Ted Heath

Ja-Da

Bob Carleton penned a little 16 bar tune in 1918, whilst still a club pianinst in Illinois. The tune was briefly famous, then spent 35 years in obscurity until Sonny Rollins 're-invented it' using the Ja-Da chords for his composition 'Doxy' in 1954, and the jazz world took to it. In 1958 Ted Heath's orchestra recorded the arrangement of Ja-Da that we offer here, transcribed from the original Ken Moule chart. The rhythm parts are all chord based, the improvised solo is written on Tenor 1 and there are no sax doubles. We have graded it as medium advanced, not because the chart is hard, but because the lead Trumpet has to hit high E (and optional high G). This is a rare piece of Ted Heath history.