Johnny Hodges
for solo alto saxophone
6 minutes
dedicated to Marcus Weiss
Chicago, September-October 2011
Conceived of as an homage to the playing of Johnny Hodges, Torch Song takes advantage of the saxophone’s remarkable ability to emulate the lyrical qualities of the human voice. Hodges’ technique, so well suited to ballad playing, relies on the expressive use of vibrato, glissandi, and timbre.
In addition to the technical aspects of Hodges’ playing, Torch Song also makes use of its stylistic devices, one of the most important of which is the dynamic, endemic to the performance of jazz standards, between an ideal musical structure and its incompletely realized or expressively embellished interpretation. The material in Torch Song is underpinned by a simple melodic/harmonic structure that, through the employment of temporal stretching and expressive nuance, should be brought to the brink (but not beyond) of imperceptibility.
Premiere
Marcus Weiss, saxophone
Lutkin Hall
Evanston, IL
February 1st, 2012
Listen
Torch Song mp3
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Marcus Weiss, saxophone
Score
Torch Song score