Ella Fitzgerald

Trav'lin' Light

This is a transcription of Nelson Riddle's lovely chart written for Ella Fitzgerald's Johnny Mercer Songbook album. It is taken at a relaxed 80 bpm and is a perfect vehicle for showcasing the bluesy side of your singer's talent. Originally scored with a lot of orchestral woodwind, strings and even a harp, we have condensed the chart to make it playable by a regular 5444 big band. We have kept some Flute doubles (2nd Alto & 1st Tenor) for the intro as we feel that they add good tonal colour. However, these doubles are optional - the chart works perfectly well without them. The 2nd Trombone and 2nd Trumpet take the solo work and the Piano chart contains the 'top line' cues of the original string lines in places, to assist with chord voicing. Aside from the opening Flute lines there are no other sax doubles. The vocal key is Bb throughout.