Immortal is an HBCU-style street beat that consists of a series of buildups that each feature a single section of the line, punctuated by hits or little licks in the other sections, and building up to release into the next section’s “feature.” Many of these little features are then reprised as accompaniment to other sections’ features. The final buildup takes us into the full battery groove at letter E, which hits you with everything I want in a cadence: a backbeat, nothing but rimshots in the tenors, sizz/sucks in the cymbals, and an excessive number of stick flips for visual flair. As described, it could almost be a parody of the way I like to write cadences, but I think quite the opposite—this piece is a quintessential representation of how I try to compose. Very old-school and very modern at the same time, with extensive focus on both groove and traditional rudimental fare.
It is arranged for 7 basses, but it is also not very heavy on bass splits, so that could easily be adjusted-for by any college line interested in this composition. The difficulty level may be pushing the upper limit of what counts as a “blue square,” but I truly believe that the rudimental content is far more reasonably achievable by college musicians than anything in the “black diamond” category.
