DOORS WON'T OPEN

2004

8 min.

Jazz Orchestra (5 sax, 5 tp, 4tbn, guit, pno, b, dr)

premiere: Jordan Hall, Boston, 9.3.2006

available through www.ShopTheComposers.com

Description of the Piece:

Doors Won’t Open is a dirty medium/slow 24-bar blues, with a lot of spicy changes that enhance the blues scheme. The piece has a great powerful theme, which is fun to play. Musicians always liked it so far.

The tenor sax is featured in this composition with an extended solo. (Once I also had two tenors solo simultaneously in a tenor battle.)

The theme becomes the source for an interesting developmental section after the solo. It will be presented in canon over a trombone vamp, in a shout chorus with dense voicing’s, in a double-time saxophone soli and eventually scored almost in unison with the whole band, closing the piece very powerful.

This piece is not overly difficult to play, but very effective. The only more challenging part might be the saxophone soli section, but can also be managed by a decent player, without too much effort.

Doors Won’t Open could be used both as a great opener or closer.