Five Pieces was written by one of the pre-eminent American composers of the 20th Century. Riddle has composed or arranged for the likes of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Judy Garland, Dean Martin, Peggy Lee, Johnny Mathis, Rosemary Clooney, Keely Smith and Linda Ronstadt. He was also the composer of a number of popular television and movie themes, including those of Barnaby Jones; Batman; The Bob Newhart Show; Emergency; Oceans 11; Robin and the 7 Hoods; Route 66; and more.
In the late 1960's, in the midst of his busy career, Riddle was approached by Dick Noel to compose a solo work for bass trombone for use on the LP record album Practice Makes Perfect, an early music-minus-one type project. On the LP, the work was performed by none other than George Roberts, "Mr Bass Trombone" himself, backed by the Academy Brass quartet. One of the earliest works written specifically for the bass trombone, Five Pieces has become a legend in the bass trombone world. This long out-of-print "lost" chart is now available in a clean modern edition, free of the numerous errors and omissions of the original. The editor has also included performance advice (tempos, styles, et cetera) lacking in the original scores, so that today's players might better understand the composer's intentions and also better emulate the style of Roberts. All advice is parenthetical, and may be ignored as desired.
