Contents: Holiday in Morocco, Sophie's Strut, Hill-Billy Blues, Bad Attitude, Rock Salt, Ga Ga Rag, Hi-Five, Cement Mixer, Hairy Habanera, Tango Magnifico, A Little Blues Bird, Chasin' the Bass
Performed by Rompduo
Contents: I. In Orbit , II. Departure Lounge , III. In Traffic
Program Note
I. In Orbit
This was written wondering what it would be like to see the Earth from space. It also serves as a hymn to the technology of satellites that increasingly connect our humble human communications.
II. Departure Lounge
Most commonly, this is at an airport. When travelling alone, this can be a place to contemplate the state of one’s existence while trying to find the right angle to perch one’s hand luggage as a foot stool. But this can also be at a train station – and Sydney Central boasts a (very) modest lounge for travellers waiting for the night train to Melbourne.
III. In Traffic
Statistics bear out that lane swapping in heavy traffic to maximise time and position is mostly a waste of time and dangerous into the bargain. What’s worse is nipping into the fast lane on a slight opening, only for it to become the slow lane. My advice? Take the bike or public transport.
These pieces have been published with key signatures for ease of reading, though were not conceived as conventionally ‘tonal’ pieces.
Performed by Rompduo
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.
Contents: Swing Thing , Jewell in a Stone, Cathy's Dream , A Lane in Wales , One Step at a Time, A Good Time Was Had By All , Duddles Chuckles, Heritage
Swing Thing: This piece began life as an easy saxophone quartet but translates well to sax and piano. Be sure to play the longs and shorts accurately as it really helps it swing. Accent beat 2 and 4 for the same reason. When there is a quaver on the second half of a beat followed by a rest, it should always be short (staccato as marked) it is good to imagine that there is a note on the following beat to help place the last quaver.
Jewel in a Stone: Written for Julia, this is the most recently written of the tunes in Lokked in. Julia decided that she didn't feel like playing the C naturals that I had written so she played C sharps instead. I liked them so much that I changed the tune. There is much potential for some rubato and a very emotional performance of this piece. Some music turns out that way. Don't play it too slowly but don't hurry from one phrase to the next.
Cathy's Dream: Cathy had Chronic Fatigue syndrome at school and bravely fought through it. Her dream was to be healthy. I played this at her wedding recently where she seemed extremely well. The feel is Latin American influenced and the syncopations can be tricky. Very slow practice with the metronome, thinking in quavers and leaving the ties out can help gain an understanding of the rhythms. This is a good one to practise with the piano part slowly from the early stages of its preparation.
A Lane in Wales: In 1993, on a “round the world walkabout,” I visited my relatives in Wales and went on some long, solitary walks. This tune seems to capture the spirit of some of the lanes I walked along. I enjoy playing this tune and love the more classical feel of it. It suits a more classical sound and a softer dynamic. I love the sound of this piece at a slower tempo too. Be gentle but firm with it. Be aware of when the phrases are one, two or four bars long and be careful not to break it up too much.
One Step at a Time: Named for Steph, to motivate her to practise. Well it didn't work for her but it is a really fun piece to play with elements of rock in the eighties and a touch of David Sanborn. Thanks Dave.
Dig hard into the groove, the accents and the staccatos to really make it rock. A brighter sound and a generally stronger dynamic will suit this piece. The metronome is your best friend on this one.
A Good Time was Had by All: After a tour to Queensland with the school Stage Band, Yuki, a trombonist, asked me to write a piece for her VCE. I was honoured to do so and this was named as a celebration of the good time everyone had on the trip. It suits the saxophone just as well as the trombone and should be approached with a simple, not over-jazzy (or too cool) swing feel, emphasising the off-beat quavers and enjoying the fun in the music. The piano part really adds to the party so check it out as soon as you can.
Duddles Chuckles: I conceived this tune on the way home from a gig, named it after the unique laugh of one of my students, “Duddles” and arranged it for sax quartet before converting it to sax and piano. Play it with a bouncy swing feel in two, but emphasise (accent) the off-beats where quavers are slurred across the beat. There are some unusual staccatos which add to the character of the tune and make it less groovy or jazzy but more fun.
Heritage: I first took this tune (then un-named) to a gig at Bennetts Lane with unLokked (my jazz quartet) and subsequently recorded it on “A hot night in Burwood” released through Newmarket music. I consider it one of my best tunes. It has an obvious celtic influence but I know that Jan Garbarek and the Disney song, “Colours of the wind” were in the mix here too. This version is a simplified version of the original with far fewer ornaments than I would normally play but it still maintains its integrity and emotion. Play it with strength, commitment and honesty.
Performed by Rompduo
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.
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
