Suite on a Jazz Theme

On the workWritten originally for swing band in the 1970's in a work called "A Minor Excursion" I chose a rather bland tune for this suite. What originally brought this work alive was the improvisation and variation of the tune. Therefore this suite is a set of variations on the opening movement and I did this in homage to the original work. For me it’s the following movements which make the work. The Prelude is just a simple statement of the theme with a small middle eight section which hints at the work’s origin as a jazz piece. The rest of the movements grow from the opening and explores the Prelude in various ways. This is really jazz meets symphonic development. The theme can be clearly heard in all the movements but as the work reaches its conclusion the theme becomes more and more fragmented. The first performance was given on 20 November 1993 at Saint Edmund’s Church, Village Way, Beckenham, Kent by the Bromley Oecumenical Singers and Orchestra, conducted by Tomas Creagh-Fuller. (Adrian Connell)Duration: 15 minutes