Jazz arranging · Cool Jazz & West Coast
JohnnyCarisi
1922–1992 arranger · composer · orchestrator
Carisi's arranging style was harmonically adventurous, incorporating classical modernist techniques into jazz contexts.
- Predominant era
- Cool Jazz & West Coast
- Lifespan
- 1922–1992
- Signature
- expansive register
Bio · 21 words
John E. "Johnny" Carisi was born in New York and played trumpet with various bands before focusing on composing and arranging.
01
Musical style
Sound DNA
Five shared dimensions make the arranger’s musical priorities visible at a glance.
Iridescent
Instrumental color leads the design.
Balanced
Space and activity stay in balance.
Expansive
Wide spans define the orchestral frame.
Layered
Several musical planes coexist.
Suspended
Motion unfolds with patience.
02
Orchestration
At the
arranging desk
“Small Hours,” orchestrated in the style of Johnny Carisi. Hear the parts, follow the score, and examine the decisions inside each chord.
Original miniature
Small Hours
8 bars · C major · 4/4 Straight eighths
Open fourth-based sonorities and independent wind cells give the phrase a chamber-modernist character. This eight-bar setting uses a broken bass line with room between attacks beneath trumpet.
Choose Play to hear the recorded ensemble.
The passage
Read what you hear
All parts at sounding pitch · middle C = C4 · eighth notes follow the selected feel. Select a bar to inspect or replay it.
Inside the ensemble
Listen by part
Combine Solo buttons to hear a voicing or a doubling. Mute removes a part from the mix.
Downloads include every part at concert pitch. MIDI includes the selected tempo and swing feel.
Bar 01 · I · tonic
Cmaj9
Solo horn and bassoon to hear the lower spacing, then restore the upper winds.
Sounding pitches
High to low · muted parts are dimmed · note releases can leave a rest between attacks.
| Part | Pitch | Chord role |
|---|
From the arranging bookshelf Sebesky · Nestico
This original Johnny Carisi study applies the books’ approach of examining voicings, registers and instrumental combinations. It illustrates one facet of the artist’s work in a reduced ensemble; it is not a transcription or a reproduction of a book example. The melody and eight-bar progression remain the same throughout the artist collection.
- Don Sebesky, The Contemporary Arranger: “Combining the Woodwinds,” printed pp. 69–70 (PDF pp. 78–79), compares balance at different registers. “Voicing the Strings,” beginning on printed p. 124 (PDF p. 133), discusses distributing string voices. “Combining Strings with Winds,” printed p. 155 (PDF p. 164), demonstrates how a flute changes the color and balance of a string line.
- Sammy Nestico, The Complete Arranger: “Close [Block] Voicing” and “Semi-Open Voicing,” printed p. 24 (PDF p. 26), contrast a compact moving saxophone block with a voice dropped an octave. The part scores and pitch inspector let you examine the spacing used in this artist’s study.
Each artist’s arrangement uses separately recorded parts, so Solo and Mute reveal the same performance heard in the full ensemble. Winds, piano and supported orchestral instruments use MuseSounds; upright bass uses Karoryfer recordings. Other colors retain the credited libraries below. Tempo changes preserve concert pitch.
Performances rendered with free MuseSounds and the libraries below. Recording credits and instrument coverage.
Recordings: VSCO 2 CE (CC0), MTG Solo Saxophones (CC BY 4.0), and Karoryfer Meatbass (CC0). Additional sounds: FluidR3 GM (CC BY 3.0). Full credits and sample changes.
03
Music first
Scores & orchestras
Switch recordings to compare how this arranger’s musical priorities shape each orchestral profile.
Birth of the Cool
Israel
Carisi's composition and arrangement "Israel" stands as one of the Birth of the Cool sessions' most complex pieces.
Listen forNotice how register shapes the orchestral profile.
Find listening example on YouTubeProfile derived from the arranger’s documented style and recording notes; exact instrumentation is not asserted.
Johnny Carisi and His Jazztet
Johnny Carisi and His Jazztet
Late recordings of Carisi's arrangements reveal his continued evolution.
Listen forNotice how register shapes the orchestral profile.
Find listening example on YouTubeProfile derived from the arranger’s documented style and recording notes; exact instrumentation is not asserted.
New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm
New Concepts of Artistry in Rhythm
Carisi's arrangements for various projects demonstrate his range.
Listen forNotice how register shapes the orchestral profile.
Find listening example on YouTubeProfile derived from the arranger’s documented style and recording notes; exact instrumentation is not asserted.
04
Start here
Three essential albums
One line each—enough context to choose the next listen.
- 01 — Birth of the CoolMiles Davis Carisi's composition and arrangement "Israel" stands as one of the Birth of the Cool sessions' most complex pieces.
- 02 — Johnny Carisi and His JazztetJohnny Carisi Late recordings of Carisi's arrangements reveal his continued evolution.
- 03 — New Concepts of Artistry in RhythmVarious Artists Carisi's arrangements for various projects demonstrate his range.
Voicing & register
The first entries in each line are: Flute B4 (maj7); Clarinet E4 (3); French horn A3 (13); Bassoon D3 (9). Bass path: C2–G2.
Timbral combination
Alternate chairs enter half a beat apart, then each changes pitch two beats later. Solo adjacent lines to hear the interlocking movement. Tenor sax · answer rests here, leaving the lead color exposed.
Voice leading & harmony
The opening E is the third. G–A–G makes the sixth a brief neighbor before the melody lands on D, the ninth.