Charles H Ruggiero

Tenor Sax

Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Large Chamber Ensemble, Boppish Blue Tinged, 2010
Instrumentation, Program Notes

Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Large Chamber Ensemble, Boppish Blue Tinged, 2010
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Instrumentation: One player per part: Fl, Ob, Bb Cl, T Sax (doubling Sop Sax), Bsn, Hrn, C Tpt, Trb, Tuba, Perc, Pn (doubling Cel), Harp, A Sax, Vln 1, Vln 2, Vla, Vlc, DB, Cond

Duration: ca. 19-20 min.

Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Large Chamber Ensemble - Boppish Blue Tinged (2009)

Dedicated to Joseph Lulloff and Raphael Jimenez
Program Notes

Boppish Blue Tinged

The title of this concerto, Boppish Blue Tinged, is meant to be suggestive rather than unambiguously descriptive. Tinged refers, in part, to trace influences from jazz and other twentieth-century American musical genres that may be heard throughout the concerto, but especially in the first movement. One of my goals for the chaconne-like opening movement is to create variable textures and composite rhythms that suggest some of those created by the inspired improvised interplay of the great jazz “combos” (like the piano-bass-drum trios lead by Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett, Chick Corea, etc., and the quartets and quintets of Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, Gerry Mulligan, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Gary Burton, and so many others.), but it’s not my intention for much of this composition to sound like traditional jazz or any other familiar style of music.

Although it’s not based on a blues form or harmonic progression, I hope the second movement, Blue, conveys the kinds of emotional meanings that often are such an important part of blues performances. If the attitude of the first movement morphs from something like “confident energy” to “menacing force,” then the blue mood of the second movement might be thought of as “sorrowful” or “soulful” or, perhaps more accurately, “seeking solace and enlightenment”—but such linguistic translations of musical phenomena, I feel, always must be taken with a grain of salt.

Boppish, the last movement, like much of the music of the tragically self-destructive Charlie Parker and other troubled bebop masters, is intended to be infectiously animated and life affirming. Although little melodic or rhythmic material is shared among the different movements of Boppish Blue Tinged, and each movement is more-or-less complete in itself, the third movement is, nevertheless, intimately connected with the music and emotions of the previous two movements of the concerto. All three movements, in fact, are based on the same fundamental musical foundations and form a three-movement emotional arch.

To suggest some of the “emotional meanings” (a vague choice of words, to be sure) of this concerto, I have fashioned several questions for each movement.

Tinged: Tinged with what? Why does desire often lead to pain? Why do vitality and power sometimes overwhelm our better selves? Is the purpose of certain truth too often intolerance?

Blue: When and why do weeping for joy and weeping to wash away our pain meet?

Boppish: Why boppish? Why not the march or the hip-hop beat? Where (to what spiritual dimension or level of enlightenment) does the Parker train lead us? (March 3, 2010)

Dig: JSB-1, for saxophone quartet (sop., alt., ten., bar.), 2003
Instrumentation, Program Notes

Dig: JSB-1, for saxophone quartet (sop., alt., ten., bar.), 2003
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Instrumentation: Sax Quartet (SATBari)

Duration: ca. 7:00 min.

Dig: JSB-1, A Transmogrification of the 4th Movement of J. S. Bach's Sonata in G Minor for Violin Solo - for Saxophone Quartet (2003)

Commissioned by the Capitol Quartet

David Lewis, Baritone Saxophone
Joe Lulloff, Soprano Saxophone
Anjan Shah, Alto Saxophone
David Stambler, Tenor Saxophone

Dig: JSB-1 for saxophone quartet, is about confluence and transmogrification (defined in one dictionary as: a changing "into a different shape or form, especially one that is fantastic or bizarre"). Dig plausibly could be called an arrangement of the last movement of Bach's solo violin sonata in G minor. However, instead of arrangement or transcription, I use the word transmogrification to categorize this work, because in the second half of Dig the degree to which I've changed Bach's music, and the aesthetic criteria I have employed in making those changes, transform the work, in my view. What starts as an arrangement ends as a composition. Consequently, this work explores relationships between tradition and innovation, translation and creation, presentation and origination.

The Capitol Quartet's ability to play different styles of music extremely well, their capacity for making rapid yet coherent stylistic transformations during their performances, and their dedication to bringing a wide variety of rich and challenging music to their audiences, is inspiring. Shortly after the quartet's delightful performance at Michigan State University in February of 2003, Anjan Shaw, the Capitol Quartet's alto saxophonist, invited me to write a piece for the group's upcoming CD. After attending their MSU performance and discussing the commission with Anjan, it became clear to me that a serious goal of the Capitol Quartet is to enrich the repertoire of the saxophone quartet in innovative ways. Furthermore, they are committed to fashioning recital programs and recording projects that will infuse the performance of music from the baroque and classical periods of European art music with a vitality that is, in part, borrowed from jazz. In the Capitol Quartet's performances and recordings one finds an appealing convergence of classical music, popular American music, and jazz, a convergence that resonates with me.

In the fall of 2002, before hearing the Capitol Quartet's MSU performance and before Anjan raised the possibility of me writing something for the quartet, I had thought about writing a saxophone quartet based on the last movement of Bach's Sonata in G Minor for Violin Solo, a piece that I had played on marimba when I was Vic Firth's student at the New England Conservatory in the 1960s. I had enjoyed playing the piece, and neither I nor my teacher had any qualms about playing it on marimba—-after all, Bach himself had arranged a number of his works, including some for solo violin, for performance on other instruments!

One November or December morning, while listening to the local PBS FM radio station, I heard a recording of the Bach G-minor sonata and decided that I would enjoy turning it into a piece for saxophone quartet. I can't explain exactly why, but as I was listening to the broadcast, the piece seemed to beg to be "translated" into a saxophone quartet piece. However, being busy with other projects, I didn't begin writing the piece until after learning from Anjan that the Capitol Quartet was interested in doing a CD focusing on classical music, particularly the music of J. S. Bach, and that they wanted me to write something for the group. What a nice confluence of interests and opportunities!

The first part of the title of this composition, Dig, is a play on words. Everything in this piece is based, more or less, on Bach's violin sonata movement. Parts of the composition are little more than arrangements of chunks of Bach's solo violin music for saxophone quartet; however, in much of the quartet, Bach's melodic lines, rhythms, and implied harmonies are rearranged, deranged, displaced, elaborated upon, etc. I've transformed Bach's music in ways, some of which I hope are pleasantly unexpected, that reflect my interests in and experiences with jazz and twentieth-century European and American composition.

This kind of "borrowing" and metamorphosing has been done by many composers (Bach himself, Ives, Stravinsky, Berio, and many others), but some distinguished musicians have frowned upon the practice. Pierre Boulez, for example, in his essay "Bach's Moment," has characterized composers who have borrowed material from other composers as "grave robbers." I prefer to think of such borrowings as musical archaeology; hence my title Dig (as in archaeological dig). But since in this piece I'm attempting to transform Bach's violin piece, using, in part, jazz harmonies, instrumental techniques, and rhythmic concepts, the title also is intended to suggest that I "dig" (i.e., admire, like, respect, etc., in jazz parlance) Bach's music and would like, through the Capitol Quartet, to bring it to the attention of many performers and listeners who otherwise might not encounter it.

Dig: JSB-1 is dedicated to the memory of Theodore O. Johnson, who was my friend and colleague at Michigan State University for more than 30 years and who wrote two books on the music of J. S. Bach. (November 2003)

SizzleSax II, for tenor saxophone and percussion, 2001
Samples, Instrumentation, Program Notes

SizzleSax II, for tenor saxophone and percussion, 2001
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Samples:
Excerpt - Ruggiero's SIZZLESAX II
From - Faculty Recital
Joseph Lulloff, tenor saxophone, Jon Weber, percussion
(Used by permission. Unauthorized duplication is not permitted.)

Instrumentation: T Sax, Perc

Duration: ca. 14:45 min.

SizzleSax II - for Tenor Saxophone and Percussion (2001)

SizzleSax, the original version of this composition, was given its premiere by Joseph Lulloff at the 12th World Saxophone Congress in Montreal on July 8, 2000, at the University of Quebec's Salle Pierre-Mercure. In the original SizzleSax, the tenor saxophonist was called upon to play five cymbals by hand and at times to alternate rapidly between playing the saxophone and the cymbals—-both of which requirements, especially the former, proved to be problematic.

While Lulloff's brilliant performance of SizzleSax was received with some enthusiasm at the Congress, several of the saxophonists who heard (and saw) the premiere commented that they wouldn't even consider trying to learn the piece because of the possible stress and even serious injury to their hands that playing the cymbals might cause. Their concerns, unfortunately, were justified.

After playing SizzleSax at the Brevard Music Center later in the summer of 2000, Joseph Lulloff (who is both a Michigan State University colleague and close friend of mine) told me that as much as he had enjoyed playing the cymbals in his two performances of SizzleSax, the toll that these performances had taken on his hands was too great for him to continue playing the composition. Joe decided to cancel the Michigan premiere of SizzleSax, and I regretfully concurred. I certainly didn't want Joe's hands to be damaged playing my music. But having invested too much time and creative energy in SizzleSax to let it die such a quick death, I was determined to come up with a benign (at least non-injurious!) transformation of the composition that retained and further developed much of its original musical content—-even if some of SizzleSax's theatrics had to be sacrificed.

In July and August of 2001 SizzleSax II, the phoenix of SizzleSax, was reborn, still a work inspired by Joseph Lulloff, but now a duo for tenor saxophone and percussion. The original cymbals of SizzleSax have been augmented in SizzleSax II with other metallic instruments (triangles, sizzle-gong, and tam-tam) and various "skins" percussion instruments (bongos, tom-tom, congas, and bass drum). It is hoped that this new version may be performed without injury to either player. (August 12, 2001)

SizzleSax, for tenor saxophone and five cymbals played by the saxophonist, 2000
Samples, Instrumentation, Program Notes

SizzleSax, for tenor saxophone and five cymbals played by the saxophonist, 2000
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SizzleSax - for Tenor Saxophone and Five Cymbals (2000)

During my long musical association with Joseph Lulloff, I've been fascinated with and inspired by many aspects of his performer's talents, his musical personality, and his on-stage mannerisms. One of Joe's signatures as a saxophone soloist is his proclivity to move around while playing. Nearly at the very inception of this compositional project, I decided to write SizzleSax for tenor saxophone and cymbals, with the cymbals to be played by the saxophonist. The image of Joe playing the tenor saxophone, surrounded by, tapping, dodging, and sometimes colliding with cymbals of various sizes and timbres (some of which would be "sizzle" cymbals) was one of the first generating ideas of the composition.

Having a wind player play percussion instruments certainly is not a new idea, but as I began to think about writing this piece, I was excited by the possibilities of mixing the sounds of the tenor saxophone with those of cymbals. Particularly the diverse articulations, volumes, and washes of sound of a set of cymbals, combined with the many exotic timbral, articulative, and dynamic shadings of saxophone multiphonics, seemed to have much potential for the creation of quite distinctive (and even new) sax-cymbal textures, colors, rhythms, and gestures. It's my hope that the attentive listener will judge I've succeeded in realizing that potential.

SizzleSax is written in memory of John Coltrane, who, during his short but brilliant career, played many a sizzling solo. (March 2000; rev. June 2000)

Three Blues for Saxophone Quartet, (sop., alt., ten., bar.), 1981 (Dorn Publications, Inc.)
Samples, Instrumentation, Program Notes

Three Blues for Saxophone Quartet, (sop., alt., ten., bar.), 1981 (Dorn Publications, Inc.)
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Samples:
Excerpt - Ruggiero's THREE BLUES FOR SAXOPHONE QUARTET, Mvt. 2, 'Delicately...'
From - AMERICAN'S MILLENNIUM TRIBUTE TO ADOLPHE SAX, Vol. V
AUR CD 3111
The Great Lakes Saxophone Quartet: James Forger, Donell Snyder, Joseph Lulloff, Eric Lau
(Used by permission. Unauthorized duplication is not permitted.)

Instrumentation: S Sax, A Sax, T Sax, Bari Sax

Duration: ca. 12:20 min.

Three Blues for Saxophone Quartet (1981)

Three Blues for Saxophone Quartet was composed in 1981 for James Forger and the Michigan State University Saxophone Quartet. Stylistic and formal elements from traditional jazz are pervasive in this work, but Three Blues is virtually devoid of improvisation except that the performers are expected, in much of the work, to play the given notes, rhythms, and dynamics in a style that sounds improvisational. A fine performance of Three Blues will capture the spirit of good jazz improvisation.

The structure of Three Blues is an arch form in three movements. The central movement is the longest and most complex of the three. After a brief introduction, the second movement begins with a "neo-bop" section featuring the alto and tenor saxophones. After the first statement of a short ritornello that punctuates the second movement, an extended contrapuntal passage leads to the apex of the arch for the entire composition, after which a variant of the "neo-bop" section ends the movement.

Both of the framing movements are shorter and lighter in style than the second. The first movement, marked "Charliechaplinesque," evokes the enthusiastic and lighthearted mood of some '20s and '30s jazz (although it uses the harmonic and rhythmic style of more modern jazz). Movement I is based on a repeated harmonic progression that is systematically shortened and then restored to its original length as the movement evolves. This progression is derived in part from the first two measures of the third movement (incidentally, these measures of the third movement contain the first ideas to be composed for the entire composition).

The last movement ("relaxed but not sloppy"!) caricatures, in a friendly way, some blues idioms that jazz enthusiasts will recognize easily. Two functions of this movement are to provide an architectonic balance to the first movement, and to develop some of the rhythmic ideas of the previous two movements. In this last movement, although the prevailing meter is 4/4, beats frequently get displaced, lengthened, or shortened by unexpected durations creating, it is hoped, a controlled elasticity of meter and tempo. The wellsprings of these rhythmic ideas are jazz and, to a lesser extent, the music of Igor Stravinsky. (1981; rev. in 2000)

Jazz Compositions and Arrangements, (ca. 75 works), 1965-2006