Struttin'

Part 1 of Red Beans & Ricely Yours (Commissioned in honor of Louis Armstrong by ASCAP and IAJE and premiered by the Jazz Surge at the 2001 IAJE Conference in New York.) If you can imagine what blues-tinged New Orleans hip-hop/funk might sound like...well, you're well on your way to capturing the esssence of this chart. After a wistful rubato opening, the groove emerges gradually before the head (suggested very loosely by Louis' 'Struttin' with Some Bar-B-Que') is stated. All the while, however, a little dixie-like front line pokes its head up from time to time to comment on the state of affairs. Generous solos are given to tenor and trombone before the groove departs much as it arrived. Opt'l Gtr 2 and Perc. Doubles.