AVNER FINBERG

1. Hurricane Winds
2. The Jazz Funeral
3. Mardi Brass

DiXiE for brass quintet is inspired by the Dixieland jazz musical tradition of New Orleans. The piece is compiled of three movements, Hurricane Winds, The Jazz Funeral, and Mardi Brass. The piece follows in musical form the destruction and rebirth of the city of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The coming of the hurricane is the driving force behind the first movement, looming ominously as a buildup of energy becomes wild and uncontrollable. At the expected point of arrival, the actual scene of destruction is left out as the music comes to a complete stop. The movement ends with the winds of the hurricane dying down in the distance.  In the aftermath of the destruction the second movement is a funeral scene. The name of the movement, The Jazz Funeral, is taken from a real Luisiana tradition in which colleagues and friends form an impromptu marching orchestra at a Jazz musician’s funeral procession. The last movement, Mardi Brass, is a wild musical celebration of life in defiance of destruction, and a symbol for the rebirth of the city.

Many thanks to jazz saxophonist Elad Gellert for his teaching and inspiration in composing this piece.