Rich Coffey Instrumentals
Customed-crafted arrangements of Standards, Contemporary Hits, Spirituals, etc.
Studio - Arrangements:
- Contemporary -
- written by Phil Spector, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil
- written by Billy Preston and Bruce Fisher
This song was of course made famous by Joe Cocker—a master of the “emotional crescendo and frenzied climax.” Its a shoe-in for the trombone as well as it sounds great in the original key of F. I have given the accompaniment a gospel bluesy 12/8 feel, featuring the acoustic piano and organ. In addition, a jazzier sounding Fadd9 chord adds a tinge of richness to the harmony.
Form is: INTRO › HEAD › BONE SOLO ON TUNE › SOLO ON VAMP OUT/ FADE...
My bone playing is purposefully raw and borderline distorted. It’s tough to capture Joe Cocker’s bluesy grit but sweet and mellow nuance was NOT the approach on this one. :-)
Although as mentioned, Joe Cocker made this song a hit, probably fewer people know that this was penned by Billy Preston, Bruce Fisher and yes Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys together one night at a party. Dennis Wilson never claimed copyright credit.
written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David
Another more recent gem, this time from the 60s. "The Look of Love" was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David and sung by Dusty Springfield, The song appeared in the 1967 film “Casino Royale” and in 2008, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
About the Music
Really great chord changes and an unusual time signature change of a single 2/4 bar in the B section makes this a really hip song. My arrangement builds on a groove set up by the electric bass and kick drum. The acoustic guitar complements the more prominent jazz guitar throughout the tune.
FORM: Intro > Tune (A/B) > Bone Solo (A) > Surprise! (B) > Vamp/Fade
- The Look of Love
- Dusty Springfield (YouTube)
- Ronald Isley & Burt Bacharach - The Look Of Love
^ Man can he sing!
- About Dusty Springfield
written by Neil Young
I pulled this from JukeBones - a Flash-authored Jukebox of an assortment of songs I rearranged for trombones way back in 2001. Both songs are from his 1970 Album: After the Gold Rush. I have emulated the sound of the French Horn with an cup mute. Birds is an absolutely beautiful song - so simple yet stunning when sung by Neil Young in his strange high and haunting voice.
music by Michel Legrand
"What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?" was written by Michel Legrand (with lyrics written by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman) for the 1969 film “The Happy Ending”. The song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Michel Legrand won the 1973 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying a Vocalist for a version performed by Sarah Vaughan. More than thirty years later, Billy Childs, Gil Goldstein, and Heitor Pereira won the 2006 Grammy Award for the same category for a version performed by Chris Botti and Sting.
This is truly an incredibly beautiful song. My arrangement features a hefty dose of Rhodes piano with strings. I have transposed the tune to Dm (it is often written in Am).
- Dusty Springfield
- Shirley Bassey (with Michel Legrand at the piano)
- Chris Botti / Sting
- Maysa
written by Bobby Hebb
BMI rates "Sunny" #25 in its "Top 100 songs of the century. Written by Bobby Hebb in 1963, the tune was recorded at Bell Sound Studios in New York City and released as a single in 1966. It met with immediate success, which resulted in Hebb touring in 1966 with the Beatles. The song peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in late August 1966.
Hebb wrote the song in the 48 hours following a double tragedy on November 22, 1963: the day U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and Hebb's older brother Harold was also stabbed to death outside a Nashville nightclub. Hebb was devastated by both events and the optimistic lyrics, came from the artist's desire to express that one should always "look at the bright side". Hebb has said about "Sunny": "All my intentions were to think of happier times and pay tribute to my brother – basically looking for a brighter day – because times were at a low."
This ia great tune. It has always been in the back of my mind for some strange reason to do this tune with the vibraphone. My arrangement features the trombone and the vibes. There's a pseudo shout chorus after the vibes solo where the bone and vibes play in unison. ([ In jazz, a shout chorus is usually the last chorus of an arrangement—after the improvised solos—where often everyone plays the same rhythm (tutti) ]. The tune fades out with a swinging bluesy trombone improv...