Jazz arranging · Contemporary & Hybrid Jazz
DaveRivello
b. 1953 arranger · composer · orchestrator
Rivello's arranging style combines traditional big band values with contemporary approaches, featuring clear structures, strong melodies…
- Predominant era
- Contemporary & Hybrid Jazz
- Lifespan
- b. 1953
- Signature
- expansive register
Bio · 29 words
Dave Rivello is a trombonist, composer, and arranger who has worked with numerous big bands throughout his career. He studied at University of North Texas before establishing himself professionally.
01
Musical style
Sound DNA
Five shared dimensions make the arranger’s musical priorities visible at a glance.
Varied
Contrasting families shape the sound.
Compact
Ideas arrive in tightly packed frames.
Expansive
Wide spans define the orchestral frame.
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 Dave Rivello. Hear the parts, follow the score, and examine the decisions inside each chord.
Original miniature
Small Hours
8 bars · C major · 4/4 Swing eighths · 2:1
Counterpoint between unlike wind and brass colors gradually becomes more coordinated section writing. This eight-bar setting uses quarter-note walking bass 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 tenor, listening for their different entrance times before the moving block arrives.
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 Dave Rivello 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.
Professional Big Band Work
Professional Big Band Work
Rivello's arrangements for various professional big bands demonstrate his gifts for contemporary large ensemble writing.
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.
Traditional Jazz with Contemporary Edge
Traditional Jazz with Contemporary Edge
Rivello's work balancing tradition and contemporary approaches demonstrates his understanding of big band jazz's continuum.
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.
Sustained Professional Excellence
Sustained Professional Excellence
Rivello's career demonstrates sustained quality over decades, representing the many arrangers whose consistent work maintains big band jazz.
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 — Professional Big Band WorkDave Rivello Rivello's arrangements for various professional big bands demonstrate his gifts for contemporary large ensemble writing.
- 02 — Traditional Jazz with Contemporary EdgeDave Rivello Rivello's work balancing tradition and contemporary approaches demonstrates his understanding of big band jazz's continuum.
- 03 — Sustained Professional ExcellenceDave Rivello Rivello's career demonstrates sustained quality over decades, representing the many arrangers whose consistent work maintains big band jazz.
Voicing & register
The first entries in each line are: Alto sax B4 (maj7); Tenor sax E4 (3); Bassoon D4 (9); French horn G3 (5). Bass path: C2–G1–E2–G♯2.
Timbral combination
Alternate chairs enter half a beat apart, then each changes pitch two beats later. Solo adjacent lines to hear the interlocking movement. Flute · 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.