Blind Tiger

Joshua Hobbs

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General Info

Year: 2020
Duration: c. 2:35
Difficulty: V (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Neil A. Kjos Music
Cost: Score and Parts - Unknown

Instrumentation

(Needed - please join the WRP if you can help.)

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

“Blind tiger” was another name for a speakeasy, which was an illicit drinking establishment very prominent in the United States during the prohibition era. These gangster-run nightclubs featured the growing genre of jazz music and were one of the first places to allow whites and blacks to mingle socially. The concept of these ‘hush-hush’ societies was very intriguing to me; people of different backgrounds coming together to have a good time in the 1920’s was revolutionary, and I feel like our society has lost sight of this, with the world of music being an exception.

My goal for this piece was to have a fun ‘lick’ for each section to play and others to appreciate, thus bringing us all together in the fashion of a rollicking, funky concert opener.

The percussive introduction serves as a jungle-inspired alarm that spreads through the band. The opening wind interjections are derived out of the rhythms in the percussion section, and are prevalent throughout the piece. Our musical nightclub introduces one idea at a time and eventually we have many ostinatos combining into one funky groove. A vast majority of the melodic material in the piece is inspired by the "Bb Blues. "

- Program Note by composer

Media

Audio: Reference recording. MIDI realization

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

VanderCook College of Music (Chicago, Ill.) Symphonic Band (Alexander Kaminsky, conductor; Yu-Sui Hung, piano) - 17 December 2021 (2021 Midwest Clinic)

Works for Winds by This Composer

And More (2021)
Blind Tiger (2020)
Flight 19 (2011)
Into the Blue (2016)
Keystone Landscapes (2018)
The Life in Your Years (2019)
Many Hearts One Pulse (2017)
Muse (2014)
Outbreak (2013)
Turn the Page (2017)
Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare (as arranger) (1924/2015)

Resources

Joshua Hobbs website Accessed 15 December 2021