I originally wrote this for Lisa to play as a solo flute piece, then gave it to some Tenor Sax students before adding the piano part, which I now really like the sound of and it does add considerably to the piece. It is named Mediterranean Blue because it seems to have Southern European influences but a touch of the Blues too. Therefore you can approach playing it, leaning in either direction, either a little jazzy or quite Classical, (vaguely Spanish). The rhythmic feel is challenging to pin down, being almost felt in one beat to the bar, but only once you reach a certain tempo. Finding places to breathe can also be a little challenging. Sorry. You may find yourself humming this one in your sleep as I have.
Performed live by Lachlan Davidson (baritone sax)
I wrote this for Perdita, during her lessons, 12 bars per week, to give her an idea on how the blues works. She played the tenor but it sounds fine on all saxes. My bari (Horace) likes playing it, but not too slowly as it can drag. The articulations add to the rhythmic interest and putting a little accent on tongued notes adds to this effect. Otherwise you should lean on the the beat to keep the Boogie Woogie idea going. The piano part is mostly a bass part and gives you strong fundamental pitch to tune to and make the thirds hum.
Performed by Rompduo (alto sax version)
As I was warming up my sax while Kath was getting hers out for a lesson, I played a few random notes which caught my ear. They were the first six notes of this piece. Later that day, after some exploration, I recorded a semi-improvised piano part and then semi-improvised the sax part. What you see on the page is a cleaned up version of what I did that day. This is the only time I've ever composed this way. Kath is a great Listener and reminded me of it's importance. You should allow your performance to build gradually through the first page and then really soar through the second page before settling down fairly quickly at the end. See if you can make it sound like you improvised it. Get together with the pianist early or play with the midi version of it from the website. It will help you understand the pace and intensity. If you add any jazz inflections, make sure they sound good and that you stay in tune. The beginning is very difficult in that regard so don't try to play any softer than you are able but do work on dropping your dynamic as far as possible and bringing it up as high as you can at the climax.
Performed by Rompduo
Performed by Barry Cockcroft
Performed by Romp Duo (on alto saxophone)
Performed by Barry Cockcroft
Performed by Romp Duo
I wrote this in 1995 (at a time when my Mum was sick) and I'm delighted that so many people have enjoyed playing it since, hopefully to their Mums too. I've heard many renditions and have enjoyed the diversity of interpretations people have brought to it. It is best to practise it slowly with the metronome, learning the tricky bits separately at first. Don't make too much of the semi-quavers as they are ornaments to the main melody but do try to be accurate with them and don't swallow them. Latch on to the accents as they really bring out the Latin-Jazz feel of the piece. The dynamics help create more emotional ebb and flow in the music.