Review

Richard Lane
Jigsaw:
trombone and saxophone quartet

Vuarmarens, , Switzerland
Publisher: Editions Bim
Date of Publication: 2006
URL: http://www.editions-bim.com

Primary Genre: Solo Tenor Trombone - with other instruments
Secondary Genre: Chamber Music

This is a form-fitting, straight-laced work. Composer Lane (1933-2004) dedicated the piece to trombonist extraordinaire Jim Pugh and the American Saxophone Quartet. Unfortunately, no technical limits or memorable melodic material are approached within this tame setting, which is dominated by a palette of shifting tonal centers. The piece alternates a pleasant, jazzy set of fragments and light syncopation with a more straightforward ballad at half tempo. Each section is given three hearings, each one of which varies only slightly from the original presentation. The trombone solo predominates over the extended tertian chordal harmonies of the quartet, which calls for soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone sax.

Jigsaw barely tests the capabilities of a high school level trombonist until the cadenza and finale. At this latter stage, Lane calls for triple tonguing, fast lip slurs, and other virtuosic playing. Given the paucity of melodic invention and its simplicity of technique, Jigsaw would have been better served by using of some of these techniques in the main body of the work.

-Joel Elias
Sacramento State University