The Dirty Duck - Trumpet/Cornet Solo

Tom Hutchinson commissioned a cornet solo from up-and-coming composer Dan Price in 2009 to mark the beginning of his tenure as principal cornet with the Cory Band.  Tom was looking for a solo that was virtuosic in content with jazz influences and something that the audience would enjoy listening to.  The Dirty Duck was the result.

Presented here in its Concert Band setting the piece sits firmly within the big band style, taking influence from the dance bands of the 1940’s lead by such greats as Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington and Count Basie. The thematic material in the work derives from the sprightly Trumpet lead line but the work also makes use of riff motifs and call and response ideas, relying heavily on the interplay between soloist and ensemble though-out. 

The piece takes its name from a small quiet public house, opposite the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-Upon-Avon.

Duration: 00:04:45

Grade: 4 (soloist 5)

Concert Band

(Brass Band version available from Prima Vista Musikk Ltd.)