Splash
For trumpet, string quartet, vibraphone, piano, bass, and drums
I wrote multiple versions of my piece Splash because when I was first writing the piece, I envisioned the piece existing as an orchestral piece and also as a piece for jazz ensemble.
The original version of Splash was actually written for coloratura soprano and sinfonietta. I performed the soprano part on the Composers’ Sinfonietta concert in March 2011. Shortly thereafter, I created another version of the piece to be performed by the Cuong Vu Trio, titled A Walk at Dusk, where I arranged the melody in the soprano for trumpet, gave the chords to the electric bass, and allowed a lot of room for improvisation. My next version was written for the Eastman New Jazz Ensemble, directed by Dave Rivello, featuring Colin Gordon on soprano saxophone. I arranged the sinfonietta version of Splash for big band, and gave the soprano melody to the soprano saxophone.
In spring 2012, Mike Kaupa asked me to arrange Splash for trumpet (with effects pedals), string quartet, vibraphone, piano, bass and drums because he wanted to perform a piece on his upcoming summer jazz faculty recital at Eastman.