Nighthawks

(1971-2017) for big band

“Nighthawks” began as a piano rag - “Ragtime Nighthawk,” that I wrote in 1971, shortly after I had gotten to know and love the music of Duke Ellington. It was dedicated to William Bolcom, who thought up the title. In 2017 I decided to arrange it for Ray Anderson and his Stony Brook Big Band, the Blowage; they premiered it at the Jazz Loft in Stony Brook in December, 2018.