Tony Osborne: Bass-Band-Beat for double bass quintet

About the Quintet

Bass-Band-Beat is a lively, vibrant, and engaging jazz-inspired piece for an intermediate and confident double bass quintet. Syncopated rhythms abound in this extended one-movement work for the rare combination of bass quintet, and each player is challenged both musically and technically, producing an exciting work that is accessible to any audience. Tony Osborne is unrivaled in this type of jazz-styled idiom.

Commissioned by Barry Green for the Bay Bass Band, a line-up of five renowned Californian Bay area bassists, led by Barry Green, it was premiered in San Francisco in April 1999.

“Because of the eclectic combination of talent and versatility within the Bay Bass Band, it would have been possible to write in virtually any way for them. The request was to write something upbeat and energetic and, as the title suggests, the piece draws from Rock, Pop, Jazz and dance influences, favouring the pentatonic minor, blues and Dorian scales/modes.” [Tony Osborne]

About the Composer

Born in 1947 into a musical family, Tony Osborne studied at the Royal Academy of Music (London) with John Walton (double bass) and Richard Stoker (composition), and divided a busy career between composing, teaching, and performing. A prolific composer and arranger, Tony's original compositions include works in almost every genre, notably Chaconne Syncopations and Wainwright's Ways for brass

quintet, Celebration Fanfare for brass ensemble, the musical A Fine Time for Wine, a beautiful and dramatic Requiem, and many works for string orchestra. Tony’s music for young bassists is very much at the heart of the teaching repertoire, particularly his jazzy and enjoyable bass trios and quartets, and he had the rare ability to create wonderful music which is always player and audience-friendly.

In 2001 Tony Osborne was elected an ARAM (Associate of the Royal Academy of Music) for his pioneering and important work for double bass and was a featured com- poser at Bass-Fest for over ten years. He was a very successful BIBF Composer-in-residence in 2002-3, was a judge for the British Composer Awards and a judge for the BIBF Composition Competition from 1999 until 2015.

Tony Osborne died on 30 March 2019 at the age of 71.