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Summer Nights is another work originating from my budding development years, this one from 1982.

This was a time before I returned to college for my Bachelor of Music and Master of Arts in music. I had just finished composing the score for what became an international award-winning documentary on plant cloning, which actually had nothing to do with the concept of this work.

Chick Corea, however, did.

For some reason I had "discovered" the music of Chick Corea and somewhat little about him. That became the initial source of information to compose a work for a small jazz ensemble, but something more suitable for the chamber music concert hall than a jazz nightclub.

Originally, I provided opportunities for solo ad lib. sections, but as I reacquainted myself with this piece, I gradually began writing out the solo parts—as I would for any chamber piece. At first, the written parts were to provide a guide with specific and general instructions. Eventually, though, the composer in me turned this "jazz" piece into a "jazz inspired" work for a small jazz combo.

Typically, a small jazz combo consists of a rhythm section comprised of drums, guitar (electric or acoustic), bass (electric or acoustic), and piano. Solo instruments could be anything, including the solo guitar, some kind of saxophone, trumpet, trombone, clarinet, etc., or a combination of any of these; the idea is to maintain the intimacy a small ensemble can provide.

In the end, I have found prudence in writing out the drum part as a guide, and then trust the drummer to play the right thing. So, although there is still a jazz element to this work, the drum part is rather thoroughly thought out and documented as are all the other instruments.

Chick Corea passed away in 2021. I dedicate this work to him with the hopes that he would have appreciated my efforts and accepted my offer.

Performance time: approximately 4’20"

October 2023
Vanessa McClintock, Composer