Four Memories is a collection of musical depictions of various scenes from my life, with each title giving a vague hint to the content of the movement.

Cascade depicts a kayaking trip through the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia. The progression of the music from a simple, dreamlike 6/8 section to one that uses heavy syncopation and open voicing follows the progression of a drop of water through a stream that feeds into bigger rivers, eventually falling over a waterfall into the ocean, where the music immediately cuts back to the simple, floating opening material with a slightly different feel, as it’s now in the baritone sax part and in 3/4 time.

Coming to Terms with an Airplane Love Song is a simple but profound moment in the lives of my girlfriend and I, as we had been in a long-distance relationship for just a few months when the idea for the primary melody came into my head. This simple melody that pervades throughout represents the solemn but resolute moment on the airplane ride home from spending a break with her when I realized that we were going to be able to make our relationship work. This was an ultimately comforting and important step in our relationship, but it inherently wasn’t ideal and meant accepting the length of the road ahead for us, which we continue to walk together today. This movement is dedicated to her, and all the ways she supports me in our journey together.

Continuum is an aural depiction of a late night spent working on homework in the heat of the semester after an already exhausting day. The music constantly moves along with minimal changes and fades out into nothing as the student fades in and out of sleep, returning to their work with varying mental states. As the student has an assignment that absolutely must be finished that night, they continue to push through the tiredness towards their goal until they ultimately give in to the release of sleep just as they finish the last part of the assignment.

Prelude and Cave Jazz represents a story I created while improvising with a dear friend, Kyle Fisher. We were playing rather quietly, toying with simple bluesy licks mixed with funk ideas. The idea is somewhat abstract, in that it represents a musician playing alone in a large dark space (such as a cave), and slowly realizing that everything they are hearing isn’t just their own, as they find themselves in the midst of a subterranean jam session.