Urban Dance Music. for Solo Saxophone (Eb Alto) and Sampled Jazz Ensemble on CD. 1. Late-Night Blues 2. Industrial Park Stomp 3. Suspicious Activity

Transcription

1 Urban Dance Music or Soo Saxophone (Eb Ato) and Samped azz Ensembe on CD 1 Late-Night Bues 2 Industria ark Stomp 3 Suspicious Activity S AXOHONE ART Cark Winso Ross St ohn s, Commissioned by au Bendzsa ith the Kittiake Dance Theatre, St ohn s Neoundand

2 Urban Dance Music Cark Winso Ross rogramme Notes by the Composer Urban Dance Music is a group o three orks in a contemporary azz stye or ato saxophone and virtua ensembes o samped instruments The irst to ere composed beteen anuary and March, 2000 or my riend and coeague, saxophonist au Bendzsa, and the Kittiake Dance Theatre o St ohn s, Neoundand The proect as assisted by the Neoundand and Labrador Arts Counci, and the irst perormances took pace in Apri o the same year at LSU Ha in St ohn s, ith choreography by Martin Vaée The third piece as added in 2003 in honour o Mr Bendzsa s 60th birthday A CD payer and good sound system is required or payback, and the voume eves shoud be baanced so that he saxophonist is no more prominent than the samped instruments in the virtua ensembes The irst piece, Late Night Bues, evokes or me the image o a group o azz musicians paying very ate at night, perhaps in a hazy od arehouse; they have become so entranced by the music that time has become suspended This is coo azz I have ritten severa orks ith Late Night or Night Music in the tite, because I ike the so, anguorous mood that this image evokes Industria ark Stomp begins ith a consideraby more aggressive ee, as beits the tite; think o Stomp (the urban percussion/dance group) doing their thing at an abandoned oi reinery or esehere in the industria asteand The second section (ith Bainese bes paying the theme) is more yrica, and orks its ay eventuay to a ase ending, compete ith the sound o a recordpayer neede stuck at the end o a record The neede is hastiy ited o the record (this as a done on a samper; no actua records ere harmed), and the next section begins ith a drum soo Actuay, there are to virtua drummers heard separatey on dierent speakers, ho are soon oined by the saxophonist This turns out to be a reativey engthy transition section, and eads back to a return o the opening materia, sighty varied At the end, i you isten careuy, you shoud be abe to hear birds, hich have come perhaps to survey the damage done by a the aggressive dancing and pounding 18 separate tracks ere used or a the percussion sounds in this piece Suspicious Activity is ike Late Night Bues in that the mood is initiay simiar ( coo ), and it is scored or a smaish virtua azz ensembe (perhaps a quintet o sax, piano, bass, and to percussionists), but the mood here becomes a itte more hyperactive (and it incudes occasiona piano custer chords) The irst main section ends ith a ith a ina-sounding descending gissando chord, but is ooed by a quasi-deveopmenta section, hich in turns eventuay runs out o gas; there is the sense that the payers graduay start dropping out eading to the brie sience beore the percussion soo Ater a hie the bass reoins, ooed by the others, and this eads to a return o the opening materias I am grateu to au Bendzsa or asking me to rite these pieces, and to everyone invoved in its choreography and production at Kittiake Dance Theatre (Martin Vaée and Linda Rimsay) Biography (2003) Cark Winso Ross is Associate roessor at Memoria University o Neoundand's Schoo o Music, here he teaches composition, theory, eectronic music, and cassica guitar He is one o Canada s more active composers, ith over 20 commissions and many perormances o his orks throughout Canada, as e as in Engand, Ireand, and the United States, since moving to Neoundand in the a o 1992 His compositions have had requent radio broadcasts, and he has been aarded many grants by the Canada Counci, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the Neoundand Arts Counci, the Neoundand Symphony Orchestra (NSO), and other organizations His music has been perormed by numerous artists and groups, incuding the Atantic Arts Trio, the Atantic String Quartet, Duo Concertante, Continuum, Mark eer, Rivka Goani, the Hamiton hiharmonic Orchestra, Bev ohnston, the Nashua Chamber Orchestra (USA), the NSO, Barbara ritchard, Symphony Nova Scotia, and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra He as Composer-in-Residence at the Waterord Ne Music estiva in Ireand in anuary o 2003 Cark Ross as aarded Memoria University s resident s Aard or Outstanding Research in 1999, the irst composer to have received that honour Other prizes have incuded Young Composer s Aards or orks in nationa competitions by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Hamiton hiharmonic Orchestra in 1993, and, more recenty, Neoundand Arts and Letters Aards (2002, 2003) Ross hods BA (humanities), MMus, and MusDoc (composition) degrees rom the University o Toronto, as e as an ARCT (composition) He perorms in St ohn s occasionay as a cassica or azz guitarist, and as Music Director (evening services) at St Thomas Angican Church in St ohn s rom

3 NB ay ith no sing, but a azz ee Most dynamics are not indicated (except in 3rd piece), so perormer shoud aim or an improvised ee or dynamics A rhythms stricty notated q = 100 soo; very ree q = Late-Night Bues Cark Winso Ross b Eb Ato Sax # b gro! CD starts here: b - - (Log Drum) (pno:) b b # # (pno:) b - - # b b - - # # # # # # # - - # - n # # b # # # n b # gro (Log Drum) (String Bass) (Log Drums) b #

4 Late-Night Bues/g2 9 b # # n b b b b # b - # b b # # b # (oose staccattos) b n - # b n - - # - b b b # # # b - b - b b - (bend) # n # b n (pno:) - -

5 # b # # - - # b b - Late-Night Bues/g3 b # # # # - - # # # # n - - ` (so) # # b b - gro b b # - - b - - # # # # - (so, expr tr) (c Hi Hat) - ` /

6 Eb Ato Sax 11 A Sax oins in; hr 1 1 hr 2 19 hr A hr 1 Timp: hr 2 hr 3 hr q = 1 Intro hrase 1 Cyber hits: 2 Industria ark Stomp! b (Intro hrase repeated) Cark Winso Ross! b b (D) # n # # # hr b # # b (so) ` ~~~~ End o A, codetta b! b b b # # n b # # End o A (unky bass transition) b - # # # - Str Bass: #

7 Industria ark Stomp! / g 2 B1 pseudo-bainese theme, part 1 Bes: # n b n! # # # (Str Bass:) part 2 # n # (Bes:) b b # b ` ~~ b - b < Ba th part b - b - b - b! b b part 2 b - b b b b b b b b ! - (Mod) part b # b b n # Mod sect'n rep; part # Weird codetta (sect'n extended perc soo) 8e = 9e # b 9 7 Bes: b 8 b B2 Moduation Ba th part b b b b rit poco a poco happy! (dance-ike) b n b b b # -! a tempo ase Ending; viny static

8 rag cont(2nd phr) 128 rag cont(3rd phr) C Dev (ong Re-Transition); perc soo Cymb: 1 (gro) Th A repeated RECA (intro phr 1) Cyber-Impact: Tom-toms: Snare Dr: Industria ark Stomp! / g 3 % Muted Triange: Intro hrase 2 Snare Dr: "ooh!" (gro) Th A ragment (1st phr) b b ƒ (gro) # p ƒ # # # b ƒ unky Bass theme, phr 1 (unky) # (squak!) - # b - - # # phr 2 % # # - p # phr 3 beg, but Th A returns (ase recap) - - # - # b b b p Interuption; dr kit soo b (gro) # # 11 sub π!! b

9 A Sax oins in; hr hr hr 3 hr A hr 1 Industria ark Stomp! / g b b (so) ` (D) # n # # # b # # End o A, codetta b b b # # n b hr 3 # # hr Coda;rit poco a poco 9 b - # # e = e 8! ƒ q = 96 ater cym+ "chirp" # # n! p π b drum q = 1 (S Vibr) b "chirp" giss a niente! k / b drum b drum 198 hr Timp: ~~~~ b b! b drum + cym (hoo crash)

10 (No Sing) Eb Ato Sax (?:) (gro) 3 Suspicious Activity Cark Winso Ross q = 120; (String Bass, sounding M13th oer:) U U b b b - - b b - (norm) (vib) # b # < (norm) b b b - # (gro) (norm) (vib) 2 < (norm) b - b - (vib) (norm) - n # # - # # p π (norm) - # # (vib) - - b - - -

11 ? Suspicious Activity / pg 2 (vib) (norm) b n b b (gro) n n # p < b b b # b n (gro) (norm) < # b n (Co Bes:) (String Bass, sounding M13th oer:) U! b b # n # # - n # - b n # n n # # (iano LH, sounding M13th oer:)? # # p (iano RH, sounding m10th higher:) b b n b b n b n # # n # (String Bass, # n sounding M13th oer:) (norm) n b - b - - (vib) n - n - b b b - b b - b n b # n # n - n n p # # - # # # b p p π (norm)

12 (erc soo:) (Bass oins in:) (erc soo:) (Bass oins in again:) p Suspicious Activity / pg 3 # # - # - n - b n b!! b b b b n b # # - # # p # p (norm) (vib) - - b (vib) b (norm) n b b (gro) n (norm) b n # b b # p < b n (gro) (norm) < # b n U /