Big Band
Bodacious Cowboys:
3 Decades of Steely Dan
Compositions by Walter Becker & Donald Fagen; Arranged for Jazz Ensemble by Fred Sturm
11 jazz ensemble arrangements commissioned and recorded by the hr (Hessischer Rundfunk) Big Band in Frankfurt, Germany. The selections represent a chronology of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen compositions spanning the recorded history of the group Steely Dan over 30 years.
Tango Nuevo:
The Music of Astor Piazzolla
Arranged for Jazz Ensemble by Fred Sturm
8 jazz ensemble arrangements commissioned and recorded by the hr (Hessischer Rundfunk) Big Band in Frankfurt, Germany. Selected from an enormous body of almost 3000 Piazzolla compositions, these works span the final three decades of his life. The 8 showcased pieces illustrate the many facets of Piazolla's unique compositional voice -- his formal and structural daring, his adventurous rhythmic style, and his unique melodic and harmonic vocabularies -- in a single concert program for jazz ensemble.
Take It All
An abstract 'recomposition' loosely based upon the popular standard song "All of Me." Features tenor, trumpet, and drums.
Signal Fires
Fast swing in odd-meter morphs into heavy 12/8 shuffle. Guitar and drum set solos.
Cerulean Sky
Tenor sax solo feature. Ballad in slow 3. Exotic timbres, a rich palette of colors, and a mixture of jazz and classical elements.
Chamber Ensemble
Picasso Cubed (for Saxophone Quartet)
An abstract recasting of Coleman Hawkins' remarkable 1948 unaccompanied tenor improvisaiton titled Picasso. Commissioned by the saxophone quartet JAZZAX and premiered at the World Saxophone Congress XIII.
Black Bottom Stomp (for SATB Saxophone Quartet)
Jelly Roll Morton, arr. Fred Sturm
A quartet adaptation of the superb large jazz ensemble arrangement by Jaxon Stock, which in turn orchestrated the historic 1926 recording by Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers. All 4 saxophones are assigned written solos and virtuosic ensemble parts.
The Wrong Note Rag (for Brass Quintet)
Leonard Bernstein, arr. Fred Sturm
A rousing program finale or encore for advanced brass quintet. The quirky ragtime-influenced work was composed for the 1953 Broadway production Wonderful Town, and this arrangement adds another unique Bernstein selection to the brass repertoire.
Cliff Hangin'
Composed for jazz trombonist Wycliff Gordon and the Penfield (NY) Music Commission Project, the chart explores the blues and trombone plunger mute playing. Trombone parts 1-3 are scored for high school players while parts 4-7 can be played by beginners.
Wind Ensemble
My Robin Is To The Greenwood Gone
Percy Grainger's "ramble upon the old tune of that name" used only the first four measures of the popular English song and was first scored for flute, English horn and six strings. This arrangement is dedicated to wind education pioneer and outdoorsman, Fred G. "Prof" Schroeder.
Vocal Jazz
If I Only Had A Brain
Arr. Fred Sturm
Inspired by Harry Connick Jr.'s unique ballad treatment on his album 20. Scored for 6-part (SSATB) a cappella voices, the arrangement showcases fresh sonorities and intricate voice leading.