Degree Discipline

Month

Explorations: a Composition for Eighteen-Piece Jazz Ensemble (open access)

Explorations: a Composition for Eighteen-Piece Jazz Ensemble

Explorations is a three-movement experimental work for eighteen-piece jazz ensemble consisting of the following instruments: soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, two tenor saxophones, baritone saxophone, two trumpets, two flugelhorns, three trombones, bass trombone, electric guitar, vibraphone, contrabass, drums and piano. The duration of the work will approximate twelve minutes. The first movement features geometric configurations of spatially notated sound which emphasize percussive qualities of the ensemble (i.e. key clicks, tongue slaps, mouthpiece pops, etc.). Tone clusters of various pitch, texture and dynamics derived from blues scales provide the source material for the second movement. A slowly developing dynamic counterpoint creates the sound mass texture and delineates the form. Movement Three features a contrapuntal poly-metric collage of variations on a four-note theme. The collage provides the background fabric for an exchange of periodic and aperiodic events.
Date: May 1992
Creator: Rudnick, Isidore L.
System: The UNT Digital Library