Artie Shaw

Traffic Jam

Artie Shaw had many great swing charts to his name, but few were as punchy and as powerful as Traffic Jam. It fairly rips along at a quick 240 beats a minute, yet it never sounds forced or rushed. We have transcribed the original, including all the solos (Drums, Clarinet, Tenor, Trombone & Piano), and expanded the chart to a full 8 brass. The Saxes are scored for Clarinet, 2 Altos and 2 Tenors. The chart kicks off with a 4 bar Drum solo leading into a rising chromatic dimished passage, then the main chorus with the Clarinet flying over the top of the band. A quick Tenor solo follows, then back to the band blasting away. There is then a wonderful bell-tone bridge leading to alternating Clarinet and Trombone solos over just Bass and Kit, more band choruses, a Piano solo and a couple of huge shout choruses to end. We have rated the chart as Medium. The band parts are not hard, despite the speed of the chart. It's only Mr. Shaw's bits that need nimble fingers, though your Clarinet player can always improvise over the chords instead. This is a real beauty of a chart, and a must-have in any book.