Victor Morosco - Soprano Saxophone
Dale Wolford - Alto Saxophone
Geordie Frazer- Tenor Saxophone
Kevin Stewart - Baritone Saxophone

Track Title Time
1 Fanfare 2:03

Italian Sketches

2 La Mattina 5:28
3 Pommerigio 3:40
4 Giorno di Mercato 3:25
5 Aperitivo 3:07
6 Vallombrosa 3:50
7 Sole di Settembre 4:19
8 Passo della Consuma 2:56
9 Baroque Blue 8:03
10 Christy 4:49
11 Poco Pazzo 2:17
12 Song for R.C. 6:36

Fanfare: A short piece based on Fourths and Fifths inspired by the Santa Cruz Mountains which I travel through regularly and act as a constant reminder of the mountains I love so much in Tuscany.

Italian Sketches: A seven movement programmatic work encompassing many musical styles which depicts the sights and sounds of a small Tuscan town, the environs of the Casentino Valley, the wonderful people who have become so dear to me, and how I feel being there.

La Mattina (Morning) is in two parts. The first part depicts the darkness of predawn and the gradual appearance of daylight with the sudden awakening by the bells of the church and the clock tower. Bells historically played an important role in much of European life, and I am constantly aware of them when I am there. I use a leitmotif of the bells throughout the movements to capture that awareness. The music progresses through my gradual awakening and the awakening of the town with the sounds of the church chants and shouts of workers organizing for work. The second part is a fugue which reflects the people scurrying about. I use a three note phrase in the beginning of the subject to depict the people giving their morning greeting of, "Buon Giorno". The development of the fugue captures the growing intensity and activity of the town which comes to a very abrupt halt with the sounding of the bells for the afternoon meal and repose.

Pommerigio (Afternoon) reflects the stark quietness of a hot summer afternoon in the town and the ubiquitous drawn shutters warding off the heat. The music has a neo-Baroque/Renaissance quality and employs two sets of duets that represent two sets of lovers in a time suspended afternoon.

Giorno di Mercato (Market Day) in the country side throughout Italy reminds and old tradition of the traveling caravan of merchants which go from town to town on specified days and times. In a matter of minutes the trucks roll into town, their side panels would be open and entire dry goods, shoe shop, delicatessen, or clothing store appears in the piazza along with hundreds of shoppers from the neightborhood. The frenetic movements of men women and children, looking, buying, and bargaining is very exciting. They up and leave just as quickly as they appeared and I go to the bar for an aperitivo and some more people watching.

Aperitivo reflects the hour or so before dinner I would enjoy at the bar chatting with friends and neighbors. Watching and listening to the men play cards and remembering the familiar sounds of my own Italian family now living in America. This hours makes me feel a bit nostaligic and a bit sad because I knew the end of the day was coming, the people would be going home for dinner, and I would sadly have to wait for them to wonderfully reappear the next morning.

Vollombrosa (Valley of Shadows) is a national forest outside of Florence where the magnificent, tall pine trees have so closely grown together that one is plunged into darkness on entering and must turn on the headlights of the car to drive safely. The music in this movement is harmonically, melodically and rhythmically quite different that the other movements in my attempt to capture the verticality of the trees, the resulting darkness, the brilliant shafts of light that occasionally beam through, and overall eeriness that is present, and the furious desire to return once again to the beautiful Italian sunshine.

Sole di Settembre (September Sun): In this piece I try to capture the sadness I always felt at the end of summer in addition to leaving the town to which I have become so attached. The sadness is heightened by the brilliant clear sunshine, the wisps of smoke of the burning fields, and the view from atop the medieval castle, which overlooks the town of Strada in Casentino.

Passo della Consuma is the incredibly twisting mountain road that is the main artery for traffic between the Castenino valley and the city of Florence. The angularity of the thematic material the jerky rhythms reflects the constant turning, braking and sounds of auto horns required to navigate this road. The soaring middle section of the piece attempts to capture the magnificent views and expansiveness one feels on reaching the top of the pass and the town of Consuma itself, only to be followed by the treacherous descent into the valley.

Baroque Blue: A set of variations based on a blues harmonic structure and 12 measure form, influenced by both baroque and jazz music. A prologue consisting of four choruses of a blues line in which each member of the quartet is featured was added to the original piece for dramatic and theatrical effect for live concerts and become a permanent part of the composition.

Christy: A love song of slightly unusual structure, featuring the soprano saxophonist. The soloist has the options of playing the piece as notated or improvising designated sections. In this recording the notated version is used.

Poco Pazzo: The title means, "a little crazy" and is intended as a fun short encore piece. It is a little crazy because although it is written in 4/4 time the musical phrases are predominantly in 3 creating the effect of being slightly off kilter.

Song for R.C.: Is a piece written originally for my friend jazz saxophonist Richie Cole. It consists of two different songs separated by a transition section. The alto saxophone soloist has the option of playing the piece as notated or improvising designated sections. In this recording the notated version is used.