Superstar jazz trombonist Dennis Rollins and his BBC award-winning band Badbone & Co, will perform at the Norfolk And Norwich Festival finale 2007, alongside Norwich's own community choir, the Bigger Sky chorus. In an exclusive commissioned performance, the massed voices of Bigger Sky, along with Rollins' band will perform the world premiere of Soul Journey on Saturday, 19 May at St Andrew's Hall, Norwich. Dennis Rollins brings a unique and exciting approach to the trombone in a repertoire of groove-based funky dance music with jazz overtones. He's lent his unique and stylish talents to some of the world's top jazz and pop personalities, including Courtney Pine, Baba Maal, Jamiroquai and Blur. His expertise as a composer and educator made him the ideal candidate to perform with Norwich's very own Bigger Sky chorus, which features more than 100 local people. Taking time out from a busy week of rehearsals, Dennis spoke to BBC Norfolk's Martin Barber. MB: You're sending the festival out with a bang this year, performing with the Bigger Sky choir. It sounds like something of a party night planned for Saturday. DR: It's great. I've been commissioned to write for the choir, but not just the choir but to incorporate it with my band, Badbone & Co. You can imagine, it's quite a challenge, but I've gone about writing the project trying to meld the two elements together. It feels great. MB: How do you take funky, cool and upbeat jazz and mould it into something that a community choir can perform? DR: Well, I took the elements of melody and harmony, more than thinking of rhythm and lots of beats. Even though the pieces do have a lot of beats in them I've aimed more at vocal melodies and making something that can sing well for the vocals. The difficulty is trying to marry the two. MB: Was this project an exciting challenge, or a bit of a nightmare? DR: I was a little apprehensive in the very beginning but that was just an inner fear, thinking 'How am I going to do this.'
 | | So chilled, Dennis plays on a sofa! |
I'm fortunate, I've had lots of opportunities to work with different groups and different groups of musicians. Last year - I was commissioned to write for a nine piece chamber ensemble, a jazz rhythm section and Cuban violins. It's great to have these challenges of trying different instrumentation and trying to find a common thread with whatever elements are put together. My whole thing is to communicate, to communicate to an audience, to make them feel they're a part of whatever the performance is. No matter what I do, I always keep that in mind. It's one of the most important things as a composer that you can still challenge an audience, but I like the thing of letting an audience in and then throwing something at them as if to say 'That felt good, but check this, this is something a little different, this is something a little more challenging to your ears.' Then I'll pull them back in again with something they can feel is coherent. It's a form of tension and release, I like to give and challenge, give and challenge. That's how I keep things going. MB: So you're just a bit of a tease? DR: Ha. Some would say. Dennis Rollins performs at St Andrew's Hall, Norwich on Saturday, 19 May, 2007. For more details call 01603 766400. | 
