Drummer and composer ALLISON MILLER and arranger/orchestrator TODD SICKAFOOSE present “Valley of the Giants”, a new work commissioned by Living Jazz and the Oakland Symphony.

Valley of the Giants is written in honor of the late, beloved Bay Area percussionist, composer and educator Eddie Marshall. Conjured up is the magical spirit of the redwood forest at Jazz Camp West – nearby in the Santa Cruz mountains – where Eddie and Allison first met and taught together in 2009. (Miller is now the Artistic Director of Jazz Camp West). 

In Valley of the Giants, Sickafoose weaves together three of Miller’s modern jazz compositions, originally recorded on her album No Morphine, No Lilies. In addition to Miller, the piece features soloist Dayna Stephens on tenor saxophone.

“Sun Comes Up the Reservoir” opens the 10-minute piece with a foggy fanfare heavy on tuned percussion. Miller immediately enters the conversation, breathing in the slowly unfolding melody. After a handoff to the strings, Stephens enters, soloing over the meditative texture. Light shines around the sections of the orchestra, until flutes descend into the slinky, gamelanesque “Early Bird”. We hear this unhurried melody three times in three different keys: first with pizzicato strings and mallets, second with Stephens soloing over a jittery piano, and third kaleidoscoping around the orchestra as elongated pitches cluster together. The energy rises, and a new tempo appears out of nowhere, bringing with it “Spotswood Drive” (also a nod to a musical mentor – named after the street Miller’s first drum teacher lived on). This dramatic melody quickly subsides and the two soloists ruminate over its powerful echo amongst the trees.

~ Notes by Allison Miller copyright 2024