La Fiesta: Up-tempo Latin Jazz in Three

Nick S.

Member
Hello forum members,

I play in a community a big band. Our director would like to try Chick Corea's "La Fiesta" as arranged by Tony Klatko. I've been asked to study this video of a Polish big band performing the tune with Chick sitting-in on electric piano: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMbvgY_Z04g&feature=related. The drummer delivers an impressive performance, driving the band while keeping the feel light and airy. I was hoping some of you might be able to provide me with a few ideas for developing a fluid, up-tempo groove like the one in the video. If any of you would be willing to share some short transcriptions of this kind of groove, to help me get started, I'd be most grateful.

Thanks,
Nick

P.S. Here's a clip (audio only) of Stan Getz performing La Fiesta with Tony Williams on drums. It's a little hard to make out what Tony's doing because of the audio quality: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFuPGlCVhL0
 
I would look for the Woody Herman recording of that arrangement and see what that tells you. I wouldn't feel obligated to copy Tony's thing; whatever variation on an Afro-Cuban 6/8 you work up should work fine, subject to the leader's approval. Tony is doing a kind of modified afro 6/8.
 
I believe Maynard Furguson also did a cover of La Fiesta on his Chameleon album, if I'm not mistaken. That is also a great arrangement.
 
That arrangement came from the early 1970s Woody Herman Fantasy album Giant Steps

You can order the CD on amazon and the mp3 of La Fiesta can be purchased separately. Ed Soph played drums on that recording.

A video of the Woody Herman band playing it in 1977 can be found hwre, with Jeff Hamilton playing drums, but I personally think the album band is better.

http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/jazzdownloadv.php?id=5483
 
I believe Maynard Furguson also did a cover of La Fiesta on his Chameleon album, if I'm not mistaken. That is also a great arrangement.

you are correct - I believe that the band in the link is using the same arrangement that Maynard's band played. Frankly - and it's been awhile since I've heard the MF version, I kinda' liked the drummer playing in the link more than Danny D'Imperio on the Chameleon record.

You could do a lot worse than to go back to the original RTF version and study what Airto played on that. It's hard to match a Brazilian's innate sense for a latin groove.
 
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you are correct - I believe that the band in the link is using the same arrangement that Maynard's band played. Frankly - and it's been awhile since I've heard the MF version, I kinda' liked the drummer in the link more than what Danny D'Imperio did on that record.

You could do a lot worse than to go back to the original RTF version and study what Airto played on that. It's hard to match a Brazilian's innate sense for a latin groove.
You are correct, the threadstarter's video is of the Ferguson band arrangement. The Tony Klakta arrangement was definitiely from the Woody Herman Giant Steps album.
 
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