James Syler - Birds of Paradise Concerto for Alto Saxophone

Jazz has proven to be a great metaphor for freedom. Birds of Paradise is a concerto for alto saxophone and the culmination of my trilogy Congo Square, Storyville, and Minton’s Playhouse. These works, composed over a nearly 30 year span from 1994 (Minton’s Playhouse) to this work in 2023, are tied together by their search for freedom through the seminal movements in jazz. The pre-jazz sounds in Congo Square, the early jazz in Storyville, the bebop in Minton’s Playhouse, and now the post-bop sounds in Birds of Paradise are all metaphorically searching to be uncaged and free to fly. This work looks to the post-bop sounds of John Coltrane, modal jazz, and free jazz.
After a mysterious beginning and the sounds of bird calls, the 1st movement launches into fast sax lines reminiscent of John Coltrane and Chick Corea over punchy brass chords and driving bass lines. The 2nd movement repeats the opening mysterious sounds then moves into a dark dirge featuring sad lyrical lines. The energy develops from sadness and frustration into anger and rage, like a “caged bird”. The 3rd movement ascends into hopeful lyrical lines between the soloist and woodwinds. As the music rises the soloist fades away. The music descends and the soloist plays soft fast bebop lines from its past that fade into the night like a ghost in the jungle. The rare birds are finally free, at peace, and fly off into paradise. Commissioned by a consortium of 11 universities led by Dr. William Hochkeppel, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.