Harlem Nocturne, I believe, was written for alto sax (the clue would be the ending note / hold at the end of the tune in the lead... a person would go spastic trying to hit that note in tune and with good tone every time on tenor.) It is NOT a latin tune... it's a SLOW blues shuffle. But be warned... while the rhythm section and background horn parts are heavily swung, the lead (alto) traditionally plays the solo melody as straight as can be (tradition, I guess), and swithches to swing-style in the "shout" sections (then back to straight-ahead in the solo melody again, etc.) It will take a few times working with the band to not instinctively swing it, but you'll get the hang of it. Also, if you glance through the charts that are pretty true to the original, you'll want to work on your long tones and breath support for the end of the tune. (anyone who's played this tune knows exactly what I'm talking about ;) Find some recordings with this tune on it and listen to stylistic differences within each section of the band. These are just my comments about it. Anyone else have anything I may have overlooked? Good luck and have fun with it!

Harlem Nocturne was written for a radio series as a spinoff on Duke Ellington. It sounds good on both alto and tenor. It's an old R&B classic. I played Harlem Nocturne in my first band on tenor. We covered the Viscounts' version with the vibrato guitar part. It plays great on alto too. It's a real good tune to grow with. I have a nice arrangement of it for tenor with piano accompaniment. At home I have some basic recording gear so I laid the tenor track first and the piano accompaniment second to make it sound like a real duet. Have fun with it. Terry

I first heard Harlem Nocturne on a recording by rhythm and blues alto sax player Earl Bostic. It was a popular recording and became a favorite dance tunes for exotic dancers of the time. Earl Bostic played with that growlling sound. I Don't know how old the recording is but I heard it in the 60's and it was old then. Over the years I've heard it in different ways and have played the tune myself. It makes a great solo feature for any sax.....Kelsey