Original melodies and harmony, ready for your own interpretation.
This piece was recorded sometime in the early 1980’s. Harmonically it is quite simple and uses only minor and major harmonies. There are no dominant chords or V – I cadences in this song. I would describe this piece as a modal composition. Pretty easy to solo over. The most difficult part is the 5/4 time signature and the melodic structure. Released recently on the Lillard/Stevens Group CD entitled “Forgotten Wish”.
This piece is written with the Brazilian “baiao” rhythm in mind and dedicated to the great Brazilian master musician Hermeto Pascoal.. The melody is tricky and extremely chromatic. The harmony is built on a series of interesting II V I progressions. The melody is supposed to be performed twice as fast the second time around, and the ensemble should alternate soloing between the slow and fast tempos.
This piece was released by my Conference Call Quartet on our “Spirals’ CD. This is a tango. The harmonies are very simple and the melody is not complicated.
This is a standard 32 bar ballad in the traditional AABA form. The changes are also straight forward. This piece would also work well with a more advanced Grade 2 ensemble. I recorded this on my “For the Children” Quartet CD.
This is a very simple 8 bar ballad. Melody is very easy to play, and the harmonies are not complicated. I recorded this with Saxophonist Oliver Lake on our “Flow” CD.
Andrea was composed in 2001. It is extremely complicated both harmonically and formally. There are very few II V I progressions. The harmonic scheme is full of slash chords. The thematic material is conceived in odd bar numbers. This is a very challenging piece most suited for advanced students.
Today this Moment is one of my earliest compositions. It was the title track on the original “Mosaic Sextet” recording and is probably one of my most played tunes. There is also an extended big band chart version. This is a long form composition structured around C minor and F minor. However, the blowing section goes completely free form. This tune is not very difficult. The hardest part of the song is playing the rhythms of the melody correctly. This is really fun to play.
This piece is composed in an “old-time swing feel” reminiscent of honky tonk piano. The piece is harmonically quite simple and uses a series of harmonic cliches moving between the dominant and tonic tonalities. Still, it is an audience pleaser and quite fun to perform.
This ballad appears on the Fonda/Stevens Group “Parallel Lines” CD. It is a long form with some interesting changes. The piece is extremely lyrical.
This piece is a through composed ballad. Voicings and melody are written out. The blowing comes at the end of the song form and is over 2 repeating harmonic structures. The Fonda/Stevens Group recorded this on our debut CD “The Wish”.
During the recent Covid pandemic I was commissioned to compose several pieces of music. This piece was one of those commissions. The song was recorded in 2022 and will be released in the summer of 2023 on my upcoming “Precipice” Cd. The feel is a light hearted bossanova. The changes are not difficult and move slowly enough to accommodate most levels.
This early waltz was recorded by the Fonda/Stevens Group on our debut CD “The Wish”. The changes move quite slowly making the song extremely accessible to students of all levels.
Round Trip was recorded on the Fonda/Stevens Group’s first CD “The Wish”. The piece is performed up tempo. The A section is a long melody. The B section includes a strong bass vamp that ultimately leads to an open blowing section beginning on C Minor.
Spirit Song is a very beautiful walking ballad. The chords are a bit abstract which makes the piece even more interesting. I recorded this on my “For Andrew” trio CD. I would characterize this tune as an “ECM” type of tune.
This is a very romantic ballad. The Fonda/Stevens Group recorded this on our “Evolution” CD. The changes are interesting and challenging for the performer.
This piece was written as a tribute to a friend of mine who passed away suddenly. It is composed in 3/4 time and has a very open feel. The blowing is over only two very simple chords. The body of the piece is through composed harmonies, not too difficult. I recorded this on my “Duets” cd with vibraphonist Jason DeCristofaro.
The Gospel Truth falls somewhere between a ballad and a slow blues. It has more of a straight 1/8 note feel than a swing feel. The A section is 10 bars while the bridge is 16 bars. The changes are extremely chromatic but move rather slowly, making the song easier to navigate harmonically.
Alisiah is one of my earliest compositions. The tonality revolves around C major, F major and Eminor. It is a very simple medium tempo swing tune. Nothing fancy. This piece was recorded on my “Duets” CD with vibraphonist Jason DeCristofaro.
Nowhere Blues has a rather interesting form. The sections are 9 bars, 7 bars and 5 bars. This composition has a “slow blues” feel but obviously does not use the blues form. It is written in Eminor. The changes are somewhat chromatic but very accessible.
This composition is divided into two sections. The first part is rubato over a B Major tonality (like a drone in a Raga). The second part is a diatonic melody also in B major with a multitude of time signature changes. A fun challenge for both beginner and advanced players. I recorded this with Eliot Wadopian on our “Mountain Song” CD>
This piece is written in 5/4 time, hence the title. There is a harmonic ostinato that repeats throughout the piece, but the melody is atonal. music is challenging on many levels, but the solo section is actually quite simple harmonically. A good piece to learn how to play in 5/4 time. This version was released on Conference Call’s “Poetry in Motion” CD.
This piece is written with changing time signatures. It is a “comic” piece. Solos are only on the fermatas after each section.
This ballad was written in the last decade and has some interesting harmonic twists. This piece appears on my duo CD release with saxophonist Don Aliquo.
This is one of my favorite compositions. It is a very haunting and romantic melody with interesting harmonies, especially in the B section. The Eastern Boundary Quartet recorded this on our “Icicles” CD release.
This ballad introduces the suspended chord, a variety of II-V-I progressions, and the Major 7 #5 chord. It is a longer form with a few time signature shifts. This is challenging enough for the advanced player yet approachable for the less advanced student. This piece appears on my “For The Children” recording which features David Schnitter on saxophone and Dominic Duval on bass.
This ballad is a long form structure with a lot of harmonic movement. The composition begins in Db major and modulates up to D major.
This ballad contains very advanced harmonic progressions using a variety of altered chords as well as hybrid chords. I have included piano voicings in the chart as well. This is an extremely challenging piece but quite beautiful.
This ballad is in a “through composed” form. The piano voicings are written out without standard chord changes. The blowing section contains a series of simple chord progressions that are quite easy to improvise over.
This ballad is comprised of a series of II V I progressions in the A section. The B section utilizes a series of tritone substitutes. This piece was recorded and released on my “Red’s Blues” CD.
This is a very traditional ballad. The form is A B. Each section is 8 bars. The first section is in C major and the second section is in Ab major. This piece would work well for an intermediate group of students.
This ballad is one of my favorite pieces. It was composed sometime in the early 1980’s. The chords are not difficult. The challenge is navigating the time changes in the bridge.
The ballad was composed as a tribute to pianist Bill Evans. It is primarily in the key of A minor but has an interesting chromatic bridge.
A Summer’s Morning is a ballad with a very short 8 bar form. The changes all revolve around II V I sequences in both major and minor keys. A good piece for both beginners and intermediate players.
A very playable pretty ballad. The A section is in the key of C and the bridge goes to the key of F. The changes move slowly in this very romantic ballad. There is also another version of this piece with lyrics by Kathleen Sannwald.
This piece was written for an “electric” ensemble although it could easily be played with acoustic instruments. The chord structures are all hybrid harmonies consisting mostly of triads over unrelated bass notes.
The “head” of this straight eighth note feel composition consists of a series of parallel voicings, some of which are polytonal or atonal. The rhythmic structure is what makes the composition somewhat difficult. The blowing changes come from the voicings in the melodic statement. This piece is somewhat challenging but lots of fun,
One of my most popular pieces. A straight eighth note “rock” feel. The harmonic rhythm of the first section is a series of major chords resolving down by half steps into minor chords. The middle section uses a polytonal harmonic scheme with very intense rhythmic syncopation. This piece was recorded by the Fonda/Stevens Group on our “Live at Spielboden” CD.
Can be performed with a more funky, straight 1/8 note feel. The harmonic scheme is primarily in F# minor and the melodic statement is mostly F# minor pentatonic.
This is one of my earliest compositions from the late 1970’s. . It is a funky electric feel in B minor. Perfect for either beginning or more advanced players. The. rhythmic kicks are challenging but fun!!! This is the first composition I wrote which gives the melody to the bass.
This piece is dedicated to the great vocalist Miles Griffith and his family. The tune is written with a Gospel feel in mind. Not too fast. The bridge has a latin feel.
One of the first songs I wrote after moving from Brooklyn to Memphis somewhere around 2003. The piece only contains dominant chords and fits into the “Bluesy” category. The difficult part is that the piece is written in the key of Db major. First recorded by the Fonda/Stevens Group on our “Memphis” CD.
This is a very simple “swing” composition with a bluesy feel but not in a Blues form. The changes are very simple. The head is a question-and-answer with the melody and the rhythm section. A good piece to introduce the blues scale to students. Released on my “Red’s Blues” CD.
This piece is written in the Gospel tradition, very bluesy and not too fast. There are quite a few changes but nothing too difficult. Most of the chords are dominant chords. Recorded by the Mosaic Sextet on our “Today this Moment” CD which featured Dave Douglas on trumpet and Mark Feldman on violin.
This piece is based on standard rhythm changes. The A section has a chromatic turnaround. The bridge is standard rhythm changes. Easy to play and lots of fun. Can be performed with a funky beat.
A challenging piece due to the two simultaneous “parallel” melodies. The bass melody and the lead melody play different rhythmic figures. The harmonic structure is a series of minor (major 7) chords, and the solo form can either follow the harmonic progression or go completely “free”. This piece was first recorded by the Fonda/Stevens Group on our “Parallel Lines: CD.
The piece is a simple vamp mostly in 6/4 time in the key of A minor. Solo form can be over A minor or the musicians can go “free”. A great beginner’s piece with some time signature changes.
This is a medium swing tune with a multitude of chromatic II V I’s and tritone substitutes..This tune was recently recorded on my duet CD with saxophonist Don Aliquo.
Email was recently released on my “The Slope” CD. It is a fun up-tempo swing tune with some interesting changes. The music starts out in C minor but quickly proceeds through a variety of moving harmonies. This is both challenging and fun.
This is a fun modern swing tune with some interesting II V I changes in the A section. The B section uses a series of hybrid chords (triads with unrelated bass notes).
This piece is composed in the bebop tradition. Lots of changes to navigate and a quick melody to learn. At a slower tempo this could be easily managed by younger students. Beginning students can play this at a slow tempo. This is a great II V I exercise. More advanced students can play this at a quicker tempo.
An early fast swing piece from the 1980s. The bridge has 9 bar phrases which makes the piece somewhat difficult. This song is a great drum feature!!
This piece was composed in the early 1980’s and dedicated to Charnett Moffett and his family band. I played with the band for one year. The tune is a simple form containing only dominant chords. The feel is very bluesy.
I wrote this piece as a break song for the Fonda/Stevens Group. The composition is divided into three distinct harmonic sections. Each section consists of a series of dominant chords resolving into a minor open harmonic vamp.
The harmonies move quite slowly in this ballad. The most challenging aspect of the piece are the 2/4 bars. This ballad was recorded on Jon Hemmersam’s “Remembering” CD release which also featured Dave Liebman and Rakalam Bob Moses.
This ballad is quite easy to play. The changes move very slowly giving the student plenty of time to navigate the harmonic landscape.
I wrote this song while I was living in Brooklyn, NY and spending quite a bit of time in Woodstock, NY. This is the closest thing to a “country music” song I have ever written. This composition was recorded by myself and bassist Eliot Wadopian on our “Mountain Song” duo CD. This piece is extremely playable at most levels!!!
This is one of my favorite compositions. Written in 3/4 time, but with phrases grouped in three’s, four’s and other odd groupings this is a very unique piece. Also, it is made up entirely of minor 7 chords. The Fonda/Stevens Group recorded this tune on our CD “The Healing”.
This jazz waltz is a very long form with many chord changes moving through the circle of fifths and chromatically. The harmonies themselves, however, are quite standard 7th chords. This piece was recorded by the “Stevens, Siegel & Ferguson Trio” on our “Get Out of Town” CD.
This piece features a Latin feel written out in the piano part. The changes are pretty standard and move slowly enough for the student to navigate quite easily. The bridge of the tune is a fun release from all the harmonic movement in the beginning section of the composition. The “Stevens, Siegel & Ferguson Trio” recorded this composition on our “Panorama” CD which featured Valery Ponomarev on trumpet.
I wrote this bossa nova after visiting Rio in 1999. The form is quite long and the bridge is very chromatic. The piece is highly melodic and quite fun to play. The “Stevens, Siegel & Ferguson Trio” recorded this tune on our “Six” CD release.
This medium swing tune consists of an extended melody and long form. The harmonies are very chromatic and include some hybrid chordal structures as well. The piece is challenging but worth the effort. I recorded this on my “The Innocence of Spring” CD with saxophonist Don Aliquo.
This composition is an open swing feel featuring a chromatic chord sequence and several polychords. The changes move quickly making the piece difficult for the soloist to navigate. The melody is not difficult but overall the piece is challenging. This is dedicated to the great trumpeter Kenny Wheeler.
This is a very adventurous composition. The harmonies are very difficult and the rhythms are quite unusual. A great challenge for the advanced player. I wrote this piece shortly after moving from Brooklyn, NY to Memphis, TN. That was quite a culture shock!!!
This piece was composed using the 12-tone row technique. It is not terribly difficult but performing it can be very interesting. The musicians are instructed to improvise over the elements of the row including pitch and rhythm. This piece was first recorded on my “Haiku” CD featuring violinist Mark Feldman.
This piece has an open straight 1/8 note feel. Lots of harmonic movement which is more modal than functional. I wrote this in the early 1990’s on my way to begin a European tour with the Fonda/Stevens Group. A live recording of this composition was released on our “Live in Brugge” CD.