The Sages of Future Soul featuring Shawn W. Davern (trombone soloist), 2023
Year: 2014/2023
Duration: 6:00
Difficulty: Medium
Originally written for the Boston University Wednesday Combo.
World Premiere in October 2014 by the Boston University Wednesday
Combo. Josh McDonald, Director.
A full jazz ensemble arrangement featuring trombone soloist was arranged for the Sages of Future Soul in 2023. Performed and recorded by The Sages of Future Soul Live at Clementine Cafe in Harrisonburg, VA in August 2023.
Program Notes
It’s All Good was first written as a composition assignment for a jazz combo class I took while at Boston University. The class was extremely formative and I was lucky to develop my knowledge of improvisation and jazz history under the direction of Josh McDonald. While not my first composition, It’s All Good marks my first jazz inspired composition, with heavy elements of both funk and Bossa nova. Fast forwarding about 10 years later, I decided to arrange It’s All Good for the Sages of Future Soul, a jazz ensemble I co-founded, lead and write for. I was inspired to arrange the composition to feature a trombone soloist, based off the playing and compositions of two of my absolute favorite trombonists of all time: Marshall Gilkes and Wycliffe Gordon. The trombone solo in It’s All Good is a demanding one, with the soloist expected to play notes in the pedal register, all the way up to high Eb. Flexibility is key when performing this solo and the trombone soloist will also be expected to improvise throughout the composition. Improvised solo space in the solo section is also implemented in different parts of the ensemble, and the group should be comfortable with switching between straight and swung sixteenth note grooves. The full jazz ensemble arrangement was performed and recorded by The Sages of Future Soul Live at Clementine Cafe in Harrisonburg, VA in August 2023.
Boston University Wednesday Combo, Josh McDonald (director), 2014
Shawn W. Davern 