Vietnamese Theme

Vietnamese Theme (I became aware of this theme from a recording of it by the German Jazz trombonist Albert Mangelsdorf. In the recording of mainly Asian inspired numbers he plays this theme simply and unaccompanied without further embelishment. It is presented here in similar fashion but there is a second verse, which may be extended by further improvisations, lightly accompanied and commented on by the other instruments. Performance notes: The trombone solo should be played with freedom and expression. It may be accompanied by some occasional crotale stokes or similar, played by the resting players, to give atmosphere. The second verse, from A to B, is still free in feel. The trombone soloist may use the given improvisation or invent new ones. The Tuba and horn provide a gentle drone support to the improvisation while the muted trumpets puncuate the phrases with quiet but marked comment. The trumpets can play these figures quite freely as long as the order of notes is maintained. The whole second section, A to B, can be repeated if the soloist wishes to improvise further. Alternatively, any of the other instruments can leave his part and improvise if desired.The material may be used freely as a basis for this.)