Three Portraits (2008), II: In Memoriam, by Greg Simon

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Three Portraits (2008), Movement II: In Memoriam, by Greg Simon.

Featured Performers:

Julia Barnett, flute
Kristen Denny, clarinet
Filip Lazovski, violin
Psyche Dunkhase, cello
Christopher Hatton, piano
Adams Collins, percussion
Michael Boone, conductor


Three Portraits is my attempt to combine my two sound-worlds, jazz and concert music. As a jazz trumpeter I've often searched for a way to integrate jazz into my composition; however, most efforts to write concert music with a jazz flair turn out self-conscious and almost campy, save for very few successful efforts. I wanted to marry these two universes in a more organic, nuanced way than simply writing a jazzy concertpiece. My answer was to write three simple movements that derive from three of my favorite jazz standards. As every jazz musician knows, after years of calling these tunes in bars and coffee shops they become intrinsic, almost a second language of sorts; so with Three Portraits my challenge was to break my preconceptions about these songs and reimagine them in my own compositional style.

In Memoriam is based on Joe Henderson's Recorda-me. The title of the tune, which translates to "remember me," was my principal inspiration; this movement remembers the musicians that do so much to give these old songs new life and new identity. The theme is very slowly stated over the course of the piece; the melodic material and smaller-scale form are derived from the solos on the original recording of Recorda-me by saxophonist Joe Henderson, trumpeter Kenny Dorham and pianist McCoy Tyner. Each of these soloists is featured separately, and the final section combines them into a mournful, passionate counterpoint. In Memoriam is dedicated to Clifford Brown, Booker Little and Eric Dolphy, three important musicians whose lives and careers were ended far too soon." - Greg Simon

Please visit http://www.gregsimonmusic.com.
Copyright 2008 Greg Simon (ASCAP)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• classical
• jazz
• chamber
• Recorda-me
• Remember
• Me
• Joe
• Henderson
• Greg
• Simon
• Pendulum
• Boulder
• Denver
• Colorado