band in the summer of 1965. This big band arrangement was used several times during that tour and then most famously at the 1966 Sands concert. This chart was then recorded in 1966 for a Reprise Records date. Sinatra kept this arrangement in his band book and used it numerous times over the years.

This publication is based on the original parts and is not a transcription.

Ranges:

• Vocal Keys: Db to D to Eb
• Trumpet 1: Eb6 (Optional Bb7)
• Trombone 1: Db5
• Trombone 2: Bb4

Instrumentation:

• Full Score
• Vocal
• 2 Alto Saxophones
• 2 Tenor Saxophones
• Baritone Saxophone
• 4 Trumpets
• 3 Trombones
• Bass Trombone
• Guitar
• Piano
• Bass
• Drums