Review

Frank Niemeyer
Duneden: for Jazz Trombone Quintet and Rhythm Section
4 tenors, 1 bass trombone, rhythm section

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2020
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts

Primary Genre: Jazz Material - ensemble
Secondary Genre: Trombone Ensembles - 5 trombones

A trombonist on the faculty of Lincoln College (IL) at this writing, Frank Niemeyer composed Duneden during his D.M.A. studies in Jazz Trombone Performance at the University of Illinois. The composition is a lush and sentimental ballad written in remembrance of his childhood home and of the composer’s father. The piece incorporates jazz and classical elements and references harmonies from John Coltrane’s Giant Steps.

The rhythm-section parts should be considered required, with the possible exception of guitar; and each player should be able to read written figures as well as (excepting drums) chord changes. The piece begins with a melancholy, written piano solo cued in other parts but not to matching depth and impact. The closing written piano solo is not cued elsewhere at all. The key signature of the piece has no sharps or flats, but plenty of accidentals arrive during the composition.

Scoring features the trombones in rich chorale style, with an eight-bar section of lead-trombone ballad improvisation over the Coltrane-esque chord changes. The lead part ascends to d-flat², second part to b¹; the third and fourth parts are of moderate range not needing a trigger; and the bass trombone part is of collegiate/professional level, with frequent trigger-notes down to C. The clear notation includes dynamics and articulations for the entire ensemble. The portrait-oriented score often contains only two or three measures; so page-turns abound. However, all the trombone parts are two pages long, entirely set in bass clef.

This is a thoughtful, stirring complement to the more hectic pieces in your trombone ensemble’s concert program. You can find a demo recording of the five-minute piece on the Cherry Classics web site, as performed at the 2017 International Trombone Festival by the University of Illinois Jazz Trombone Ensemble with rhythm section. As with many Cherry Classics products, the arrangement is available as a download and/or print-shipping.