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Sharp Nine
Subtitle: For condensed, adaptable instrumentation
General Info
Year: 2020
Duration: c. 3:25
Difficulty: II-1/2 (see Ratings for explanation)
Publisher: Omar Thomas
Cost: Score and Parts (print) - $75.00
Instrumentation (Flexible)
Full Score
Part 1
C Instruments
- Flute (8va)
- Piccolo
- Oboe
- Mallets
B-flat Instruments
- B-flat Clarinet
- B-flat Trumpet
E-flat Instruments
- E-flat Alto Saxophone
Part 2
C Instruments
- Flute (8va)
- Piccolo
- Oboe
- Mallets
B-flat Instruments
- B-flat Clarinet
- B-flat Trumpet
E-flat Instruments
- E-flat Alto Saxophone
Part 3
C Instruments
- Bassoon
- Trombone
- Euphonium B.C.
B-flat Instruments
- B-flat Tenor Saxophone
- B-flat Clarinet
E-flat Instruments
- E-flat Alto Saxophone
F Instruments
- Horn in F
Part 4
C Instruments
- Bassoon
- Trombone
- Euphonium B.C.
B-flat Instruments
- B-flat Tenor Saxophone
- Euphonium T.C.
E-flat Instruments
- E-flat Baritone Saxophone
F Instruments
- Horn in F
Part 5
C Instruments
- Bassoon
- Trombone (bass part)
- Tuba
- Bass
B-flat Instruments
- B-flat Bass Clarinet (8va)
E-flat Instruments
- E-flat Baritone Saxophone
Piano
Percussion
- Bass Drum
- Snare Drum
Errata
None discovered thus far.
Program Notes
Sharp Nine is a grooving, stomping 12-bar blues in B-flat, written in a straight-eighths New Orleans ragtime-style march, which pays homage to jazz cornetist and early jazz pioneer Charles Joseph "Buddy" Bolden. It is a first and significant step in my writing towards bridging the gap between the worlds of traditional wind ensemble and improvisation in a jazz context. Sharp Nine serves a vehicle to introduce young musicians to the rich sounds of natural and altered tensions on dominant chords, and to give them the opportunity to take choruses of improvisation using the blues scale. I’ve included a blues improvisation beginner’s guide so that anyone and everyone can give it a shot!
This piece is written for five parts to accommodate various instrumentations and can be played with as few as six players and at a relatively wide range of tempi. Sharp Nine also provides opportunities for the musicians to compose their own blues-based riffs to support whoever is soloing in the moment. Solos can be full choruses (a chorus is 12 measures), multiple choruses, “trade 4s” (where two or more musicians trade 4 bars of soloing), or concurrent (where soloists solo at the same time). There are bass line cues in both Part IV and the piano part so that the onus doesn’t fall on Part V to play nonstop throughout the entire piece.
I sincerely hope that this piece becomes a vehicle for your musicians to become acquainted with their instruments, their musicality, and their relationship to ensemble playing in a new and exciting way! May it open the door for them to explore and experience jazz and the blues, and may it expand what they thought possible both on their instruments and in this ensemble configuration!
- Program Note by composer
Media
State Ratings
None discovered thus far.
Performances
To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project
- South Dakota State University (Brookings) Concert Band (Kevin Kessler, conductor) - 25 April 2021
- University of Nebraska (Lincoln) Snider Concert Band (Scott Walker, conductor) - 25 April 2021
- Mid America Freedom Band (Kansas City, Mo.) (Lee Hartman, conductor) – 28 February 2021
- University of Colorado Boulder Concert Band (Zach Cheever, conductor) - 7 December 2020
- Cuesta Wind Ensemble (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) (Jennifer Martin, conductor) – 23 November 2020
- Ball State University (Muncie, Ind.) Campus Band (Brent Echols, conductor) - 11 November 2020
Works for Winds by This Composer
Adaptable Music
- Emma Catherine (Flex instrumentation) (2004/2009)
- Sharp Nine (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
All Wind Works
- Candor (2021)
- Caribana (2021)
- Come Sunday (2018)
- Emma Catherine (Flex instrumentation) (2004/2009)
- The Low-Down Brown Get-Down (2020)
- Moods and Attitudes (2023)
- A Mother of a Revolution! (2019)
- Of Our New Day Begun (2016)
- Sharp Nine (Flex instrumentation) (2020)
- Shenandoah (as arranger) (2019)
Resources
- Creative Repertoire Initiative
- Omar Thomas website Accessed 16 June 2020
- Perusal score