Minton's Playhouse

James Syler

Subtitle: For Saxophone Quartet and Wind Ensemble

General Info

Year: 1994
Duration: c. 9:30
Difficulty: VI (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: James Syler
Cost: Score and Parts (print) – Rental ($300.00) | Score Only (print) - $25.00

Instrumentation

Full Score
Solo Saxophone Quartet (Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone) Flute I-II
Oboe I-II
English Horn
Bassoon I-II (optional doubling Contrabassoon)
E-flat Soprano Clarinet
B-flat Soprano Clarinet I-II-III
B-flat Bass Clarinet
E-flat Contra-Alto Clarinet (optional)
B-flat Trumpet I-II-III-IV
Horn in F I-II-III-IV
Trombone I-II-III
Bass Trombone
Euphonium I-II
Tuba I-II
String Bass
Piano
Harp (optional)
Timpani
Percussion I-II-III, including:

Drumset

Cello I-II (optional)

Electronic applause track on CD

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

A modern one-movement concerto grosso for sax quartet and wind ensemble that explores the connection between the Baroque and bebop jazz. Inspired by the famous 1940s New York jazz club in a “third stream” type setting. Completed in 1994 and commissioned by the United States Air Force Band, Washington, D.C.

- Program Note from publisher

Minton's Playhouse is a jazz club and bar located on the first floor of the Cecil Hotel at 210 West 118th Street in Harlem. Minton's was founded by tenor saxophonist Henry Minton in 1938. Minton's is famous for its role in the development of modern jazz, also known as bebop, where in its jam sessions in the early 1940s, Thelonious Monk, Bud Powell, Kenny Clarke, Charlie Christian, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie, pioneered the new music. Minton's thrived for three decades until its decline near the end of the 1960s, and its eventual closing in 1974.

- Program Note from Wikipedia

Three of James Syler's works – Congo Square, Storyville, Minton's Playhouse – can be performed independently or as a larger trilogy titled Three Pieces in Jazz.

- Program Note by composer

Media

Audio: Reference recording. Illinois State University Wind Symphony (Stephen Steele, conductor)
Audio CD: Pacific Symphonic Wind Ensemble - 2005

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

Arkansas Tech University (Russellville) Wind Ensemble (Daniel A. Belongia, conductor) – 10 March 2019
Baylor University (Waco, Tx.) Saxophone Quartet – 21 April 2012
Illinois State University (Normal) Wind Symphony (Stephen K. Steele, conductor) – 24 February 2001 (CBDNA 2001 National Conference, Denton, Tx.)

Works for Winds by This Composer

Adaptable Music

Blue-Bop (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
Hard Times Come Again No More (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1854/2020)
Mam-Blu (Flex instrumentation) (2006/2020)
The Road Not Taken (Flex instrumentation) (1993/2020)
Scintilla (Flex instrumentation) (2018/2020)

All Wind Works

Blue-Bop (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
A Blue Streak (2010)
Cantique (2012)
Congo Square (2016)
Country Bandstand (2002)
Fantasia on Brother James' Air (2023)
Fantasia on "Silent Night" (2011)
Fields (1994)
Galop (as transcriber) (c. 1909/2013)
Gearbox (2009)
Hard Times Come Again No More (Flex instrumentation) (as arranger) (1854/2020)
The Harmonious Blacksmith (as arranger) (1720/2020)
Hocus Pocus (2013)
The Hound of Heaven (1988)
Hymn for Emmanuel (2015)
Love Among the Ruins (2016)
Mam-Blu (Flex instrumentation) (2006/2020)
Minton's Playhouse (1994)
O Magnum Mysterium (1996)
The Road Not Taken (Flex instrumentation) (1993/2020)
Scintilla (Flex instrumentation) (2018/2020)
Seasons (2022)
Silent Shadows to the Last (2017)
Sinfonietta (2012)
Storyville (1996)
Suite Argentine (2020)
Suite Louisiane (2018)
Symphony No. 1, “Blue” (1999)
Symphony No. 2 (2019)
Tattoo (2005)
The Temptation of St. Anthony (2014)
Wu Xing (2016)

Resources

James Syler website Accessed 11 March 2019
Minton's Playhouse, Wikipedia Accessed 11 March 2019
Syler, J. [1994]. Minton's Playhouse : For Saxophone Quartet and Wind Ensemble [score]. Syler Music: St. Augustine, Fla.