Dali in the Tropics

The French horn, a rather exotic instrument in the history of Jazz music, has among its most illustrious practitioners, legendary musicians like Julius Watkins, Willy Ruff, David Amram, John Clark and a few others, so I was so happy when the New Jersey Symphony commissioned me to write a piece for its principal hornist and great improviser Chris Komer. Subsequently, gorgeously illustrated by the painter Omar Corrales, the work contains elements of the Danzón and other Afro-Cuban rhythms, and is inspired by an imaginary, dreamy walk by the Catalan painter Salvador Dalí through the forest of my homeland.

– Paquito D’Rivera