Well, it was a great find by Terry some five years ago. And, while I appreciate the credit for something I did not offer, the real credit here should go to Dave, for it is he who remembered to bring up Yestertunes in the first place. I have known about it for years, but did not have the sense to point out that I had already picked Jim's stuff clean.
I've been using Yestertunes since then, although much of what he offers is "stock" stuff that gets you the tune (often arranged by Johnny Warrington) but only in a very stilted "hotel dining room orchestra" version. Stocks are better than nothing (if a client wants a tune for a job and I don't have it on hand, I'll order a stock as a last-ditch solution to the problem), but Johnny's work just isn't up to modern musical standards any longer.
I've not checked Yestertunes to see if he has
Sidewalks Of New York, but it is another alternative to consider. I've ordered just about everything in his collection for "full sized band" as far as the vocals go. I've certainly picked up every Barnet chart that he has where it is listed as a Barnet.
(By the way, I'd also like to get the Barnet (early 1950's, I think) arrangement of
Harlem Nocturne, if anyone knows where to find that. It's different than the standard one, with a moving bass line in the baritone that really sets off the solo.)
Jim of Yestertunes charges by the page count for each chart, plus a flat shipping fee once you are done.
There are some gems in with all of the "stock" stuff. He has quite a few Walt Stuart charts, for example - almost everything out of Walt's pen is worth owning. However, I always buy my stuff directly from Walt, as he has health problems (both him and his son) and needs the money badly.
As pointed out below, Jim has the listings broken out by type and instrumentation. His website at
www.yestertunes.com has provisions for downloading the complete lists in XLR format (Excel). I always order by copying the complete row from the spreadsheet, that way avoiding any misunderstandings at Jim's end. Turnaround is always within a week.
Of the charts listed, I had the best success with the vocals (my group plays about 85% to 90% vocal arrangements). Conversely, I found most of the Navy arranger tunes to be pretty unusable for current "non-jazz" oriented audiences - your experience will, of course, differ.
I use both Walt Stuart and Dick Spencer for most of my custom charts. (I'd estimate that over 50% of our book is custom arranged.)
Walt hits the target every time, but has (for the most part) given up on active arranging these days. He still has a massive collection of Sinatra/Martin/Davis arrangements, which you can purchase from him directly, and (like I said) he could use the money.
Dick Spencer has also slowed down a bit since I first ordered from him. (As compensation, his son is now helping him on modern pop stuff.) His prices are more reasonable than Walt's, and he will write to specification if you want him to. Just send him a lead sheet (for the chords and outline of the melody and words), the key that you want the tune to be in, and (if you like) a recording of the style in which you want it cast, and six weeks later you've got your arrangement.
Dick charges by the part, so a five piece arrangement would cost far less than a ten piece "little big band". While some of my charts vary considerably as far as part count is concerned (anywhere from 5444 to 5445-4 (four vocalists plus aux percussion)), I always pay him for the full twenty two parts for everything, figuring that he earns the extra by all of the customizing that he does.
Both write manuscript rather than using a computer program. Some of Walt's writing can get a little wild at times, and Dick has occasionally left out a bar here or there. (However, bring it to his attention and he'll clean it up and send out a fair copy toute suite.) Those who have played shows or manuscript charts in the past will recognize this problem - it's a nuisance, but you learn to get around it in time.
Those who
have to have engraved style music should probably stick with the charts from Hal Leonard (and they have some very good ones as well), or from Lush Life Music over in Blighty. (
www.lushlifemusic.com).
The Lush Life folks (scattered from England to Australia) do first rate arrangements, and (as mentioned) their charts are clear and clean - perfect for advanced high school and college folks who want to do some challenging charts but still have shaky reading skills.
(Lush Life's charts have an added advantage when used in a teaching situation - they also offer MP3 files of almost all of their music through their website. This is also good when breaking in a new singer; he or she can just go to their website and download a vocal recording of the chart, and then work it up independently of the whole group, this to save a lot of rehearsal time.)
Email me at
info@sotsdo.com if you want any mailing addresses or pricing structure.