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An Interview with John Clayton
In this interview with Paul Read, John Clayton recounts his compositional origins, his processes, and his advice for young composers.
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Michael Phillip Mossman: On Arranging
Michael Phillip Mossman reflects on his work as an arranger, how those opportunities shaped him, and a few pieces of directly applicable tips and ideas.
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Ryan Keberle: Eight Things I’ve Learned About Jazz Composition and Arranging as a Freelance Trombonist
Ryan Keberle talks about soloing, technique, and conception; eight lessons he’s learned while playing great composers’ music as a freelance trombonist.
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Bob Mintzer: The Ever Evolving Writing Process
Bob Mintzer reflects on his process as a composer through his background, techniques for generating ideas, and executing those ideas.
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Terry Promane: Give Me 5
Terry Promane discusses his 5 favorite arranging topics dealing with preparation, practice, and process.
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Paul Read: Minor and Major Seconds, 1959, Transcribing, Score Study and other Reflections
Paul Read reflects upon 5 things he’s learned in his career so far and the process of his growth and development.
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Rick Lawn: Lessons I’ve Learned
Rick Lawn outlines 4 lessons for process and art that he’s learned over his career thus far. Additionally, he offers a software tool to help all writers – the Orchestrator’s Toolkit.
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Bill Dobbins and Concerto for Jazz Orchestra: the Use of a Twelve-Tone Row in a Large Scale Jazz Composition
(Click here to hear Concerto for Jazz Orchestra) From the time I became the principal director of the WDR Big Band in the fall of 1994, I started thinking about the possibility of composing a multi-movement concerto for jazz orchestra specifically for that band. I decided that, if it was to be for a jazz orchestra, it should be written expressly for the special qualities of the particular musicians in the band and should also showcase the skills of the individual sections as well as the full ensemble. However, it wasn’t long before my interest in the immediate projects at hand and the excitement of writing for a wide range of internationally known guest soloists kept my creative imagination occupied and the idea of the concerto was forgotten. For some unknown reason, my attention returned to it during the spring of 1999, while looking forward to a good deal of free time in the summer months just ahead. It seemed like the time was right, and I planned to compose the piece in time for one of the band’s fall programs. The idea of a concerto for jazz orchestra was initially inspired Bela Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, one of my favorite pieces of music since my college days in the mid and late 1960s. In terms of overall dimensions, Bartók’s scheme of five movements also appealed to me. It seemed to me that five movements could more completely display the exceptional ensemble and solo skills of the WDR Big Band and also allow for maximum range of tempos, expressive moods and orchestral colors. I eventually decided that the outer movements would be relatively fast swing in 4/4, with the slow movement in the middle, also in 4/4. For contrast, the second movement would be a medium tempo jazz waltz and…
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David Berger’s Answers to Common Jazz Arranging Questions
Inspired by an advice column, David Berger presents 10 questions that he had as a young arranger, and answers those questions in this excerpt from his book, “Creative Jazz Composing and Arranging.”
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Adam Benjamin on Jazz Composition
In his essay on Jazz Composition, Adam Benjamin explores originality, practice, and methods for the jazz composer.
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John La Barbera On Arranging – Part 2
John La Barbera continues his “On Arranging” series talking about melody and pragmatic advice for composers.
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