Program Notes

Though I played in a rock band and dabbled in improvisation as a teenager, I did not become seriously interested in jazz and improvisation as a creative outlet until my mid-20’s. From about 1975-1984, I would get together with friends and play, and sometimes perform, freely structured jazz improvisations. Though I eventually became more interested in free improvisation, I initially improvised in a more traditional jazz setting that was based around a “tune”.

As a result, after a few years, I had written several tunes for different occasions. Some of these tunes I used in other works of various instrumentation and some were simple jazz tunes. In 1984, since I was no longer playing jazz, per se, I collected these tunes and made arrangements for solo piano. I found them to very versatile as they are short, varied and generally rather easy listening.

I have arranged these tunes into three volumes. Each set of nine tunes is designed to be performed as a group, however, they can be mixed and matched as the performer deems necessary.

     1. African Dance (2′)
     2. Calling Home (3′)
     3. Mist and Memories (4′)
     4. Insomnia (4′)
     5. Only One (4′)
     6. Love’s Promise (4′) 
     7.  Kitewalk (3′)
     8. Cloud Cover (5′) 
     9. Summer Rain (4′)