Boardwalk

This is the first jazz song I've ever created. I hope you enjoy it: I'll let you be the judge of how well I did though. Any thoughts/comments/criticisms appreciated -- thank you =)

Boardwalk

Nice! The groove reminds me of Take 5, even though it's in 6. If you're writing for drum set, get all of the notation onto one staff instead of two (using split voices). Also keep in mind that the trumpets might drown out the alto if they're not quiet or if the alto's not miked. Next time you might try switching up the trumpet backgrounds too. Keep 'em coming!

nice heavy vibes, but i was waiting for whole thing to turn left and go beserk after bass intermission.

Bravo! I have to say, Zach, this is probably the first piece of yours that I have enjoyed from start to finish. I echo what I said in the shoutbox.. I'd like you to not be afraid of surprising your listener. Go different directions with your music - don't be afraid to try new things! That said, this is really good! Favorited and Ranked!

pretty cool piece zach...it has some good tango vibes to it too..the tpt at the end almost sounds like a bandoneon. I think it could use another little twist to it as well..

hi serge, this is a nice jazzy vibe piece, nice parts on the piano and brasses, the lack of bridge was interfering and was there a solo?

jazz must have a solo!!! well unless you just want to introduce the composition.

Everyone, thank you so much for all your comments! :D

(Yes, the Brubeck influence is not subtle :lol:)

hey , this is a very good piece. lately ive been listening to alot of orchestral jazz , and i think this is pretty well done ! . just one thing , i was expecting some hardcore trumpet or sax solo after the bass intermission.

Why is this labeled as "Early music"? It's not middle ages. :blink:

Nice groove. No - excellent groove. But man was that repetitive. I thought you should have had the sax improv. solo the second repeat instead of play the music on the page. Also, you could voice those octaves in the piano intro as thick jazzy chords to really capture some attention.

About the comment about the trumpets drowning out the sax - ordinarily it shouldn't be a problem, but it sounds like you're using cup-muted trumpets so it should be even less of a problem. Just indicate in the score that you want the trumpets cup-muted and give them a dynamic.

Ah, my bad about the Earl Music thing, I must have mixed this piece up with another one :lol:

Yeah, a crazy sax solo would be nice: I like your suggestion to put it after the second repeat... hmmmm :hmmm:

Thanks for the suggestions :)

Very nice first time! The Brubeck touch definately shows. You're using a lot of rhythms and ideas from Take 5, which isn't a bad thing, but for me it seemed to make the piece.... and I mean this in the nicest way.... less creative. I must agree that it did get quite repetetive, and maybe (since this is jazz) you should put in a specific solo section with changes. I would also reccomend writing a bridge section to make everything more interesting as well. I also wasn't too fond of the beginning and end... but that's just my opinion. I realize I'm kind of bashing into this... but overall it IS a good piece. These are just things that stuck out for me.

Jimmy:

Thanks, and I actually find myself agreeing with a lot of what you've said ^_^ I may revise things and add to it when I go on another of my revising sprees of my older works :lol:

Thanks for your comment :)

Odd instrumentation, there. You might want to rename those parts generic "background part 1,2,3." Seems like you're going basically for a combo instrumentation, and that's what would be written for. Don't know where you'd ever see 3 trumpets backing one sax.

General: the rhythm part makes this sound like the Take 5 spinoff, Take 6 (Take 5 in 6/4). M.11: why not have the all the horns play that long note as a chord? Opening: I'd throw in the chord changes and write on the piano part "ad lib." I get what you're doing, but it's pretty square without some improv.

m.29: same thing.

Echo the comment on putting in a solo for the sax. I was pretty surprised when there wasn't. Be sure to write in the chord changes.

Sax: why is your program using a soprano sax sound? :D

Backgrounds: :cool: Pretty sweet. No complaints.

Piano: gotta fill out those chords, man. When playing chords on piano, general rule of thumb is four notes, excluding the bass parts played by piano. Your pianist's chords are missing their implied extensions and thus their color. Especially in a modal piece like this.

Drums: one staff.

Nice job for your first time writing a jazz chart. Keep at it!

Peter:

Someone voted you down :huh: I corrected it.

Thank you for your thoughts :) I would like to put a solo in, but writing down a solo feels odd. I'd rather just leave a few measures open for the player to just improvise whatever he/she wants to play, so I'll just do that instead. Or, maybe I'll put in an example of what one could do :dunno: I'll think it over.

Again, thank you for your comment :D