Inspired by the art of assemblage artist George Herms, this music is a "Jassemblage" of some of the 20th century's iconic jazz compositions.

I first met internationally renowned assemblage and collage artist George Herms in 2010 and we began collaborating on a performance piece that was staged for three nights in 2011 at the Redcat Theatre in Los

Inspired by the art of assemblage artist George Herms, this music is a "Jassemblage" of some of the 20th century's iconic jazz compositions.

I first met internationally renowned assemblage and collage artist George Herms in 2010 and we began collaborating on a performance piece that was staged for three nights in 2011 at the Redcat Theatre in Los Angeles. It was titled "The Artists Life, a Jazz Opera". George has been a jazz fan for most of his adult life and a number of his works are dedicated to some of his favorite musicians - Monk, Trane, Miles and the like. He inspired me to write some "music assemblages" that reflected his work. This recording is an expansion of those original arrangements. I call it "Jassemblage". I've used many of the iconic jazz compositions from the last half of the 20th century and assembled them in a way so that, not only do the melodies, harmonies, and forms weave in and around each other but the improvisations are based on a combination of the chord changes from each song as well as the forms of each one. The band consists of a stellar group of Los Angeles musicians - George Bohanon on trombone, Chuck Manning on tenor sax, Louis Van Taylor on alto sax, Henry Franklin on bass, Kendall Kay on drums, myself (Theo Saunders) at the piano and special guest Sal Marquez on trumpet (track #3 - "Also What").