(2023) RETRO POP

RETRO POP, commissioned by PRESENT MUSIC, is a collection of my earliest emotional musical memories, inspired by artists and genres that were once rather popular and, in many ways, not only made their mark in the time they lived, they also influenced a myriad of artists who later came onto the scene.

This three-movement work opens with I. À Primeira Vista, a mixture of a re-imagined 6/8 pop ballad inspired by John Lennon’s Norwegian Wood with the signature progressive rock band meter-changing techniques.

II. Hommage à Legrand is a nostalgic, melancholy homage to the French composer Michel Legrand, who passed away in early 2019. Legrand was famous for many popular movie scores, including hits like Summer of ’42 and Windmills of your Mind, with Marilyn and Alan Bergman lyrics. The original, in French, was called “Les Moulins de mon cœur” and was written by Eddy Marnay.

Legrand was a master at taking a tiny melodic theme and transposing it ad infinitum into sequences and cadences while making the most apparent II-V-I progressions sound rewarding.

The set finishes with III. Samba-Funk, an energetic blend of pop, funk, samba, and some Latin riffs inspired by Herbie Hancock’s textures from his album Mr. Hands, along with the fabulous sounds of Brazilian singer-pianist Tania Maria.

Watch: Hommage à Legrand (Movement II)