James Miley: spartiti difficile

If you have a deep, abiding love for '70s funk, Bitches Brew-era, Miles Davis, heavy metal, bossa nova, Igor Stravinsky, Charles Ives, and late '90s aggro-pop, this might just be the tune for you. Thi...

(In memory of Paul Shaghoian) Part one of ' There'. (Commissioned in honor of Gil Evans by IAJE and the Herb Aplert Foundation and premiered by soloist Tim Ries with the Fresno Jazz Composers Orchestr...

(In memory of Paul Shaghoian) Part two of ' There'. (Commissioned in Honor of Gil Evans by IAJE and the Herb Alpert Foundation and premiered by soloist Tim Ries with the Fresno Jazz Composers Orchestr...

The chart that won James the prestigious IAJE/Gil Evans Fellowship, 'Darkness' is a straight 8 cut-time funk extravanganza with extended solo space for tenor, drums, guitar/pano, and trumpet. The piec...

The Dude Abides was commissioned by the California Band Directors Association for the 2007 IAJE/CBDA California All State High School Jazz Band. If you like your jazz with a healthy dose of distorted...

Commissioned by Curtis Gaesser and the Folsom High School Jazz Ensemble, this composition is an extended concert piece with several substantial ensemble passages, an abundance of contrapuntal writing...

Lengthy (9+ minutes). Ballad/waltz written in honor of my cat's favorite toy, Sid the Squid - a weathered, well-loved six-legged sea creature made of foam, fur, leather, and dirt that gets 'hunted' ar...

This cut-time swing/quasi-hip hop funk chart has a catchy angular melody and fun changes for soloists (piano/guitar, tenor, or trombone). There's also an extended open percussion break to feature your...

Fast swing with a repeating 5-bar cut-time ostinato in the bass and a mildly demented call and response melody in the trumpets and saxes. This is a great high-energy festival chart with plenty of solo...

Another treatment of a Ron Miles tune written for his Central Coast Jazz Festival appearance in 2003. This chart begins with an intensely chromatic contrapuntal layering effect that builds to a frenzy...

A colorful, multi-faceted composition commissioned by the Monterey Jazz Festival for the 2006 Next Generation Festival sight reading competition, this medium-up swing chart features unusual phrase len...

Arranged for saxophonist/composer Peter Epstein's appearance at the 2004 Central Coast Jazz Festival, this modal alto feature takes some unexpected turns in the middle and sets up a natural sounding g...

Commissioned by the Monterey Jazz Festival for the 2007 Next Generation Jazz Festival, this chart falls in that small space between Ornette Coleman and Radiohead, with a bevy of odd-metered phrases, s...

Arranged for the Jonathan Kreisberg Trio's appearance with the Virginia Tech Jazz Ensemble in 2008, this chart is a great feature for your rhythm section, with extended solo space for guitar (or alto/...

Kneebody meets big band. There is simply no adequate way to describe this chart and do it any sort of justice, so you're probably better off just listening to the recording online. If you've ever wond...