A few years ago, Bob was commissioned by the legendary Vanguard Jazz Orchestra to write an album's worth of new music featuring different members of the orchestra. It was this commission he was working on at the time of his passing in 2011. He had only completed four charts, three of which made up a suite called “Suite for Three.” This is the first movement to the suite entitled “OATTS,” and was written to feature lead alto player Dick Oatts. This piece adds to a long linage of features Bob wrote for Oatts over the years which includes “Make Me Smile” and his classic arrangement of “Skylark.” This piece really gives us a glimpse into the future of the direction Bob's music was headed. It's a truly amazing piece of music and we are lucky the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra recorded it on their new album, Over Time: The Music of Bob Brookmeyer.