Invisible by Day (Live, 2011)

Genre: Jazz

In November, 2011, I again had an opportunity to take classes through the Gift of Jazz, this time with a new instructor, Josh Quinlan. The focus of the Jazz Composition class was learning how to write tunes with harmonic progressions in the tradition of the great jazz standards.

I used the class to work on two pieces: a brand new instrumental composition and a re-harmonized-for-jazz version of an older vocal tune I wrote in 1986 (“False Starts”).

I dedicated both compositions to my wife. I called the instrumental piece “Invisible by Day” in honor of her upcoming 60th birthday.

The title is from a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Returning for the 50th reunion of his alma mater, Bowdoin College, Longfellow encouraged his friends not to look at aging as an impediment to living life fully. It was still possible, he said, to accomplish great things in one’s twilight years. The relevant verse is the last four lines of his “Morituri Salutamus”:

For age is opportunity no less
Than youth itself, though in another dress,
And as the evening twilight fades away
The sky is filled with stars, invisible by day.

My song is a musical reminder that growing older doesn’t have to be lamented; in fact, there are certain experiences in life that can only be appreciated with the accumulation of years. It is a philosophy my wife and I have both embraced.

The piece is in 16/8/8/-bar form with three related, but contrasting sections. You can hear the B section stated in the head as the melody shifts from sax to trumpet. The last chorus includes a written counterpoint between sax and trumpet in the spirit of Gerry Mulligan and Chet Baker.

It premiered on Tuesday, November 22, 2011 at Dazzle Restaurant in Denver with Josh Quinlan on tenor sax on David Froman on trumpet. The young rhythm section consisted of the now greatly esteemed musicians Annie Booth (piano), Patrick McDevitt (bass) and Alejandro Castaño (drums). (Check out the video of this live performance on my YouTube channel.)