Abstract

The bassoon is seldom seen in the jazz world – surely the relative scarcity of players within the genre has limited this woodwind’s ability to carve itself a respectable place in the pantheon of jazz instruments. Although there is a rich and noble, though little known, history of jazz bassoon playing, the instrument is usually thought of as a strictly “classical” instrument. And not just a classical instrument: more often than not, it is popularly, though unfairly, referred to as the “clown of the orchestra”. This thesis examines the way the bassoon is described in classical orchestration and jazz arranging books, in order to look at the language used when describing this unique woodwind, as well as looking at how we go about expressing/verbalizing sound at large. As composers and arrangers comprise the primary audience for these didactic works, we must wonder if the way it is described to these creators and orchestrators may be partly responsible for perpetuating the bassoon = buffoon myth… Adjacent to this written portion of the thesis are six original compositions for jazz sextet featuring the bassoon, written to explore the wide range of sonic expression this instrument is capable of rendering outside of the classical realm.

The composition portfolio contains pieces composed and arranged for trumpet / flugelhorn, tenor sax / bass clarinet, bassoon, piano, bass and drums.

Titles of the pieces:

ici, ainsi
In As Much
So Little Time
Dàgur
E.K.’s Blues
In Passing