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
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
