Consider the value of less harmony in your jazz arrangement.
I recently transcribed a Gene Puerling arrangement. In my transcription it runs 45 measures (he might have put some barlines in different places) and almost 15 measures – 1/3 of the arrangement – contains some or all unison or 2-part writing.
Gene Puerling is the undisputed king of complex harmony in vocal arrangements, and yet he chose to highlight clarity in so many of his arrangements. I think it’s because he recognized the following things:
- Unison and 2-part writing make the 4+ part writing stand out more.
- Unison and 2-part writing give the ear a break from complexity.
- Variation in timbre lets the arrangement breathe.
- Unison and 2-part writing makes challenging arrangement more accessible. (Admittedly, it’s just as hard to sing unison as 4-part, in some ways…but they’re hard in different ways.)
So many of the vocal arrangements I see don’t include nearly enough unison and 2-part writing. As you begin your next arrangement, consider how exploring these timbres might improve the arrangement.