Description
Whimsies was written in 2011 for my longtime friend and colleague, Burnette Dillon, who was recording a virtuosic solo trumpet CD. Burnie wanted a brass trio that would feature himself, Jim Atkinson on horn and Bill Booth on trombone. These guys are some of my closest friends in the world. We have worked together on thousands of gigs including Hollywood Movie and TV scores, the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra, Pacific Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and chamber music. I know their playing very well and tried to show off each in this work.
Whimsies, like much of my music, is a “stream of thought” kind of writing. I wrote fragments and developed, twisted and combined them. The end result was a whimsical, one movement piece with several contrasting sections. I also like to write music that is challenging, “fun” to play and hear, and music that may have humor. This all came together in Whimsies. The piece begins with an intro followed by several episodes of imitative and scherzo-like material. Then comes a lighthearted a waltz. This blends into an Arioso based on jazz harmonies. A thorny, dissonant fugue crashes the calm followed by more Arioso and a subdued interlude of lush chords that change nearly every beat. The Last section of the piece goes into a Reggae feel (I seem to slip into things like that). The foot stomps fit the mood but also give the musicians an occasional bar of rest in an otherwise busy part. A brief return and development of the original intro material punctuates the groove. This is followed by more Reggae, which fades and ends, very whimsically, with three foot stomps.
Jim Self is a Los Angeles free-lance musician, a veteran of thousands of motion pictures, television shows and records, and tuba soloist on many prominent movies. He is Principal Tubist with the Pasadena and Pacific Symphonies, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and the Los Angeles Opera and Opera Pacific orchestras. His compositions and arrangements include works for solo tuba, brass quintet, and other brass and woodwind chamber music.
More about Jim and his recordings can be found here:
Basset Hound Music – http://www.bassethoundmusic.com
