scores

Title: "(The) Hesitation Waltz"

"(The) Hesitation Waltz" is cast in the form A-A-B-A-C and features solos by the trombonist, bassist, and pianist. (From the CD: On Going Home)

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Title: "9-Bar Blues"

"9-Bar Blues" is a medium-up-tempo tune that explores three rhythmic styles: straight-ahead 4/4, shuffle, and something I call "4/4 stride" (four "oom's" and "pah's," heard simultaneously). This tune features both tenor players, trumpet, and trombone. (From the CD: Things For Now)

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Title: "Blues for Brother Bill"

"Blues for Brother Bill" is a medium-slow blues written for my brother (his name is Bill). The head is in mixed meters, and the solo section is in 3/4 with chromatic, extended harmony. Solos for trumpet and piano. (From the CD: On Going Home)

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Title: "Buddha Bang"

"Buddha Bang" has nothing to do with Buddhism (or explosions). The title is a vocalization of the basic rhythm of the song. The rhythm: up-tempo swing. The soloists: piano, tenor, and drums. (From the CD: Secular Breathing)

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Title: "Combos In Indiana"

"Combos In Indiana" is a 4-bar vamp followed by a 12-bar abstract blues in cha-cha rhythm. Later the song becomes transformed into a contrapuntal, 16-bar shuffle blues. The solos are trumpet, tenor, baritone, and piano. (From the CD: Secular Breathing)

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Title: "Dancing In The Dark"

The Howard Dietz and Arthur Schwartz tune, conceived without Fred and Ginger in mind. They may be in the dark, but they are moving rather quickly. Alto, piano, and drums solos. (From the CD: Things For Now)

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Title: "Donna Lee"

"Donna Lee" is the Charlie Parker tune based on "Back Home Again in Indiana." "Indiana" is in F major, but "Donna Lee" is in A-flat; this arrangement is in both keys. Featured are trombone, alto, and trumpet solos. (From the CD: On Going Home)

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Title: "Don't Cry for Me Argentina"

The Andrew Lloyd Weber tune sped up. Swinging hard instead of moping around. Solos for trumpet and trombone.

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Title: "East of Enumclaw"

"East of Enumclaw" is a fast, samba-like tune that features tenor, saxophone, and drum solos. There is a challenging soli section and an unusual drumbeat. (From the CD: On Going Home)

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Title: "Fomepi"

"Fomepi" (FOrte MEzzo PIano) is a medium-tempo, loose swing tune that features the soprano. The solo is divided into two sections: an asymmetrical harmonic section, and a free section. The title refers to a recurring dynamic gesture. (From the CD: On Going Home)

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Title: "Forward and Backward"

"Forward and Backward" is in an Afro-Cuban 6/8 style. The soloists are alto (or flute) and trumpet. The title refers to the fact that the tune is played over both the "forward" and "backward" forms of the clavé. (From the CD: On Going Home)

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Title: "G, Baby"

"G, Baby" is an expression of some of my theories about harmonic resolution. The title comes from the fact that there are a lot of Gs in the tune. Rhythmically, the song explores three different rock grooves. The soloists are tenor and trombone. (From the CD: Secular Breathing)

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Title: "Home"

"Home" is a slow blues featuring bass and trumpet solos. This tune, a blues, was composed around the time of the exodus from Kosovo. I again became aware that there are many, many people in the world who can never go home: Sudanese, Palestinians, Bosnians, Chinese dissidents, Tibetans, Native Americans, and now, Iraqis. Often these are families who have lived in the same village for countless generations. (From the CD: Secular Breathing)

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Title: "Kennewick, Man"

"Kennewick, Man" is a 16-bar, medium-up-tempo tune with an 8-bar vamp followed by an 8-bar modal chord progression. As with many of my tunes, the title has absolutely nothing to do with the music. Solos are tenor, trumpet, and drums. (From the CD: Secular Breathing)

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Title: "Kreuzberg Soliloquy"

This song alternates 5/4 and 6/4 sections. As I worked the tune out in a small group setting, I noticed that there were slightly different tempos that were appropriate for different parts of the song. These tempo changes are incorporated into the orchestration. The soloists are soprano and piano. (From the CD: Secular Breathing)

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Title: "L.C.S."

"L.C.S." is based on a tune by Kevin Nortness, a gifted saxophonist and composer from Portland, Oregon. The unusual form presents solos by the bassist, trombonist, and drummer. Speed and flexibility are the required skills. (From the CD: On Going Home)

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Title: "Laura Mae's Getaway"

This song commemorates Laura Mae Abraham's successful departure from a Northwest educational institution. Laura Mae is the soul of hipness. She and her partner, Sonny Booker, moved to Wasco, California, where they opened an inn called "Laura Mae's Getaway." This chart features trombone and tenor. (From the CD: Secular Breathing)

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Title: "Moon and Sand"

"Moon and Sand" is the great Alec Wilder song. There is quite a bit of abstraction and transformation as the song moves along. The arrangement features solos by alto, trombone, and bass. (From the CD: Secular Breathing)

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Title: "Nanna's Lied"

"Nanna's Lied" is by Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht. It is a grim and poignant song that describes the reflections of an aging prostitute around the time of World War I. Here, it's cast as a 5/4 tango with solos by bass and piano. (From the CD: Secular Breathing)

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Title: "Nerds of Steel"

Medium swing with a Latin interlude. Chromatic modal harmony. Solos for trumpet, trombone, French horn and sax 2 (tenor).

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Title: "O Paler Mind"

"O Paler Mind" is an anagram for "palindrome," which describes the form of this piece. When it gets half-way through, it plays itself backwards to the end (beginning). The rhythmic style is rock and the soloists are alto and bass. (From the CD: Things For Now)

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Title: "On Going Home"

"On Going Home" is an arrangement of Pax Wallace’s swinging, lyrical tune. The solos are bass, piano, and tenor. (From the CD: On Going Home)

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Title: "Secular Breathing"

"Secular Breathing" features three tenor soloists, plus piano and bass. The song contains particularly long harmonic phrases. Medium swing. (From the CD: Secular Breathing)

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Title: "Subconscious Lee"

"Subconscious Lee," by Lee Konitz, contains a melody that is so rich that chords and a bass line might just get in the way. In this arrangement the melody is accompanied by its own inversion expressed both simultaneously and canonically without the benefit of piano and bass. The solos are bass, piano, alto, and trumpet. (From the CD: Things For Now)

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Title: "Sylvan Echoes"

"Sylvan Echoes" has three distinct rhythmic styles: jazz cha-cha, mambo, and rock. The soloists are flute and baritone. (From the CD: On Going Home)

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Title: "The Little Drummer Boy"

A holiday song to be played for the holiday of your choice. Abstract Afro-Cuban groove with piano, flute, and trumpet solos. (From the CD: Things For Now)

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Title: "The Nearness of You (vocal)"

This version of the beautiful Hoagy Carmichael tune is for singer and band. The modal reharmonization of the verse becomes the harmonic basis for the coda. Instrumental solos are trombone and tenor. (From the CD: Things For Now)

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Title: "The Peacocks"

The Jimmy Rowles tune opens with a phased figurative texture, which becomes the accompaniment for the soprano sax melody. Later in the piece, after a brief trumpet cadenza, the bridge theme is expressed contrapuntally with octave-specific harmony (i.e. what's true in one octave is not necessarily true in another). The improvising soloists are piano, alto, and trumpet. (From the CD: Things For Now)

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Title: "Things For Later"

When I am composing music, the process often feels as much like one of discovery as one of creation. Sometimes the process of discovery takes a long time. The first version of this piece dates back to around 1972. The final version is from June, 1998. This is in 3/4 with a lot of 4/4 superimposed, and there is a 5/4 oasis. Improvised solos are by tenor and flugelhorn, with thematic statements by piano and alto. (From the CD: Things For Now)

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Title: "U.M.M.G."

"U.M.M.G." is the Billy Strayhorn tune. This version features swinging phrasing, a contrapuntal middle section, and solos by the alto and tenor. (From the CD: On Going Home)

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Title: "Wedding Song"

"Wedding Song" is a ballad featuring the trumpet. The band plays in a rubato style (conducted) and in time. (From the CD: On Going Home)

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Title: "Where or When (vocal)"

This great Rogers and Hart song is one of the few Broadway show tunes to deal with reincarnation. In this arrangement, there is added material in the form of an introduction to the verse, an extension from the chorus, and a Latin interlude. Improvised solos by tenor, trumpet, and drums. (From the CD: Things For Now)

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Title: "Without Joe Henderson"

The complete title is, "Without Joe Henderson, this Song Would Not Be Possible." It is based on Joe Henderson's reharmonization of "Without a Song." The harmonic idea introduced by Mr. Henderson is taken to its implied conclusion, resulting in the tune transposing itself down a minor 2nd. This up-tempo, straight-ahead tune features piano, trombone, and trumpet. (From the CD: Things For Now)

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