I finished the final movement of American Vignettes. It is called "Harlem Jump." Once again, I used a movement from previous composition as the basis of this movement. It comes from my "Three Jazzy Pieces" that exists as a mixed trio. I expanded it to a brass quintet by adding harmonies and featuring each musician as a soloist.
The design of the written out solos is to sound like improvised solos. It is interesting how I composed these solos. Normally solos are played over the existing chord changes of the tune. In this instance, the tune is mainly linear (contrapuntal) and not so much vertical (harmonic), therefore the chord progression (if one exists from the sum of the lines) is secondary. When I composed the solo sections, I just composed a line that sounded interesting melodically without any regard to chord progression. I then built a bass line and added riffs to fit with the solo line.
Variations in the texture, instrumentation, tonality, and dynamics of the returning head create interest.
When composing this movement and thinking of its title, I felt a need to change some of the titles of the other movements to make then more geographically inclusive, therefore Hoedown became Barn Dance and Southwest became Fiesta.
To see and hear what I have discussed, go to http://www.cooppress.net/american_vignettes_blog.html. You will be viewing a transposed score.
As always, your comments are appreciated.
Dr. B
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