Patch Goes To Town was written about the first time my son went in to the ‘city’. The melody in the opening reflects his excited and happy mood - you can almost hear him stopping at intersections for traffic every eight bars. As the day progresses he gets tired and cranky culminating in a very grumpy baritone saxophone and bass trombone combination.

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There's lots of fun to be had stylistically, sitting very much in the Basie Band wheelhouse. Plungers for the bones and trumpets allow for the humour to come through and to experiment with the expressive side of playing in this context.

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The recording here is from the Daryl McKenzie Jazz Orchestra - and it has the spirit of the piece - It was originally written for this band but at a higher level that the Grade 3 of the published chart. There are just a few small differences in trumpet range and the ending is modified a little from this version to accomodate the Grade. You can hear the ending as it is in the Brolga Chart on their website