Little Jazz Suite – Trumpet and Piano

Little Jazz Suite is a jazz suite of four short movements for trumpet and piano accompaniment. The work is of intermediate level and is suitable for the trumpet player of grades 4 – 6 standard. The short movements that form this jazz suite are entitled:

I. Silent Shadows
A slow, mysterious and expressive piece allowing the trumpet player to demonstrate a warmth and beauty of tone. The opening is to be played in free time and has a melancholic feel. Here, the player can use a cup mute for a distant, reflective sound or a harmon mute (with the stem removed) in order to produce a tonal quality rather like the great jazz trumpeter Miles Davis. The ending returns to the free, rubato theme using the same mute as the opening. Silent Shadows should be played with feeling and great expression.

II. Ain’t Got No Time!
A fast paced swing tune to be played with plenty of confidence. This depicts the hands of a clock moving with speed and never stopping as though someone is in a hurry and hasn’t got time to wait (hence the title). The strident and punchy piano opening launches the purposeful manner in which the trumpet should follow upon its entry. There are punchy accents which should be observed at the end of some phrases in the trumpet melody and the articulation should be closely followed to give the desired snappy effect.

III. Blue Over You
After a melancholic piano introduction setting the sad mood, the trumpet enters with a song-like theme. This should be played with expression and beauty of tone as though a vocalist was singing it. The piano introduces a more ‘bluesy’ sounding middle section in which the trumpet joins playing typical jazz chromatic movement and blues notes before returning to the first sad theme. Blue Over You ends with a passage slowing down with longer chords in the piano part and a free triplet motif in the trumpet part which contains crushed notes to enhance the blues flavour of this movement.

IV. Razzmatazz!
This fast and cheeky swing number brings the suite to a close and should be performed in a light-hearted, fun manner. The wide range of dynamics coupled with the sudden accented interjections in the piano add sparkle to this piece. The fast triple notes in the trumpet part should be very precise and the passages should be played with a good finger dexterity. The trumpeter should therefore practice these passages slowly at first, concentrating on pressing the valves firmly with precision. The piano introduces the middle section which the trumpet joins after a sudden chord, to complete the theme. The cheeky fast paced opening theme returns and the piece concludes with a glissando between octave G’s. This can either be performed as a normal glissando or a slide (depressing all valves halfway and slowly releasing).

Little Jazz Suite is a fantastic work that can be performed in concerts, either in its entirety or selected movements. The contrasting jazz styles within the suite offer a range of technical and stylistic challenges for the player as well as a focus on expressive playing and beauty of tone. The suite is great fun to play and is an exciting and enjoyable addition to the young trumpet player’s repertoire.

Enjoy!

Darren Fellows 2020.