The Whirlwind

Hey guys... Jazz time

This is my first good big band piece. I enjoy it, anyhow.

it's pretty weird. it's minor, it's fast... and it's a style that I would consider to be dark jazz (ooo...scary )

it starts out in a way that is supposed to mess with the listener's sense of time. you can't really pick out a tempo because of the short durations of play and the long rests. when I was writing this, I actually had to put a bass drum beat on every quarter, so I could feel what I was doing. when the drum kicks in though, you can really get into the feel of things.

after the second little theme with the alto, clarinet, and flute, that thing would be the solo section. I just put some things in so that it didn't sound empty. when the clarinet starts by itself, you know you're there. this can of course go on for as long as you want it to.

I enjoy this piece overall... no matter how weird it may be

I would love to hear what you guys think!

It's swung, but it felt a bit more like video game music. I can seriously hear that in a game setting. The energy from the drums helps drive and propel the piece, along with the fast paced horns, it's very suited to generate excitement during game play. That's my opinion though.

This piece has a brisk pace with swing and a catchy melody. The intro is strange - I don't think it messes with one's sense of time though, and that might not be a good idea anyway. I thought the percussion solo was too long. A section with a different melody and rhythm , a B section, would improve the structure as you have gone about as far as you can with the one idea - that is, give it an Intro, A,B,A form. Good work.

Agree with previous comment about the strange beginning. I would keep the strange beginning, but maybe make it tie into the rest of the piece more.

Also, you probably know, but the music requires a lot of virtuosi musicians. Some of that trumpet stuff is incredibly hard. Also, I'm pretty sure some of the drum stuff is technically impossible.

It's a great tune, albeit quite hard to play.

Oh, one more thing--I thought the end was kind of just there. It didn't seem to really say that it was the ending. Either add dynamics or rewrite.