ICKETY SPLIT: Modern Aspects of Composition and Orchestration in the Large Jazz Ensemble Compositions of Jim McNeely:An Analysis of EXTRA CREDIT, IN THE WEE SMALL HOURS OF THE MORNING, andABSOLUTION

Dynamics are yet another aspect of composition over which McNeely exercises deliberate and organized control. Writing for a high level ensemble such as the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, he is able to demand and receive a great deal of nuance, shape and color. McNeely uses an extraordinarily high number of dynamic markings throughout all his arrangements and in particular here. Undulating hairpin (crescendo followed by immediate decrescendo) shapes are prevalent with each dynamic level marked 14specifically. As a rule, the ensemble exaggerates the dynamic shapes, often in ways that give prominence to the dynamics over and above elements of harmony and melody. In this respect, the dynamics may sometimes be considered a compositional device of equal importance. This general approach to dynamics as shapes is characteristic of all three of the compositions studied herein.