I love Eric Dolphy. The bassline he composed for Richard Davis on Hat and Beard — from the masterpiece record Out to Lunch — always sounded so applicable to the trombone. So I adapted it for two trombones.
In the composition you’ll also hear other nods to Dolphy’s thematic material: the sudden scoops, fragments of the head, Freddie Hubbard’s trumpet line that harmonises the bass. The opening plays off Davis’ pedal that he throws down a lot throughout the recording. I also quote some of my writing from my tune Moncurish, which I wrote for quartet and later adapted for Some Other Stuff. I like it when composers hint at their other tunes across their material — showing continuity in their work, even in very different settings — so I wanted to try that here.
I also explored having the bassline played in retrograde while it continues forward in the other trombone part. To me, it feels like a kind of “in and out of phase” motion. This was really fun to play and open up with Matt, using the bassline as the central point to launch into the improvising.
Collaborators:
Matt Seddon - Trombone
Joe Bristow - Trombone
