One Day Wonder #37

For 2 horns, 1 trumpet, 2 trombones and tuba.

The tuba is an easy instrument to overlook. Sure, it’s massive and shiny, but nobody really thinks of giving it a tune. I give it a tune. The key is to keep the rest of the group as light as possible and eventually let the trumpet have its day. That’s all there is to it! Speaking of the trumpet, I really like the solo I've given it; it's just this side of circus music and a bit beyond the chords. Once again, with a real player, it'll sound much better. The little robot man inside of Finale 2005 executes it perfectly, but, as with many things in the world of art and music, perfection is less than desirable. Jazz is a good example of this aesthetic. You're supposed to collect your flaws and turn them into style. Recently, I've seen a lot of players who don't have any flaws come up through the ranks. In short, that's unfortunately why jazz has become so boring of late. What's my style? (After all, this is a blog and I'm supposed to talk about myself a lot, right?) Well, I don't play high and I try like hell not to play fast. Playing high (we're talking altissimo register) isn't easy, but it's pretty standard these days. And everybody - and I mean every, single, sax, player, in, the, world - plays fast. There hasn't been a Paul Desmond since, well, Paul Desmond, and he's been dead for a long time. OK, enough of this jazz rant. Enjoy this wacky tuba piece.

Click on the title to listen.