Vigilante by Michael Markowski

Composer Michael Markowski (b. 1986) claims that he is “fully qualified to watch movies and cartoons” on the basis of his bachelors degree in film from Arizona State University. Despite this humility regarding his musical training (and glossing over the performance of his joyRIDE at Carnegie Hall when he was a high school senior, and his Frank Ticheli composition prize for Shadow Rituals the following year), he has gained attention as a composer of unique and sophisticated works for wind bands at all levels, film, and other media. His works are being performed across the United States and around the world, leading to an ever-growing list of commissions and guest appearances. Learn more about him at his website, IMDB, the Wind Repertory Project, Metropolitan Music Community, the Everything Band Podcast, and United Under Arts.

Vigilante was a the product of a commission consortium led by the 2024 Summer Band Symposium at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. Markowski elaborates (and I’ve stuck in some links):

When I was growing up in the 1990s and just learning to play a musical instrument, I would listen to CDs and cassette tapes on my boombox. I was just beginning to curate my young musical tastes, and at that time in my life, I only had a handful of random albums: Yardbird Suite: The Ultimate Charlie Parker Collection (thanks to my first saxophone teacher, Bruce Hermesch), Billy Joel’s River of Dreams (thanks to my dad who would bang out “Piano Man” and “Root Beer Rag” on our piano every now and then), and for no particular reason, Television’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 1: From the 50s and 60s. Why I listened to this particular album on repeat, I’ll never know, but perhaps it was foreshadowing my future as a film student and occasional film composer.

In Vigilante, I pay homage to some of those catchy old theme songs like Batman, Hawaii Five-O, and Zorro. In fact, it was after hearing a fantastic arrangement of The Green Hornet theme for trombone choir (arranged by Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra’s own Jim Nova, of course!) that I began to get really excited about the idea.

Vigilante characters are not villains. While they may have a reputation for breaking the law, they are dedicated to fighting the bad guys, and usually only go “above the law” when the law fails to bring certain criminals to justice. The music here even allows for our trumpet players to momentarily operate outside of the law of written notes. In the middle of the piece, an optional improvised trumpet solo is indicated, encouraging those bold and daring enough to take the music into their own hands. Occasional scoops, trills, falls, and even a bit of (optional) flutter-tonging all help to energize our story and bend the music to our will. The piece ends somewhat abruptly, with a determined repetition, perhaps providing us with a cliffhanger or an invitation to tune-in next time. And as so many of these crime-fighting vigilantes know, the fight for justice is never over.

For a full recording and the score, check out Markowski’s website about the piece. There’s also a detailed analysis by Marc Dickey.

Markowski cites a TON of influences that went into this piece. So let’s hear a few of those. First, a YouTube playlist of the entire Yardbird Suite album: