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New 2018 Music Charts by Michael Jefry Stevens
Today This Moment (Chart Download) - Michael Jefry Stevens
This piece is written with a straight 1/8 note feel during the composed material. The A section of the piece is in C Minor and the B section is in F minor. This blowing can start off in C minor (using this 1/8 note feel) and can eventually move into a more open (atonal without any semblance of the song form) structure. The musicians should not feel constrained at all by the structure of the composition. It is written so that players can feel free to express themselves. This piece is good for players at all levels. Nothing terribly difficult. The piece can begin and end on the written open C minor vamp. Cue the melody in.Price: $49.95
Oskar (Chart Download) - Michael Jefry Stevens
Oskar was composed as a dedication to Oscar Peterson. It is written in a 12/8 shuffle blues feel. The form is only 8 bars long. The harmonic structure is almost entirely altered dominant chords. The piece is meant to function within the context of a “Blues Feel.” Tritone substitutions are used extensively throughout the composition. This is not a difficult piece to perform or improvise over. This should be really great fun for beginners and more advanced students alike.
The 6 bar coda is played at the very end and repeated for as long as the band wants. It works great when all players improvise together at the same time and gradually fade out to the very last chord.Price: $49.95
In The Garden (Chart Download) - Michael Jefry Stevens
This composition is an extended “Blues” form in A minor. Blowing is entirely over an A minor 12 bar traditional blues form. The written composition, however, extends the form with an alternating ¾ and 4/4 (two bar segment). This segment is quite difficult as it uses various whole tone and chromatic parallel fourth sequences in unison. The bass and cello have a simplified version of this two bar segment, and if necessary, they can play by themselves and the remaining musicians can rest during this part of the piece. Alternately, the players can choose to play only the first note of each triplet (or the first 2 notes). The main melody is quite simple but the musicians must pay attention to the change of meters!!Price: $49.95
What About The Future? (Chart Download) - Michael Jefry Stevens
This is essentially a through-composed ballad. The A section is played solo by the piano and can be very rubato! At section B the strings enter and play virtually the same melodic and harmonic structure as the piano played at A. This is not rubato. The solo structure is built around the 2 measures at section F repeating (C major to E minor). This structure can be utilized for a single soloist or for a group solo. On cue the band moves to measure 67 and slowly ends the piece. I would think this piece is on the advanced side of things, but not impossible to perform once the ensemble gets used to the harmonies and the rhythmic changes. The 2 bar vamp is lots of fun to play on at the end.Price: $49.95
12 Chatham Road (Chart Download) - Michael Jefrey Stevens
I composed this composition using two distinct 12 tone rows. These rows begin at Letter B. The piece can be performed at any tempo and is not very difficult. The hardest part is the changing time signatures. The improvisational section is extremely open and “free” in nature. The music, as you can imagine, is atonal. However, the music is still extremely melodic and should be enjoyable for students of any level.Price: $49.95
Parallel Lines (Chart Download) - Michael Jefry Stevens
This piece is quite difficult. There are 2 melodies playing simultaneously (the bass line or cello line, and the violin melody) but each melody is quite independent. This makes great demands on the individual players to stick to their guns with their separate melodies. The harmonic structure is quite simple, however (all minor chords). The solo section can be strictly over the “changes” or depending on the level of the ensemble the musicians can also move the music into a very chromatic arena, not necessarily sticking to the initial minor harmonic foundation.
The coda comes at the end and is repeated over a drum solo. This is a straight 1/8 note rhythmic feel but can go anywhere once the solos start.Price: $49.95
Quirky Waltz (Chart Download) - Michael Jefry Stevens
This composition is quite difficult in many respects. Rhythmically it is 5/4. The melodic phrasing consistently flows across bar lines, which is challenging. The ostinato 5/4 bass part and “comping” part alternate between different instruments. The blowing section alternates between the two tonalities. Although the harmonic structure is not dense, the chords themselves are somewhat ambiguous and the soloist should initially think about soloing modally over the different changes.Price: $49.95
For Galo (Chart Download) - Michael Jefry Stevens
This composition is a long form with a bass ostinato that repeats rhythmically throughout the piece. It is a perfect piece for beginners as well as advanced students. The solo section consists of only 4 chords, repeating back and forth over 16 bars. It is ¾ time and revolves mostly around F minor and C major, or variations of that harmonic scheme. Price: $49.95
Crow (Chart Download) - Michael Jefry Stevens
This is by far the most difficult piece in this series of compositions. There are three distinct elements of the piece that are superimposed on each other constantly. All this takes place over a compound time signature of 6/8 plus 7/8. The first element is the initial bass line. The second element is the primarily 1/8 note arco melody that the violins introduce. The third element is the pizzicato counterpoint to the bass line that enters at letter C in 1/16 notes. Finally the melodic element is re-introduced in its complete form. This proceeds into a “free improvisation” section in which the bass ostinato can be repeated by any instrument or by no instrument. Finally the piece moves to the coda which quickly moves to the ending. When each rhythmic element is played correctly the effect is quite exhilarating. However, this piece is extremely difficult and should be performed only by the most advanced students.Price: $49.95
Maria, Maria
(intermediate) Billy adapted this tune for a swing arrangement, and he takes an amazing solo. The cello alternates between walking quarter notes and playing in a two feel. The accompaniment violin/viola should be sensitive to the cello by sometimes chopping and sometimes playing legato or syncopated double stops, but always being careful to keep the groove and leave space for the soloist.Price: $15.00
Groove Merchant
(Advanced difficulty) Get your groove on! Billy plays an amazing intro alone on this tune, showing just how funky the violin can be. Cello can try alternating pizzicato and arco and seeing what’s comfortable. Don’t be thrown off by the notated “chopping” parts in this arrangement. You might be better off simply listening to the recording and emulating the chopping as you hear it.Price: $15.00
Turkish March
From the European acoustic trio’s second album, Klazyc (2004). This is another flashy, and sometimes wacky, piece to add for an encore to your set. Audiences always love it because it’s so familiar and sounds very virtuosic. The version recorded on “Klazyc” should be self-explanatory. Instead of a “free” piano solo at the end, we’ve made some motific suggestions for a “free” string quartet solo. (Please note, this arrangement is formatted for string quartet, but could be easily adapted by you for trio).Price: $15.00
The Oracle
(Intermediate) This is a fun, modal tune, in 6/4 meter with straight (not swung) rhythms. The main vamp in d minor should be comfortable for everyone in the group to solo over, while more advanced soloists will want to play over the form. Billy uses a great off-beat-based, double stop accompaniment style, and the melody lies easily on violin. Watch the temptation to use too much vibrato!Price: $15.00
It Never Entered My Mind (Download)
(Difficulty: Beginner-Intermediate) This ballad features a simple ostinato bass line in the cello, legato double stop accompaniment in the second violin (which can also be divided between viola/violin or 2nd violin/3rd violin), and a simple melody which can be interpreted by the 1st violin very broadly. This also works well with a freely improvised cello solo as an intro to the tune.Price: $15.00
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