New York-born composer Alfred Reed served in the 529th Army Air Corps Band during World War II. He wrote this work, translated as the Royal Road or the King's Highway, on commission from the 581st Air Force Band and its Commander. Reed completed it in 1985 and gave it the subtitle A Latin Fantasy. According to Reed, the composition is based on a series of chord progressions common to countless generations of Spanish Flamenco guitarists "which have become synonymous with what we feel to be the true Spanish idiom." Reed was one of America's most prolific and frequently performed composers, with more than two hundred published works for concert band, wind ensemble, orchestra, chorus, and chamber ensemble. --James Huff 08:19, 14 November 2008 (UTC) (from the program notes of The Claremont Winds, submitted with permission)