Sonny Burnette

Jazzscapes

Jazzscapes' by Sonny Burnette is a five movement suite for flute choir. The first movement, I Can't Dance, is an up-tempo jazz waltz based on the mixolydian mode. Extra-musical elements are used in the second movement, Bushmen of the Kalahari, including oral clicks and flute pad pops, influence by the music and language of African culture. Written in a Latin style, the third movement, Caribbean Sunstroke, features a repeating underlying harmonic progression (known as a Montuno), with melodies and harmonies floating over top. Under Gray Skies, the fourth movement, is a jazz ballad based on a melancholy 19th-century poem. The final movement, We Be Beboppin', features an upbeat bebop-style piece, with opportunities for solos in the middle.