Output details

Between the Lines

Research content/process:

The project in jazz composition explored two sets of oppositions: between what might be called ‘European’ and ‘American’ jazz and between stand-alone compositions and a series of related works unified by theme and technique. The project was delivered by Stapleton’s quintet, unaccompanied by any guest artists: saxophone doubling bass clarinet; trumpet doubling flugelhorn, bass and drums, with Stapleton himself at the keyboard. American Jazz is captured in this project through the use of irregular time signatures and prominent bass riffs while the European counterweight is found in the colours and textures, most notably generated by the use of the Fender Rhodes as well as a conventional piano. The decision to produce a series of stand-alone compositions was a result of a clearly-developing fan base with a horizon of expectations that could be exploited. The result is a series of ternary structures that play off the two overarching styles in the project, so that each of the ten compositions presents an alternation of the rhythmically irregular and the more obviously lyrical while at the same time playing off ostinato-based tuttis against solo-based improvisation. The moves from irregular to regular time-signatures, from complex harmony to a modal point for improvisation, or from one dynamic extreme to another further articulate the predominantly ternary structures of the works that form the project. All the music was composed by Stapleton, who directed the ensemble and produced the CD that stands as the main output.