(Level IV) Slip Slide A modern piece with unexpected turns and a nod to the avant-garde. Horns are layered over an opening 7/4 vamp, and tenor takes over the melody. The piece morphs into a bright 4/4 to half-time swing for a tenor solo, a brooding straight 8’s groove with muted brass and woodwind backgrounds for a guitar solo, and an electrifying brass/reeds call-and-response. Peppered throughout are a number of effects, among them, metric modulations, “car horn honking,” and a Doppler effect. The piece closes with ominous power chords over an infectious hip-hop groove. This rhythmically intricate and creative piece is on par with the adventurous writing of the current New York City jazz scene and adds up to an impressive showcase for the advanced band. Lead trumpet up to written D and lead trombone up to D. Performed by the Jazz Knights. 8 Brass

View all charts by Mark Tonelli

New York-based guitarist Mark Tonelli is an award-winning guitarist, composer, educator, and author.

Mark has enjoyed a busy career performing with artists such as Clay Aiken, Jon Faddis, Rita Moreno, Carol Channing, Lynn Seaton, Denis DeBlasio, Greg Bissonette, Ed Soph, Andrea McArdle, Al Martino, Bobby Rydell, The Coasters, and The Platters.

Mark has been leading his own group and appearing as a sideman with other artists for two decades. He has performed at the 55 Bar, Cornelia St. Cafe, St. Peter's Church, The Ft. Worth Jazz Festival, The Cottonwood Art Festival, The Dallas Museum of Art, and in numerous other venues. He has performed in Russia, Holland, and Canada and throughout the United States. Mark's group was featured on the award-winning web show The Digital Cafe Tour. The group has released two critically-acclaimed CD's, The Mark Tonelli Group and Chasing The Myth on the MTonal Music label. The group's third CD, The Thread, is due for release in 2011.

Mark is the guitarist for the West Point Band's Jazz Knights. He has performed with the Jazz Knights at Blues Alley, Jazz Showcase, Kennedy Center, Jazz Kitchen, Count Basie Theatre, The Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, The Midwest Clinic, and in many other venues. With the Jazz Knights Mark has performed with a who's who of jazz legends such as Benny Golson, Billy Cobham, Bobby Watson, Randy Brecker, Steve Turre, Rufus Reid, Bob Mintzer, John Riley, and Adam Nussbaum.

Mark's music has been featured on National Public Radio (NPR), and he has won composition awards from Billboard Magazine and The Great American Song Contest. His many arrangements for the Jazz Knights are performed regularly in concert and appear on their CD's.

When not performing, Mark is a dedicated educator. He is currently adjunct professor of music at St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill, NY. He has been associate professor of music at Collin County College and North Lake College in the Dallas, TX area.

Mark is the author of the MTonal Guitar Method. He has written instructional articles forGuitar Player, Downbeat, The Jazz Education Journal, JazzEd, Jazz Improv, Just Jazz Guitar, and The Instrumentalist. He also wrote a monthly guitar instructional column for the Texas music magazine Origin.

Mark earned a bachelor of music in jazz performance from William Paterson University and a Master of Music degree from the University of North Texas, where he was a member of the award-winning Two O'Clock Lab Band and a teaching fellow in the area of jazz studies. He is completing his doctor of education degree at Columbia University Teachers College.