Review

Antonio J. García
London Town Fantasy:
solo trombone, 3 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, violin 1, violin 2, viola, cello, bass, jazz bass, glockenspiel, timpani, xylophone, drumset, wind chimes

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2014 / 2024
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Score and parts

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with orchestra

Anthony J. Garcia’s London Town Fantasy is an imaginative work for solo trombone and orchestra. Commissioned by the Charlottesville Symphony Society for the Charlottesville & University Symphony Orchestra, the piece was designed to fit a specific niche in a program planned by the CUSO. Haydn’s London Symphony No. 104 was to follow immediately. The Orchestra’s music director desired that the work not only reference the symphony but also feature the trombone in a jazz ballad style. Accordingly, Garcia chose to incorporate the changes from Gershwin’s A Foggy Day (In London Town). Thus, London Town Fantasy is distinctive is its fusion of classical and jazz traditions. An earlier review covered a piano reduction publication of the work. This review considers the full orchestra publication

The Fantasy is in A-B-A form. The outer sections are in the “classical” style and the more extended central section is in a jazz style. Garcia’s orchestration is inventive. The string introduction immediately references Haydn’s symphony, but when the trombone enters, the orchestration immediately thins. The soloist is accompanied first by a flute trio and then a horn quartet. The strings reenter to provide the transition to the jazz-ballad section of the solo.

The jazz-ballad section marked “Swing,” introduces the percussion section and an electric bass. The trombone part is entirely improvised although Garcia also provides an optional written-out solo. The wind instruments are instructed to swing, while the string parts are notated in strict time. The transition to the final A section is especially striking. Garcia writes a heavily syncopated string part that is eventually doubled by bass clarinet. Fantasy ends with a brief homage to its “classical” roots. The trombone returns to its opening melody, once again accompanied by horn quartet. The work swells to the end with the soloist soaring to a dramatic high e3.

London Town Fantasy is a unique work in our repertoire. Trombonists rarely get to perform in front of an orchestra and even more rarely get to showcase their improvisation skills while doing so. Garcia has provided us with a whimsical work that showcases the reason many of us have chosen to be trombone players.