A meditation on reflection. Mirrors and water both return an image, and the title sits at that overlap, physically impossible but conceptually precise. The instrumentation replaces the standard brass book with four flugelhorns and a full trombone section, giving the ensemble a softer, more diffused sound that suits the material. Flutes and clarinets carry most of the melodic weight in the upper register. The piece moves slowly and deliberately, with long arching lines and a harmonic language that hovers without quite resolving.
Flute 1
Flute 2
Clarinet 1
Clarinet 2
Bass Clarinet
Flugelhorn 1
Flugelhorn 2
Flugelhorn 3
Flugelhorn 4
Trombone 1
Trombone 2
Trombone 3
Bass Trombone
Guitar
Piano
Bass
Drums
Composer: Zhengtao Pan | Difficulty - Level 5
Pan grew up near the sea in Shanghai and found the wind coming off the Boston Harbor familiar in the best way. This piece holds that feeling: not dramatic weather, but the ordinary pleasure of a breezy day in a city you are still learning. The instrumentation mixes standard big band brass with flute, alto saxophone, and clarinet taking turns at the melody. The writing is clean and rhythmically alive, with enough forward momentum to carry a full seven minutes without feeling stretched.
Flute
Alto Sax
Clarinet
Tenor Sax
Baritone Sax
Trumpet 1
Trumpet 2
Trumpet 3
Trumpet 4
Trombone 1
Trombone 2
Trombone 3
Bass Trombone
Guitar
Piano
Bass
Drums
Composer: Zhengtao Pan | Difficulty - Level 5
Reimagining Pingtan (评弹) — the traditional storytelling music of Shanghai and Suzhou teahouses — through a big band lens. This piece channels childhood memories of sipping pu'er tea while Pipa melodies floated through air thick with tradition. Rufus Reid's exquisitely lyrical bass conjures the spirit of Chinese instruments like the Pipa (琵琶) and Guqin (古琴).
Instrumentation:
Alto Sax 1
Alto Sax 2
Tenor Sax 1
Tenor Sax 2
Baritone Sax
Trumpet 1
Trumpet 2
Trumpet 3
Trumpet 4
Trombone 1
Trombone 2
Trombone 3
Bass Trombone
Guitar
Piano
Bass
Drums
Composer: Zhengtao Pan | Difficulty - Level 5
Talea’s Colour is a blues-inflected large ensemble work blending semi-atonal techniques with traditional jazz vocabulary. An understated melody shared between trombone and alto saxophone opens the piece, gradually cascading and fragmenting across the horn section over a repetitious, rhythmically displaced bassline. A sparse harmonic texture over the tenor saxophone solo opens space for chromatic exploration before the ensemble surges into a driving shout section three-quarters through. The title references the Baroque isorhythmic motet, where the “talea” is a repeating rhythmic cell in the bass and the “colour” is a recurring pitch series; here, the bass moves in groupings of four against melodic material in groupings of five, creating a layered metric tension that propels the piece. The instrumentation mirrors a traditional big band with bass clarinet substituted for baritone saxophone, and drummers should be comfortable moving between rock-adjacent feels and swing.
Alto 1
Alto 2
Tenor 1
Tenor 2
Bass Clarinet (Low C)
Trumpet 1
Trumpet 2
Trumpet 3
Trumpet 4
Trombone 1
Trombone 2
Trombone 3
Bass Trombone
Guitar
Piano
Bass
Drums
Composer: Andrew Alcocer | Level 5 — Advanced
Terminality is not a typical jazz chart. It unfolds slowly across a wide range of contemporary influences, building toward a final section that owes more to Godspeed You! Black Emperor than to any big band tradition. It reads as unusual on paper, but an ensemble with real experience will find their footing quickly.
Alto 1
Alto 2
Tenor 1
Tenor 2
Bass Clarinet (Low C)
Trumpet 1
Trumpet 2
Trumpet 3
Trumpet 4
Trombone 1
Trombone 2
Trombone 3
Bass Trombone
Guitar
Piano
Bass
Drums
Composer: Andrew Alcocer | Level 5 - Advanced
No results match your search. Try removing a few filters.