quarter tones

quarter tones: a text with musical examples, exercises, and etudes

Another historical/practical guide for musicians, this time regarding the use of quarter-tones.

Also included are fingering charts for trumpets, string instruments, and saxophones. Oddly, the fingering chart for saxophones was created by Trent Kynaston, saxophone professor at Western Michigan Univerity in Kalamazoo, and someone with whom I have had a bit of contact over the years. I wrote him an email about his involvement with Ellis, and his reply:

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Matt,

It is me! The fact is, I gave him the sax quarter tone fingerings for the book back in the late 60's, but I never got a copy of the book nor have I ever seen it.

When I graduated from the U of Arizona I took my first teaching job - high school band and orchestra - in Oxnard, CA. I used to drive down to Don's studio in North Hollywood and play in his Saturday am rehearsal band. It was made up of young players who were really into his music and Sam Falzone would usually direct it. He used it for possible subs in his main band because we all knew the music and he couldn't call one of the name players in LA and expect them to sight read his charts. We became friends. I copied many of his charts for publication and arr. the Blues and Concerto for Trumpet for jazz quartet and concert band. I set up his first concert in Tucson and it was so successful that he started doing it with high school and college bands all over the place. He was very inventive and very spontaneous, and a great guy. My only claim to potential fame with Don is that he tried to get me to sub in the sax section for a gig at Filmore in San Francisco. The date resulted in that great 2 record set on Columbia. He couldn't reach me because I was back in Arizona on tour with my old high school symphonic band playing the Warren Benson Concerto. Oh well. Shortly after that I took a junior high job back in Tucson that allowed me to avoid the draft and we never worked together after that.

Trent

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Trent is also the director of the WMU Jazz Orchestra -- on their 1999 album called Sweet Tango, there is a newly recorded version of Don's tune "Great Divide".

While copies of the new rhythm book appear once in a while on eBay, I have never seen quarter tones there.

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