Down at the O.K. Corral is a Wild West epic and written with the young bassists in mind. It’s a fun and energetic piece, with much to enjoy, and uses a limited number of notes and positions which are ideally for bassists who are just beginning to explore the double bass repertoire.

“Anyone familiar with Tony Osborne’s numerous bass quartets will welcome this latest offering. He always manages to inject a sense of fun and playability using simple rhythms, good hummable tunes, and just a little bit of syncopation to keep you on your toes! This quartet is in simple ternary form, the opening introduction being in octave unison. The first section is reminiscent of a jaunty cowboy tune, the second section is a marvellous native-American type dance followed by a return to the cowboy section and a coda which repeats the introduction with a cheesy semitone glissando to end.” (Bass News)

Born in 1947 into a musical family, Tony Osborne studied at the Royal Academy of Music (London) with John Walton (double bass) and Richard Stoker (composition), and divided a busy career between composing, teaching, and performing. A prolific composer and arranger, Tony’s original compositions include works in almost every genre, notably Chaconne Syncopations and Wainwright’s Ways for brass quintet, Celebration Fanfare for brass ensemble, the musical A Fine Time for Wine, a beautiful and dramatic Requiem, and many works for string orchestra.

Tony’s music for young bassists is very much at the heart of the teaching, Repertoire, particularly his jazzy and enjoyable bass trios and quartets, and he had the rare ability to create wonderful music which is always player and audience-friendly.

In 2001 Tony Osborne was elected an ARAM (Associate of the Royal Academy of Music) for his pioneering and important work for double bass and was a featured com- poser at Bass-Fest for over ten years. He was a very successful BIBF Composer-in-residence in 2002-3, was a judge for the British Composer Awards and a judge for the BIBF Composition Competition from 1999 until 2015.

Tony Osborne died on 30 March 2019 at the age of 71.