Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

For Flute Quartet (Piccolo and 3 flutes) and Rhythm Section with optional Soprano Sax part

By Josef Zawinul

Arr. Greg Armstrong

Available from GattiProductions

http://www.gattiproductions.com/sheetmusic.htm

Having grown up listening to the funk tune Mercy, Mercy, Mercy it was a treat to see it arranged for flute quartet.

This clean and simple arrangement treats the flute quartet as a sax section. The written articulation helps communicate the funky feel. This is a great tune for beginning improvisers as there is an open four bar solo section (over only two chords) as well as a written out sectional solo.

There are many different ensemble combinations that could utilize this six-minute chart. It could be played just as effectively as a trio, because the piccolo doubles flute three. (The soprano sax is flute three transcribed.) I augmented parts to accommodate the eight-member flute orchestra that I conduct.

We used one piccolo, doubled flute 1 and flute2, one soprano sax and had a bass and contrabass flute play the bass line. The bass line isn’t written out for the entire piece, but it just goes back and forth between two chords so you can repeat phrases from the beginning. You need flutists who can read bass clef, or just write out the sixteen bar “sample” bass line in treble clef. (You can hear our reading on the web site: www.losangelesfluteorchestra.net.)

The chords keep the same voicings throughout the entire piece, which can get a bit predictable, and it stays in virtually the same range for the entire piece. Still, it could be a nice break in a strictly classical flute program

[ellen burr]