Artist Blog

John Yao: Points in Time

Points in Time by John Yao & His 17-piece Instrument (JY-17 for short) is set for release on July 11, 2025, on multiple streaming platforms. It chronicles my musical and personal journey over the past 20 years since moving to New York City from Chicago. The album has been 10 years in the making. It’s hard to believe, but yes, sometimes a big band album takes that long! The album draws on some of my favorite tunes from my discography, taking small group compositions and expanding them for big band, as well new pieces written in the intervening years. This is the story of how the music for this album came together.

After the release of my first big band album Flip-Flop by John Yao & His 17-piece Instrument in 2015, I founded the “Big Band & Beyond Concert Series,” which included the premiere of new works with three concerts from 2015-16. We also held a monthly residency at the ShapeShifter Lab for several months in early 2016. The band was playing a bunch, and even though I enjoyed every moment of it, I got burned out from the day-to-day tasks of leading a big band. Booking venues, players, subs, fundraising, grants, publicity, prepping parts, printing/taping parts (all the things that have nothing to do with playing or writing music), took a toll on me, and I needed a break. Like I said in the liner notes for Points in Time: a funny thing about recording a big band album—it makes you want to never do it again!

I turned my attention back to the trombone and to composing/arranging for other people’s bands/projects, and during this time I founded a new project, John Yao’s Triceratops. The challenge of writing for three horns, bass, and drums, with no piano or guitar scratched my composition and arranging itch. Also, around this time, I was commissioned by several musicians and friends to take their small group songs and arrange them for big band, which kept my big band urge at bay. As I did more arrangements of other people’s songs, I started to wonder—what if I arranged some of my own small group songs for big band?

My plan was to get at least one song from each of my previous four small group albums. I wasn’t able to grab a tune from every album, but I ended up going with “Not Even Close” and “Triceratops Blues,” that latter of which was the first tune written for the Triceratops project. “First Step” was originally intended for my first quintet album, but even before forming the JY-17, I recognized that it was meant to be a big band chart. Both “Upside” and “Finger Painting” were commissioned for high school ensembles; Points in Time is bookended by updated versions of these commissions. “The Other Way” is one of my first ventures into twelve-tone technique and points the way to a new compositional direction.

Points in Time marks not only my musical journey, but my personal journey too. In 2009, my girlfriend—now wife—Natalie was diagnosed with cancer. And to put it mildly, it was a difficult time. Needless to say, I had a lot of emotions during this time, and one of my coping mechanisms and outlets was writing music. One morning, Natalie was feeling frail and exhausted; she asked me to take her on an early morning walk to get some fresh air. She remembers this walk vividly, and me being the great partner that I am—I don’t remember it at all. “Early Morning Walk” is a musical depiction of what I imagined her journey must have been like—starting strong, facing doubt, then pushing through to a triumphant finish. In celebration of her clean bill of health several years later, I wrote “Getting Good News” (which we’ve not yet recorded).

After several years of enjoying our newfound freedom, we finally decided to explore having a family together. Before Natalie had started chemo, our efforts to prepare for this were not successful, and years later, after several rounds of IVF, we finally had three embryos. The first two didn’t work out, and we were extremely fortunate that our third and final one was successful. I was so overjoyed and euphoric, and I needed a way to channel all these feelings. “Song for Nolan” was the vehicle for these emotions and was written in celebration of the birth of our son. Composing music, for me, is a great way to celebrate when things are going well, and an outlet for when life throws you a curveball. Little did I know that I was creating a musical journal of my life during this time.

In reimagining small group compositions from my discography into big band arrangements, I encountered several challenges. The process of revisiting these older songs proved to be more difficult than I imagined at first. Breaking my attachment to the original song took some time, and in the beginning, I felt boxed in. After reconnecting with the song and letting go of the original version, it finally dawned on me to treat them like they were someone else’s song—basically, take the same approach I had been using when arranging another person’s song for big band all these years. Duh!!!

I won’t go into detail here about each song, but rather focus on the steps I took when arranging “Triceratops Blues.”

Once I got the ball rolling, all the usual questions started coming up: How much of the original song’s character do you want to retain? Are you going to deconstruct it and put it back together to make a totally new song? Are you looking to drastically change the original intent and mood of the song? Or have the big band arrangement sound similar and beef it up using existing material from the song? For “Triceratops Blues,” I chose the last option. My goal was to keep the original character but dress it up in different clothes and develop the existing melodic and harmonic material. My plan was to develop one of the vamp’s using transposition and reharmonization, all while incorporating material from the melody. As you can see on the roadmap of the arrangement, this development section came after the solos.

 

 

Original Version:

 

When compared to the original, small group version,  you’ll notice how the big band arrangement is very similar on the first line of the timeline, just bigger and with more players. But once you get to the end of the first line in the roadmap, the new and developed material kicks off, including a trombone soli, ensemble send-off and following the solos, the development, call and response with drums and ensemble, shout chorus, and finally a coda make up the rest of the chart.

The development (listen above starting at 4:48) is where I really expanded on the song, transposing vamp #2 up a half-step several times. And each time it moves up, it uses the same bass motion but with new sonorities above, ranging from sus chords and 4th voicings to bi-tonal chords. While the harmonic landscape is changing below, several motives from the theme, combined with new motives, are passed around the ensemble, building in intensity and activity until a final big chord. Here’s a piano reduction of the harmonic structure of the development section:

Click to view full PDF

I ended up writing Interlude #2, the development, and the coda all at the same time, and then distributing the material according to how close or how far from the original I wanted it to sound. Arranging my small group compositions like “Triceratops Blues” and others tunes on Points in Time really allowed me to explore the songs in a deeper fashion. It also gave me an opportunity to put my melodic fingerprints on these songs in a way that I hadn’t done before.

The experience of putting all this music together—music that came from different personal and musical milestones in my life over the last two decades—has really made me appreciate the process. From composing to recording, to post-production, to mastering, to distribution, and then to publicity, the life cycle of a large ensemble project is long.

While I worked on Points in Time, I also played trombone on several other composers’ big band projects and kept up with colleagues’ projects as they went through various stages. Observing them has made me appreciate the process even more.

It makes me happy to know that I’m not the only ‘crazy’ one—that others out there, like me, are willing to carry the torch for large ensemble jazz. We all know it’s completely unsustainable and financially crippling, but we do it anyway because we love the music. We have to do it.

I’ve come to realize that forwarding this genre is like running a marathon, where we each carry a torch that represents our love and dedication to this music. We carry this torch for as long as we can before we run out of energy, and then we pass it on to the next person—and the process continues.

With Points in Time, I’m happy to say that after many years, I’ve picked up the torch with both hands. And when I run out of energy, I look forward to passing it on to the next person.


About the Author:

For almost twenty years, John Yao has been honing his talents as a trombonist, composer and arranger, and cementing his place on the New York City jazz scene. Yao’s lyrical soloing and expressive, round tone, combined with his relentless drive to push the boundaries of harmony and rhythm, have established him as a unique and forward-thinking jazz talent.  Yao has earned wide acclaim. In April 2025 he was appointed to the 100th class of Guggenheim Fellows in the field of Music Composition.  In 2023, Yao earned a place in both the Rising Star Trombone and Rising Star Big Band categories in the DownBeat Critics Poll.  Lucid Culture proclaims, “John Yao is one of New York’s elite trombonists,” and All About Jazz called him “a strong compositional voice and effective band-leader able to use his 17-piece band to paint across a wide spectrum and infuse his complex writing with a thoughtful balance of audacity, structure, humor, and sonic might.”

Masterfully leading and composing the music for both his large and small ensemble, Yao has released five albums as a leader.  John Yao Quintet’s debut album In the Now (Innova Recordings, 2012) followed by Presence (See Tao Recordings, 2017).  In between, Yao released his first big band album Flip Flop (See Tao Recordings, 2015) by John Yao and His 17-piece Instrument.  DownBeat magazine declared “[Flip-Flop] showcased Yao’s unpredictable compositions and inventive arrangements, which spring from tradition while pointing towards future portals.”  John Yao’s Triceratops Albums How We Do (See Tao Recordings, 2019) and Off-Kilter (2022) have been called “complex, modernistic and updated, full of counterpoint, it’s very accessible and so much fun” by Hot House Jazz.

As a trombonist, Yao has worked extensively as a sideman for Grammy-award winning New York City ensembles, such as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, New York Afro-Bop Alliance Big Band and Manuel Valera’s Cuban Express Big Band to name a few.  He has also performed with such esteemed musicians as Paquito D’Rivera, Eddie Palmieri, Danilo Perez and Chris Potter among many others.

As a composer/arranger, Yao has been commissioned to write arrangements and original works for the Afro-Latin Jazz Orchestra, New York Afro-Bop Alliance Big Band, JMI Jazz World Orchestra, and numerous other professional ensembles.  He has been commissioned to write programs for the Arsonore Spirit Orchestra (Graz, Austria), Joseph Bowie’s Defunkt big band, Joe Fiedler and Angel Subero. In addition, Yao writes for both educational and professional ensembles with over two dozen works published and available on ejazzlines.com, sheetmusic.com and ijazzmusic.com.

An in-demand educator, Yao serves as Assistant Professor of Trombone at Berklee College of Music and Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College and as Adjunct Professor of Music at Molloy University. He is an XO Brass Clinician, as well as an active guest artist and soloist at colleges and universities throughout the United States and abroad.

 

Cover photo credit: Chris Drukker

Artist Blog

Elio Villafranca: Tres Aguas – A Retrospective

Tres Aguas – A Retrospective by Elio Villafranca

I’m thrilled to share my journey with Tres Aguas, a deeply personal and ambitious Big Band suite commissioned by Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center. More than just a creative milestone, this work is a musical exploration of the historical, cultural, and rhythmic threads that connect the Americas, Spain, and Africa. It serves as an homage to the Big Band traditions of both Cuba and the United States—reimagined through the lens of Afro-Diasporic music, dance, and movement.

Last March at Dizzy’s Club, I had the honor of performing Tres Aguas with my own ensemble. While its premiere with Wynton and JLCO was unforgettable, this rendition was deeply personal and artistically fulfilling.

The Cuban Big Band Legacy

While the Big Band era in the U.S. evokes names like Ellington, Basie, and Goodman, Cuba developed its own parallel tradition. Thanks to the research of musicologist Leonardo Acosta, we now recognize Cuba’s early contributions, beginning with the Jazz Band de Sagua in 1914—just a year after the Original Dixieland Jazz Band formed in New Orleans.

Orquesta Cuba, 1928.By the 1920s, Havana was home to several prominent bands, such as Jaime Prats’ Cuban Jazz Band (1922), Moisés Simons’ All-Star Band (1924), and the Orquesta Cuba (1928). These groups blended American jazz elements with Cuban instrumentation—trumpets, saxophones, violins, güiros, and percussion—creating a distinct hybrid sound. By 1929, Cuban bands began aligning more closely with the American Big Band model, incorporating saxophones, trumpets, trombones, piano, guitar, bass, and drums, all while retaining a distinct Cuban flavor through rhythmic complexity and percussive layering. This approach of layering is one of the most essential components in Cuban music.

One of the most fascinating aspects of Cuban music—and something I draw on constantly in my own compositions—is how it layers rhythm like a mosaic. You don’t just have a beat; you have a conversation happening between different rhythmic voices. And when it’s done well, it creates a sense of forward motion and tension that is felt intensively. This kind of rhythmic layering isn’t just musical—it’s cultural. We inherited this approach to music from Africa in the many forms of musical traditions brought to Cuba during the cruel Transatlantic slave trade, and it reflects the way African, European, and Indigenous traditions, to a lesser extent, coexisted and evolved in Cuba. These weren’t just musical blends; they were ways of surviving, of expressing identity, and of staying connected to ancestral memory.

Here’s an example of a rhythmic transcription of an Arara pattern from the Jovellanos region of Matanzas, Cuba, that illustrates rhythmic layering.

In this example, the three drum parts—Hun (high-pitched), Huncito (mid-pitched), and Hunguedde (low-pitched)—interact to create a unique rhythmic melody, while the Hunga drums improvise. The Atcheré (shakers) and the Ogan (bell) provide the foundation. Similar concepts were employed by arrangers in the horns section of Cuban Big Bands throughout their history in Cuba, which I’ll later illustrate in this article.

In the 1930s, bands like Lecuona Cuban Boys emerged with a refined, woodwind-heavy style. In contrast, groups like Hermanos Castro Orchestra brought a brassy, energetic flair, influencing ensembles such as the all female ensemble Orquesta Anacaona, Casino de la Playa, and Havana-Riverside.

As Havana became a hub for musical innovation, Cuban bands infused swing, boleros, sones, and guarachas with Afro-Cuban polyrhythms, forging a vibrant dialogue with American jazz. The result was a uniquely Cuban Big Band sound—sophisticated, rhythmic, and globally influential.

Mambo, Bolero, and Innovation

The mambo emerged in the late 1940s, rooted in earlier danzón and son forms. Though its origins are debated, Dámaso Pérez Prado popularized the genre with hits like Mambo No. 5, defining a new orchestral language using layered brass, saxophone riffs, and Afro-Cuban rooted rhythms.

Simultaneously, the Cuban bolero, originally an  intimate vocal-guitar style, was adapted for Big Band, turning it into a danceable, orchestral genre. Figures like Benny Moré and Bebo Valdés brought jazz and classical sophistication to the bolero and mambo alike. Bebo, a key innovator, introduced the rhythm batanga and worked with stars like Nat King Cole, arranging for his Cole Español album.

Partial look at part I cover (EAP 1-1031) of the Cole Español Album for Capitol Record under the direction of Armando Romeu Jr. It includes the songs: Cachito, Maria Elena, Las Mañanitas and Quizás, Quizás, Quizás.

A great example of rhythmic sophistication in the Mambo and this layered rhythmic brilliance sounds is best explained in this video of Beny Moré and his Banda Gigante in action:

 

After this brief overview of Cuba’s rich Big Band tradition, I’m eager to delve into my Tres Aguas Suite and share some of the fundamental techniques I employed in its orchestration.

Tres Aguas: Reimagining the Big Band

When Wynton approached me to compose a piece for the JLCO, I saw an opportunity to create something truly innovative—a suite that would blend jazz, Afro-Diasporic traditions, and classical music.

Writing for Big Band is, in my opinion, one of the most demanding forms in jazz—not just because of its complexity, but because it’s difficult to find a truly original voice within it. That challenge pushed me to look beyond conventional methods. Instead of starting my composition process at the piano, I immersed myself in traditional dances and rhythms, allowing the movement to guide the music. Observing dance traditions and the rhythms they generate on the floor inspired me to shape Tres Aguas from the ground up—rhythm first, then harmony and form.

Growing up in Cuba, I was heavily trained in classical music. To be more precise, I was trained by Russian teachers or Cubans who graduated from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. As a result, my compositional process is always influenced by classical music compositional techniques and harmonies, while drawing the rhythmic parts of my music from my rooted Afro-Cuban music. Jazz is the place where I put everything together—the swing feel and the freedom of invention. Each movement reimagines the Big Band not just as a swing machine, but as a vessel for cross-cultural storytelling.

Photo by Adriana Mateo

Tres Aguas is structured as a four-movement suite, each exploring a unique cultural dialogue through rhythm, dance, and instrumentation.

  • “The Fight” is inspired by Jack Johnson’s 1915 boxing match in Havana. It features tap (New Orleans) and zapateo (Afro-Peruvian) dance, highlighting tensions and triumphs during the Jim Crow era. The instrumentation includes washboard, banjo, and cajón.
  • “Palos for Agua” pays tribute to flamenco, with references to Manuel de Falla’s Danza del Fuego. Featuring flamenco guitar, cante jondo, and dancers, the piece cycles through Solea, Rumba Flamenca, and Bulerías.
  • “Two in One” blends bebop horn lines with Afro-Cuban Santería drumming. Featuring three batá drummers and a dancer interpreting Yemayá, it represents a ritualistic union of jazz harmony and Yoruba spirituality.
  • “Conga y Comparsa” evokes the Santiago de Cuba carnival. Dancers wearing chancletas (wooden sandals) create percussive textures that blend seamlessly with the orchestration. The movement highlights Cuban street traditions and communal celebration. The “Baile de la Chancleta,” or “Dance of the Sandal,” is a footwork form of dance that originated in the Eastern part of Cuba during the colonial period.

Polyphony Meets Polyrhythm

What makes Cuban Big Band music so thrilling is this fusion of polyphony (multiple melodic lines) with polyrhythm (multiple rhythmic patterns happening simultaneously). The voices don’t blend into mush—they stay distinct, but they interlock. In Tres Aguas, I used extensively this approach of layering. For example, in the movement “Two in One”, I have the batá drums performing an Oru del Igbodu—a sequence of rhythms honoring the Orishas—while the Big Band is playing a bebop-inspired line. The tension and release between those two rhythmic worlds creates something new. It’s not chaos—it’s controlled collision.

Listen to a traditional batá rhythm for Ogun in this example, which beautifully showcases the rhythmic layering I mentioned earlier.

 

In Yoruba music, particularly in sacred batá drumming, the rhythmic melodies of the chants and the distinct roles of each drum interlock seamlessly. Each drum contributes its own unique rhythmic identity, yet they all collaborate harmoniously to produce a rich, complex polyrhythmic texture.

This isn’t just rhythm stacked on rhythm—it’s a conversation between patterns, where each voice holds its place in the larger groove. That concept of layered rhythm deeply influenced my writing. The most prominent example of my polyphony-meets-polyrhythm approach can be found in the final section of “Palos Por Agua – Part II.” My objective was to establish a climax that would propel the transition from Rumba Flamenca to Bulerías. To achieve this, I meticulously assigned specific rhythmic and melodic lines to each section that were distinct in nature yet harmoniously complemented each other. First, let me illustrate a basic Bata rhythmic pattern in the Yoruban religion of Santeria. The layering technique is very ubiquitous among the different forms of Afro-Cuban drumming traditions. Each drum’s melodic pattern is interacting with each other in order to create one melody.

In the score excerpt provided below, you’ll observe how I employed a similar approach:

Click to see the full excerpt

Here’s an illustration of this section’s rhythmic scheme, which will help you see better some of the layering technique I employed.

 

Here is another example, but on this case is an excerpt of TRES AGUAS II – Two in One – Part II Score (page 27)

Click to view larger page

Lastly, here’s an illustration of the rhythmic scheme employed in this section, which will help you better understand some of the layering techniques I used.

The Afro-Diasporic Thread

At the heart of Tres Aguas is the African Diaspora—its rhythms, migrations, and cultural resilience. Just as Cuban Big Bands once fused these traditions into something new, Tres Aguas honors the past while reshaping the Big Band as a modern vessel for storytelling and connection.

In composing this suite, I sought to create a dialogue between cultures, not just across geographies, but across time. This music is a reflection of who we are—an echo of memory, movement, and identity—and a step forward in the ongoing journey of Afro-Diasporic expression in jazz.

Explore the music

Lecuona Cuban Boys:

Hermanos Castro Orchestra

Orquesta Casino de La Playa

Orquesta Riverside

Beny Moré Orchestra

Tres Aguas – The Fight

Tres Aguas – Palos Por Agua

Tres Aguas – Two in One

 


About the Author:

Born in the Pinar del Río province of Cuba, Steinway Artist, Grammy Nominated, and 2014 Jalc Millennium Swing Award! recipient pianist and composer Elio Villafranca was classically trained in percussion and composition at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, Cuba.

Since his arrival in the U.S. in mid 1995, Elio Villafranca is at the forefront of the latest generation of remarkable pianists, composers and bandleaders. His concert Letters to Mother Africa was selected by NYC Jazz Record as Best Concerts in 2016. In 2015, Mr. Villafranca was among the 5 pianists hand picked by Chick Corea to perform at the first Chick Corea Jazz Festival, curated by Chick him self at JALC. Elio Villafranca’s new album Caribbean Tinge (Motema), received a 2014 Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik Nomination by the German Records Critics Award, as well has been selected by JazzTimes and DownBeat magazines for a feature on their very competitive section Editor’s Pick. He also received a 2010 Grammy Nomination in the Best Latin Jazz Album of the Year category. In 2008 The Jazz Corner nominated Elio Villafranca as pianist of the year. That year, Mr. Villafranca was also honored by BMI with the BMI Jazz Guaranty Award and received the first NFA/Heineken Green Ribbon Master Artist Music Grant for the creation of his Concerto for Mariachi, for Afro-Cuban Percussion and Symphony Orchestra. Finally, his first album, Incantations/ Encantaciones, featuring Pat Martino, Terell Stafford, and Dafnis Prieto was ranked amongst the 50 best jazz albums of the year by JazzTimes magazine in 2003.

Over the years Elio Villafranca has recorded and performed nationally and internationally as a leader, featuring jazz master artists such as Pat Martino, Terell Stafford, Billy Hart, Paquito D’Rivera, Eric Alexander, and Lewis Nash, David Murray, and Wynton Marsalis among other. As a sideman Elio Villafranca has collaborated with leading jazz and Latin jazz artists including: Chick Corea, Jon Faddis, Billy Harper, Sonny Fortune, Giovanni Hidalgo, Miguel Zenón, and Johnny Pacheco among others.

This year, 2017 Elio Villafranca received The Sunshine Award, founded in 1989 to recognize excellence in the performing arts, education, science and sports of the various Caribbean countries, South America, Centro America, and Africa. He is based in New York City and he is a faculty member of Temple University, Philadelphia, The Juilliard School of Music, New York University, and Manhattan School of Music in NYC.

Artist photo and cover photo by Adriana Mateo.

Artist Blog

Zhengtao Pan: Scenery In My Story

Zhengtao Pan: Scenery In My Story

Counterpoint writing in modern large jazz ensemble music

 

I recently released my debut jazz orchestra album, “Scenery In My Story,” with Outside In Music. Initially planning to study film scoring at Berklee, I was captivated by the sounds of big bands, particularly Jim McNeely’s work. Despite my growing interest, I struggled to see myself as a “jazz musician” among peers who were more experienced.

Meeting my first jazz mentor, Steven Feifke, was transformative. He introduced me to pivotal albums like Maria Schneider’s “Concert In The Garden,” Steven Feifke’s “Kinetic,” and Miho Hazama’s “Dancer In Nowhere.” These albums were my first real experiences with jazz, much to the disbelief of many. Steven’s advice, “You don’t need to be good at playing to write music,” reshaped my approach. This reassurance led to my first big band piece, “Dancing In The Dream,” and continued growth in compositions like “Mirror, Floating On The Water” and “On That Bus.”

While my cultural background discouraged making mistakes, I’ve overcome a long way to see them as opportunities for growth. Embracing 融会贯通 (integrating knowledge), I explored diverse influences—from folk-inspired melodies to heavy-metal djent combined with Messiaen modes. “Scenery In My Story” embodies my Berklee journey, highlighting that personal expression shapes our music.

After a little bit of my background, musical journey, and the inspiration for this album I’d like to talk about an essential compositional technique that I use throughout the album: counterpoint.

 

Counterpoint writing for large jazz ensemble in modern setting

Counterpoints are very useful tools in jazz, and because of the certain level of space and freedom given in a jazz setting, counterpoints don’t have to follow strict rules to create a certain effect. Instead, counterpoint can be used as an interesting way to express your ideas musically in large jazz ensemble music.

When I write counterpoints, which are usually very independent from each other, I often think in terms of “tension” and “release.” The tension is created by the independence and rhythmic dissonance of each line, while the release usually serves as a “syncing point” where there is a more common vertical texture for the band to come together. Ex. 1 is a basic version of this technique.

Ex.1 – Arranged by me, the intro material from m.1-8

 

In a more complex setting, such as utilizing this technique to create an interlude, I also like to use it, but the “syncing point” functions as a background element to support the horizontal lines moving upwards or downwards, in this case. Doublings are also a very powerful way to let different imitations be heard more clearly.

Ex.2 – “Mirror, Floating On The Water” m.178-184

 

In an extremely complex setting, there are some “fugal” textures that can also be used under the same mindset, which is not just “imitation” and “syncing point.” It’s more organic, allowing you to put counterpoint or other linear lines underneath the most important melodic line you want the audience to hear, while simultaneously developing the counterpoint material and adding more layers that ultimately reach the “sync point.” The rhythm section, even the drums, can be utilized in this way. To me, in this rare case, you will achieve an organized yet chaotic sound.

Ex.3 – “On That Bus” m.77-81

And sometimes, we don’t really need a complex sound. A simple two-part counterpoint can allow the ear to take a rest and create a moment in the music without the rhythm section. The “sync” point can come before the individual counterpoints; it doesn’t always have to come after the individual lines. The counterpoint doesn’t always has to be “imitation” as well, it can be two completely different melodic lines.

 

 

Can this compositional mindset also be used in chorale writing? Of course! As I mentioned, you can use it very organically. In this chorale, I use “syncing” points and counterpoint together, creating a more vertical effect, which makes the counterpoint sound like an inner moving line within the chord progressions.

 

Ex.5.1 – “Windy Days” opening chorale part 1

Ex.5.2 – “Windy Days” opening chorale part 2

By utilizing this effect, you can create something “in sync” while still having interesting inner lines within the chord progressions.

Last but not least, and this one is just for fun – some classic canonic textures from late 20th-century composers like György Ligeti, Witold Lutosławski, and Sofia Gubaidulina are characterized by a huge canon with micro-polyphony texture among different instruments in the orchestra. In the extreme case below, the entire brass and woodwind sections function as part of a larger canon, while the guitar distortion sound (the unmeasured rhythms created by the buzz effect) and the drum solo (out-of-time rhythms) create rhythmic micro-polyphony, leading up to the very last moment of the “syncing” point, which serves as the ending of the whole piece.

Ex.6 – “On That Bus” outro excerpt

 

As a newcomer to the jazz world, I’m eager to compose more music, embrace new challenges, and continue using this art form as a means of self-expression.

 

Album Spotify Link:

Album Stream Link:

https://found.ee/Zhengtao-Pan-Scenery-in-My-Story

 

About the author:

Zhengtao Pan is a composer and arranger born in 2003 who grew up in Shanghai, China. Currently studying Jazz Composition and Composition at Berklee College of Music, his commercial game works include “Mist Sequence,” “Lost Soul Aside,” “One Piece: The Bloodline,” and “Arknights,” among others. He has worked on music outsourcing for companies like ByteDance, Masaya Games, and miHoYo.

Beyond media scoring, Zhengtao Pan excels as an arranger and orchestrator for jazz orchestras and Big Bands, with his concert music premiered by ensembles like the HyperCube ensemble, Cascadia Composers, and Webster University.​

His achievements in music composition have led to his music being selected as the best large instrumental composition in the Jazz Education Network and 3-time winning the Downbeat Student Award for small & large ensemble composition/arrangement. He also secured victories in the ASMAC Pat Williams Composing and Arranging Competitions and earned first place at the Bridges Composition Competition at Ravinia Jazz Festival.

His Big Band works have been performed by renowned artists including Grammy-winning artist Steven Feifke’s Big Band, jazz saxophonist Alexa Tarantino, and the Eastman New Jazz Ensemble directed by Dave Rivello. Zhengtao collaborates with esteemed musicians such as Benny Benack III, Walter Smith III, Itai Kriss, and Andrew Gould for his debut Big Band album “Scenery in My Story,” which will be released under the NYC-based jazz label “Outside In Music.” His collaborations extend to the Budapest Scoring Orchestra, Budapest Jazz Orchestra, US Jazz Ambassadors, European Recording Orchestra, Shanghai Symphonic Orchestra, Belarus Sonic Orchestra, and more.​

Recently, he engaged in collaborative efforts with acclaimed artists Rufus Reid, Steve Wilson, and Sara Gazarek on his 2nd Big Band album, further demonstrating his dynamic presence in the jazz and wider music community.

Zhengtao Pan is also active in the digital space as an online streamer on the Chinese streaming platform Bilibili, where he shares music from his Vocaloid and virtual singer projects, amassing over 1 million views. His popular works, like “Secret Treasure Traveler,” have garnered widespread praise. Zhengtao believes that every note is a tool to express his identity, continuously enriching the global music landscape through his diverse collaborations and creative endeavors.

 

Artist Blog

Rachel Eckroth: Speaking in Tongues

Last month, a two year collaboration finally came to fruition. My long time friend and colleague, John Hadfield, a phenomenal drummer and percussionist reached out a few years back to do some dates with a French jazz artist he was working with – John currently resides in Paris. Within the time we were doing these Europe shows, we realized that our musical connection was fun and also deep, and that we had to do something about it. So, the idea for this duo project was started in the summer of 2023. It became a much bigger endeavor than we originally imagined, but I suppose that’s how things often go. The idea of piano and drums alone really doesn’t have any obvious tradition except maybe for through composed concert music. And in the realm of jazz, it’s not done too often, so this was the first challenge to explore. We wanted something that could tour easily, something sustainable and something that transcends the boundaries of genre. Our initial thought was to be solely improvisational. This was the simplest conceptual idea in terms of being ready for a performance NOW. So in order to get things started, we’d need to get together in a studio so we could figure out what our sound would be and forge a sonic identity. We both arrive to this project with diverse musical influences and points of study. John holds graduate degrees in western classical percussion, and also has spent many years studying with masters of Gamelan in Indonesia, Carnatic Music in India and Gnawa and Berber music in North Africa. He has graced many prestigious stages performing with orchestras as well as playing in groups with progressive jazz musicians such as Brad Shepik and Ron Blake. My foundations are in modern jazz but I also…

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