This piece is a model composition of Duke Ellington’s “Awful Sad”, written for four baritone saxophones.

Composition/Baritones - Nick Biagini

Thank you to Anthony Colman for giving me the motivation, encouragement, and guidance to write this.

Awful Rad - Nick Biagini

Composition by Nick Biagini 
Lyrics by John Steinbeck from his novel "Cannery Row"

Voice - Grace McKay
Piano - Matt Twaddle
Soprano Saxophone/Composition - Nick Biagini

Lyrics:

"It has always seemed strange to me...The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second"

This piece was an assignment for a course I was taking New England Conservatory for a composition class taught by Frank Carlberg. The goal of the assignment was to take text from a piece of literature and put music to it. Thank you to Grace and Matt for their wonderful collaboration on this project: you can find out more about them here:
Matt Twaddle
https://linktr.ee/mtwadmusic97
Grace McKay
https://www.facebook.com/Gemckaymusic/

Cannery Row - Nick Biagini

Submission for MacJO 2017

Nick Biagini - Baritone Saxophone 
Matt Twaddle - Piano 
Jack Griffin - Bass
James McCarthy - Drums

Recorded at The University of Massachusetts Amherst

Nick Biagini

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