Jazz arranging · Contemporary & Hybrid Jazz
AlanBroadbent
b. 1947 arranger · composer · orchestrator
Broadbent's arranging style features sophisticated harmonies influenced by his study with Tristano, elegant orchestrations drawing from…
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- Predominant era
- Contemporary & Hybrid Jazz
- Lifespan
- b. 1947
- Signature
- iridescent color
Bio · 29 words
Alan Broadbent was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and became one of jazz's most sophisticated pianists and arrangers. He studied with Lennie Tristano before establishing himself in Los Angeles.
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.
Layered
Registers work as distinct layers.
Layered
Several musical planes coexist.
Elastic
The rhythmic feel expands and contracts.
02
Orchestration
At the
arranging desk
“Small Hours,” orchestrated in the style of Alan Broadbent. 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
A piano melody is supported by four string lines that alternate independent movement with held harmony. This eight-bar setting uses a root-and-fifth two-beat bass beneath piano.
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 the two inner string voices and follow their motion as the piano keeps the tune continuous.
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 Alan Broadbent 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.
Unforgettable... with Love
Unforgettable
Broadbent's arrangements for this landmark album showcase his gifts for vocal jazz orchestration.
Listen forNotice how color shapes the orchestral profile.
Find listening example on YouTubeProfile derived from the arranger’s documented style and recording notes; exact instrumentation is not asserted.
The Look of Love
The Look of Love
Broadbent's arrangements for Krall demonstrate his mature style.
Listen forNotice how color shapes the orchestral profile.
Find listening example on YouTubeProfile derived from the arranger’s documented style and recording notes; exact instrumentation is not asserted.
You and the Night and the Music · 2010
You and the Night and the Music
Broadbent's own arrangements for smaller ensemble showcase his voice beyond large orchestrations.
Listen forNotice how color 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 — Unforgettable... with LoveNatalie Cole Broadbent's arrangements for this landmark album showcase his gifts for vocal jazz orchestration.
- 02 — The Look of LoveDiana Krall Broadbent's arrangements for Krall demonstrate his mature style.
- 03 2010 You and the Night and the MusicAlan Broadbent Broadbent's own arrangements for smaller ensemble showcase his voice beyond large orchestrations.
Voicing & register
The first entries in each line are: Strings 1 B4 (maj7); Strings 3 E4 (3); Strings 4 D4 (9); Strings 2 G3 (5). 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. Clarinet · 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.