Nefarious

Nefarious was written by Jim Fieldhouse for The Fairey Brass Band from Stockport. It was premiered at the 2014 Brass in Concert Contest at The Sage, Gateshead and became the title track of the band’s 2015 CD. Nefarious has at its core a malevolent groove set up by the bass trombone and tuba section. The piece was originally part of a programme themed around myth and magic and the angular melodic material is actually built using the notes of the first phrase of Tchaikovsky’s iconic Sugar Plum Fairy theme, which is morphed into an extended funk line. The middle section of the music features jazz solo lines for flugelhorn, euphonium, trombone and cornet, over a more chilled-out feel that gradually builds to a restatement of the opening material and a ferocious conclusion