Sammy Nestico Award

I just mailed off my submission for this year's Sammy Nestico Award, a big-band composition competition put on by the US Air Force Airmen of Note big band in Washington, D.C. The winner has his/her work performed at the 2011 Jazz Heritage Series in D.C. and is flown out to attend, with a possibility of a second comission.

I submitted a chart called "Enigmatism" that I wrote for the CSU Northridge "A" Band, during the 2007-08 school year. It is probably my most complex (and therefore difficult) piece for big-band so far, with themes revolving around 9-beat and 7-beat cycles, dense harmonies, woodwind doubles, and even a little bit of group improvisation. I'm proud of this piece and it's ability to go a few different places while staying connected to itself.

The CSUN "A" Band only ended up performing it once, with drum faculty Dick Weller sitting in, as well as the great Brian Kilgore deriving an amazing percussion part from the drumset chart. Soloists are Will Wulfeck (tbn) and Phil Fiorio (tpt), with Erick Jovel on lead trumpet.

Luckily, the performance was recorded. You can listen to it HERE.

Wish me luck in the competition!

This Weekend

I've got two gigs this weekend that I'd like to share.

First, I'm playing with drummer Alex Smith for his official CD release concert. The concert will feature Alex, myself, Tim Fischer (guitar), Paul Krueger (piano), and Emilio Terranova in various configurations from trio to quintet. You can expect a mixture of standards, arrangements, and originals, and a lot of swinging.

Saturday, October 16th
6-7:30pm
$10 suggested donation

Trinity Lutheran Church
4783 W 130th Street (Corner of Inglewood and 130th)
Hawthorne, CA 90250
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Second, I am jamming a short set with Orkestar MÉZÉ at the Bulgarian Festival in Griffith Park on Sunday. Free admission, free parking, kid friendly, and lots of great Bulgarian food, music, and culture. The festival runs 10:30am-5:30pm, we play at 1:30 for about 45 minutes. Come by if you are around and want to get a little Bulgaria in your life!

Orkestar MÉZÉ @ BG Fest
Sunday, October 17th
1:30-2:15pm (Festival from 10:30am-5:30pm)
Free admission/parking

Griffith Park (Crystal Springs Picnic Area)
4730 Crystal Springs Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90027


Hope to play for you this weekend!

Octet

Plans have been set in motion for a new group, an octet. I'm very excited about the people to be involved, and I've begun writing a piece and forming the concepts for the group in my head. With this group, I will be reaching deep into my influences and aesthetics, and trying to push a little farther, to more extremes, than I have previously. In other words, I will be avoiding any sort of "stylistic editing", trying to adopt an "anything goes" attitude when I get an idea, and follow the music to wherever it wants to be.

The instrumentation will be 2 woodwinds, 2 trombones, 2 guitars, upright bass, drumset. More info to follow!