N’Traned is inspired by the great jazz saxophonist, John Coltrane and utilizes two themes from his legendary work, A Love Supreme, as source material. Repetitive modal harmonies and dense polyrhythms brought Coltrane’s jazz even closer to its African roots and this piece takes that sound one step closer to Africa. N’Traned was initially written for the Biakuye Percussion Group, an ensemble that combines the musical traditions of the Americas and Africa. The melody was initially composed for gyil, a Ghanaian xylophone with a pentatonic tuning, creating the interesting sound of a harmonized pentatonic melody within chromatic harmony. Versions of the piece have been arranged for big band, jazz nonet, and jazz percussion ensemble.
