Suite for Big Band

Abstract

Suite for Big Band is a series of original compositions for a traditional 17-piece large jazz ensemble. The three-movement collection lasts approximately 18-19 minutes in its entirety. The goal of the suite is to present both the audience and performers with an enjoyable and challenging, yet still accessible, composition that utilizes a combination of both modern and traditional jazz-writing techniques. It features many different members of the ensemble, as improvised solo sections are provided for several different individual instrument parts. Each movement contains its own central melodic theme, with other various smaller themes occasionally appearing throughout. There are, however, instances of thematic melodic and harmonic material overlapping between pieces. For instance, the first motivic material presented in the first piece, Second Wind, is the same motivic material that is used to end the final piece, Revival. Each movement is also tonally centered to a different minor scale, with a substantial amount of the underlying harmonies being comprised of a series of stacked perfect fourths and fifths used in combination with both minor and major seconds. The main melody of each movement is also first presented early in a clear fashion by a small group of horns with rhythm section before eventually being joined by the rest of the ensemble. While traditional instrumentation for big band usually utilizes each horn section as a singular cohesive unit, members of each section instead play independently from one another for a majority of each movement of the suite.