East St. Louis Toodle-Oo
Our arranger, Tim Berens, first heard East St. Louis Toodle-Oo on the 1974 Steely Dan album Pretzel Logic. Years later, he was surprised to learn that Toodle-Oo was written in 1927 by Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley. That’s Duke at the piano and Bubber with his trumpet.
Title: East St. Louis Toodle-Oo
Composers: Duke Ellington and Bubber Miley. Arranged by Tim Berens
Description: This arrangement is faithful to the original 1927 recording of East St. Louis Toodle-Oo, by Duke Ellington and The Washingtonians. It also sounds similar to the cover recording made by Steely Dan for their album, Pretzel Logic.
The solo and soli passage on Duke’s recording were carefully transcribed and notated so that modern orchestral musicians can easily play this early swing hit. The chart features a growling muted trumpet, a style pioneered by Bubber Miley in the 1920’s.
Each section of the orchestra has its moment to shine in this chart, with solos and solis by trumpet, trombone, woodwinds, horns, piano, and strings.
Musicians love playing this chart as much as audiences love hearing it.
Instrumentation: 2222/4331/Timp+2/Drum Set/Banjo (Optional)/Piano/Strings
Length: 3:00
Rental Fee: $225.00 first performance. $75.00 per subsequent performance.
Video and Audio Recording by
The Ohio Valley Symphony
Tim Berens, Conductor