Blind Tiger
Composed by Joshua Hobbs
The term “blind tiger” is another name for a speakeasy, the ubiquitous illicit establishments that sold illegal alcohol during the Prohibition Era in the United States. These gangster-run nightclubs featured the growing genre of jazz music and were one of the first places to allow whites and blacks to mingle socially. These “hush-hush” societies where people of different backgrounds came together to have a good time is very intriguing to me. I wanted Blind Tiger to represent this unique era of history by assigning a fun “lick” for each section to play and others to appre- ciate, thus bringing everyone together in the fashion of a rollicking, funky concert opener.
The percussive introduction serves as a jungle-inspired alarm that spreads through the band. The opening wind interjections are derived out of the rhythms in the percussion section, and are prevalent throughout the piece. Our musical nightclub introduces one idea at a time and eventually we have many ostinatos combining into one funky groove. The vast majority of the melodic material in the piece is inspired by the B♭ blues. Musicians should pay very close attention to the articulation and dynamics (percussion in particular) to maximize the style of the composition.
Duration: 2:30
