Abstract
The Satin Doll Project was a combined compositional and performance project of the Gary Paolinelli and the Melopoeia Octet – eight jazz musicians and composers in the Jazz Studies program at California State University, Sacramento. The project began in January 2010 and culminated with an audio recording produced in May 2010, followed by a live performance of the combined works in August 2010. The project consisted of eight original jazz compositions by each member of the octet. Material for each individual’s work was based on motivic and harmonic material from the Duke Ellington/Billy Strayhorn composition, Satin Doll. This master’s document chronicles the creative process used by each composer through personal interviews with each composer, provides an analysis of each composition based on the use of source material from Satin Doll, and describes the unique features of each composition in terms of structure, form, as well as harmonic and melodic analysis.