House of Drumming.com

I'll be called upon to fill-in in the municipal Big Band and may get the chair.
I haven't played in a Big Band since college. Need to dust off those chops.They play mostly Basie-Ellington-Gershwin material.
I have the old Chapin play-alongs on worn out tape and S. Houghton's Ultimate reading package for drumset which has a couple BB play-alongs.
What are your suggestions of other Big Band packages with good sounding, fun, challenging charts?

Louie bellson had a book out in the 2000's. The first chart is like 400 bpm or something, ridiculous! I had an old Mel Lewis book in the 80's.

The Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band play-along is very good, I've also used the Irv Cottler Under My Skins book with some students but if I remember rightly the backing tracks do not have a count in (!)

The book that helped me the most when learning to set up and orchestrate figures big-band style was Steve Houghton's Studio and Big Band Drumming.

Good luck! Let us know how it goes.

Get Steve Fidyk's book.