"3326" was originally written for the Billy Wolfe Composer's octet while on Southwest flight 3226 as part of both my "try to write music in different ways and different places" projects and my "amuse Billy Wolfe by writing music on short timeframes" collection. I like how the chart came out, so this version was written for the Medium Ensemble and recorded at our recent performance for Niles West Jazz Night (shout out to Justin Johnson for having us out!).

The music itself is fairly straightforward and what I lovingly refer to as a "layering gag" where essentially you keep adding in things and taking them away until you like where it goes. The inspiration for this approach came from the music of Anna Meredith whom I think I've mentioned before but is worth another bump (pun intended) even if that's the case. I was introduced to her music through various marching arts groups, but definitely didn't appreciate it fully until I sat down to transcribe her piece Paramour and had a bit of an "ohh... OH... ohhhhhhhhh..." moment. The combined simplicity and depth are just wonderful, and something I at least hope to emulate in not just "3226" but the rest of my writing.