Darren Dutton
Composer
Embedded Files
Darren Dutton (b. 2001) is a Manhattan-based composer, educator, and musician. Darren began composing in grade school and studied composition at the Crane School of Music with Dr. Timothy Sullivan and Dr. Ivette Herryman-Rodriguez. A jazz saxophonist, he is very comfortable writing idiomatically for woodwinds and using jazz-inspired rhythms and harmonies in his compositions.
Click on the title of any piece to view performance videos and scores, and for links to purchase. If you would like to perform any of Darren's music that does not have a purchase link, please contact him at dduttonmusic@gmail.com
Click on the title of any piece to view performance videos and scores, and for links to purchase. If you would like to perform any of Darren's music that does not have a purchase link, please contact him at dduttonmusic@gmail.com
Classical Works
Classical Works
(7') Reservations is a piece for saxophone quartet written for my senior saxophone recital at the Crane School of Music. It is dedicated to the Reserved Quartet, the quartet with which I played during all four years of my undergraduate studies. The piece begins in free time with the alto saxophone stating the piece's first recurring theme before the ensemble presents this material and a secondary theme through a lyrical A section. After several minutes, the piece moves into a brisk 11/8 groove, recontextualizing the material from the A section.
(5'30") Written for 8-part saxophone ensemble, this was the first piece of mine that I had performed at the Crane School of Music. I had been a member of the Crane Saxophone Ensemble in my freshman year and participated in several performances with the group in 2019. This piece was performed to open a concert over two years later as the ensemble's first live performance since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The piece begins quickly and loudly with syncopated rhythms pushing the music forward. As the piece progresses through three distinct sections, it becomes more introspective, with the final section reflecting on the material that has come before.
Other Compositions
Other Compositions
(4') Wayback was written in April of 2020 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic for Okay Dad., my first band. Until that point, I had mostly put together very basic charts which were enhanced by the improvisation and efforts of the band. During the pandemic, there were no opportunities to have this creative back and forth, so it forced me to write more compelling music in more compelling forms. Upon bringing it to the band several months later, the collective growth present in my other songs still happened, but it grew to greater heights because of the stronger baseline. The chart is heavily rock-influenced and includes a brief mixed-meter section leading into the final chorus.
(5') At 17, I first began attempting to create music purely on my computer and with instruments that I had. This tune was written entirely in Sibelius notation software and uses samples directly from the software. The only sound in this track that does not come from Sibelius is the live saxophone which I performed myself. I did not yet have access to a DAW of any kind, so the saxophone was added to this track in a video editor which I had on my computer at the time. This track is representative of where my musicianship was at that time and of my desire to put my ideas out into the world despite the fact that I had really not yet found the proper resources to do so. If I were to revisit this as an adult, I am sure there is plenty I would change, but I feel that for the sake of authenticity, this is better included in its original state to demonstrate who I was as a musician at that moment in my growth.
Arrangements
Arrangements
(3'+) This take on Dizzy Gillespie's "A Night in Tunisia" for a 16+ player Latin Ensemble was written for the Crane Latin Ensemble in 2023 and premiered in May of that year. It features a bari sax soloist carrying the melody, originally written to be played by the arranger. The Crane Latin Ensemble, formed by Dr. Marsha Baxter and now directed by Dr. Peter McCoy, performs Afro-Carribbean jazz, particularly in the style of the many New York-based groups that grew throughout the 20th century. The group's inception saw mentorship from the Mambo Legends orchestra, many of whose members performed in the Tito Puente Orchestra throughout the Mambo King's carreer. This arrangement takes a traditional Latin Jazz tune and translates it into the style of Tito Puente and his contemporaries. With an extended solo section, this arrangement can last anywhere from three minutes to as long as the performers would like.
(5') This arrangement of Pure Imagination is an all-basso acapella arrangement which was written for the Potsdam Pointercounts, an acapella group of which I was a member in my undergrad. The arrangement is in 8 parts plus a soloist and recommended vocal percussion. The first half of the arrangement is an homage to the beautiful harmonies and ideas of the original song from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, and the second half is a much more up-beat jazz-infused reimagining of the song which speaks to the diverse and exciting places imagination can lead you. This piece presents intense challenges in harmony and rhythm for the performing group and would be appropriate for a college-aged ensemble.
(3') This arrangement of Pure Imagination for SATB or AATB saxophone quartet was written when I was 16. It takes the listener through two different worlds of imagination as it begins lyrically and slowly before moving into an exciting double-time recapitulation to finish out the piece. It is performable by groups as young as middle school, but has also been performed by college-aged ensembles for some casual performances.
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