Tisem said:
Well...Just consider me a beginner who knows his chords.
Tisem, arranging jazz tunes to work well with four saxes is one of the harder types of quartet writing, IMO.
1. Walking bass
It's difficult to create the sense of constant forward motion without using a walking bass line. To inflict this type of part on a bari player constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
2. rhythmic comping
Having one voice play a solo line (either improvised or notated) while the other voices comp in the manner of a solo pianist can work well. Listen to solo jazz piano performers to hear how they pull this off.
3. stop time
similar to #2, but with larger spaces between chords
4. four part sectional writing
Sometimes effective, but this can often leave holes in the chart. Using the bari as an independent voice to connect or punctuate can make this work
Keep your jazz arrangements brief, and don't expect to fill things up with improvised solos at first.
Spend a bit of time at the piano, working on voicings and rhythmic figures. If you don't play some arrangers piano, Start!
Get Bill Holcombe's book, Creative Arranging at the Piano. It'll help you get the hang of how to use these and many more devices, though you'll be sick to death of Old Folks At Home by the time you get through the book.