martino on the rocks

Among the many drafts, notes, unfinished pieces and sketches found in Surendran Reddy’s archive after his death in January 2022, is a very short piece called martino on the rocks. This is by no means unfinished; in fact, it is a perfect little 10-bar piece for piano, synth, guitar and drums, and a delightful spoof on piano rag style, with a cheeky ending. It was composed on 16 March 1990, as it says on the only surviving copy of this work, which is the handwritten manuscript shown on the right. It undoubtedly belongs with other works Reddy wrote for jazz piano or ensemble in the late 1980s and early 90s for his band, Channel 18, but it was discovered too late for chronological inclusion in the catalogue and so it is published here as a ‘late’ work.