Midnight Run (Small Group)

Description

Midnight Run is a very fun piece of mine that gives everyone some room to play.  This piece is in a modified Pop form (verse, chorus, verse, chorus, dance break, verse, double chorus) where we took the dance breaks and turned them into free jazz and added more melody after the double chorus.

The double chorus should feel extremely cathartic!  Originally, this was the second movement of a suite called the Catharsis suite, but I took the first movement and made that the piano intro (that’s why we often leave the intro off during live performance – you can start right at [A] (bass line) when playing live).

This version was the version I wrote first, but the Big Band version was the first to be played.

The key to this is to make all of the odd time signatures feel like that have a lot of groove.

• Simple melody makes sure the rhythm and melody are equal (the rhythm isn’t backing up the melody, it’s a countermelody) – the melody is the unifying element
• Make sure odd time signatures feel relaxed and groover really hard
• Don’t shy away from effects! Experiment to see what allows the tune to come through and be uniquely your rendition
• The piece tends to expand and contract.  Think about that with each of the sections.

Enjoy!