Dark Alley Swing

A visit to a jazz club in a dark alley inspired me to compose the Dark Alley Swing. It was a cold and misty night. People were standing in line and waiting for the doors to open. The drizzle was slowly swirling in the sky under the illumination of the street lamps, and down on the street, rattraps were hiding in inconspicuous places. The whole atmosphere was spooky and seemed like a scene from an old movie. When I came home from the concert, that memory unfolded to a little imagination that is portrayed in this piece.

At the beginning, one can hear a person’s rushed steps while dark shadows and unexpected noises creep up from all directions. The sounds of the steps then multiply and form an echo, and the person starts realizing that he is not alone. His heartbeat increases as more unexpected sounds appear. One by one, dangerous looking men start appearing from dark corners of the alley, and they start mingling into two groups. The tension between the groups rises and suddenly the alley becomes full of action and heat as an argument breaks out between the two bands and leads to a dangerous fist fight.

Sounds of men running after each other and of the punches landing echo through the dark alley. The whole action appears like a well-choreographed dance. From a distance, the sound of a police siren starts mixing in as it gets closer to the scene. As the sound of the siren gets around the corner, the fight suddenly breaks up and the fighters disappear into the darkness of the alley.