King Hall Snarl
Dark swing jazz arrangement with a highly recognizable central motif stated clearly from the first bars on piano and clarinet, supported by brushed drums and walking upright bass; keep the melody forefront and mostly literal while reharmonizing with tense minor chords and chromatic passing tones. Add aggressive, growling male scat as punctuated interjections between motif phrases, slightly overdriven and close-mic’d. Build steadily into a big band shout section with punchy brass stabs, baritone sax growls, call-and-response hits that never obscure the main tune; feature a fiery tenor sax solo quoting the motif, then stop-time breaks and a final feral scat sprint over the unmistakable theme before an abrupt ending.
King Hall Snarl
Dark swing jazz arrangement with a highly recognizable central motif stated clearly from the first bars on piano and clarinet, supported by brushed drums and walking upright bass; keep the melody forefront and mostly literal while reharmonizing with tense minor chords and chromatic passing tones. Add aggressive, growling male scat as punctuated interjections between motif phrases, slightly overdriven and close-mic’d. Build steadily into a big band shout section with punchy brass stabs, baritone sax growls, call-and-response hits that never obscure the main tune; feature a fiery tenor sax solo quoting the motif, then stop-time breaks and a final feral scat sprint over the unmistakable theme before an abrupt ending.
Lyrics
[Scat hits]
Rrah—bap! Grrr—doo-bah!
Skah—bip! Rrah—dah—dap!
[Scat riff A]
Grrr-bah doo, rrah-bah dee,
Skat-ta rrah, doo-bah gree,
Rrrah—bip-bop, grr—dee-dah,
Doo-bah rrah—skah, gree-dah!
[Solo section]
[Shout chorus with scat answers]
Rrah! rrah! Grr—bah—doo!
Skah! skah! Rrah—dee—too!
[Final stop-time scat sprint]
Grrr—bap! (stop)
Rrah—doo! (stop)
Skah-ta rrah-ta grr—dee—dah—doo!
[Outro tag]
Grrr…