The Sax In Rock Music
When the legendary sax player Sonny Rollins joined us last week, he mentioned at one point how he saw all the music that’s come after jazz – including rock’n’roll, R&B, hip-hop – as musical...
View ArticleGig Alert: The Joy of Sax
The Joy of Sax“Sax 5th Avenue”Playing Thursday at 12 P.M. at 92Y Tribeca (200 Hudson St., Tribeca)Get: Tickets ($16)| DirectionsThe saxophone has generally been seen as the instrument of jazz, but it's...
View ArticleGig Alert: John Ellis
John Ellis“Lonnie”Playing Tuesday at The Jazz Standard (116 E. 27th St., Gramercy)Get: Tickets | DirectionsThe smooth sounds of Brooklyn-based saxophonist John Ellis come to New York by way of North...
View ArticleColin Stetson Ends 'Warfare'
Saxophonist Colin Stetson juggles a busy schedule touring with Arcade Fire, Bon Iver, among other artists. Yet with his solo work, Stetson's fascinating and inventive technique -- built around...
View ArticleGig Alert: Colin Stetson
ARTIST: Colin StetsonDOWNLOAD: "High Above A Grey Green Sea"SHOW: Wednesday at Le Poisson Rouge ($15)Some musicians stretch the boundaries of their instruments to a point where it just seems like what...
View ArticleRoy Nathanson: The Idiosyncratic Saxophonist Gets 'Complicated'
Few jazz musicians have put together as varied a career as Roy Nathanson. The New York post-bop and avant garde saxophonist co-founded the Jazz Passengers with trombonist Curtis Fowlkes in 1987, and...
View ArticleTerry Teachout on Duke Ellington; Author Amy Tan Picks Three; Matana Roberts...
In this episode: Duke Ellington is one of the towering figures in American music, but there's more to his story than hits like "Take The A Train." Cultural critic and writer Terry Teachout discusses...
View ArticleJoshua Redman
Saxophonist Joshua Redman is jazz royalty -- his father was the great saxophonist Dewey Redman. But Joshua is no slouch. 16 years ago, when he was just 22 and fresh out of Harvard, Pat Metheny called...
View Article360 Staff Pick: Henry Threadgill
It's a great day for jazz: Henry Threadgill's first major release since 2001. Saxophonist, composer, bandleader Threadgill is one of the most important and underknown figures in American music. He...
View Article#2804: Anthropofagia = Musical Cannabalism
From percussionist Cyro Baptista, isten to "Banquet of the Spirits," an entire smorgasbord of music and culture, not unlike New York City (or New Sounds, for that matter.) "Banquet" turns over the...
View Article#3088: Electric Guitar-Informed Music
For this New Sounds, hear some music by electric guitarists (and multi-instrumentalist MacArthur Genius John Zorn ) for other instruments…like saxophone quartet! The Swiss sax ensemble ARTE Quartett...
View ArticleThe Strange Boys Shake Up A Classic Sound
In 1966, when Britain's The Troggs hit it big with their classic tune 'Wild Thing,' the members of the Austin-based garage rock bandThe Strange Boys had yet to be born. Thanks to the lasting power of...
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Solo Works for Flute and Saxophone
The flute and saxophone may be close relatives in the woodwind family, but in classical music the similarities end there.While the flute has been championed by the likes of James Galway and Jean-Pierre...
View ArticleRemembering Clarence Clemons and Sax in Pop Music
Saxophone legend Clarence "Big Man" Clemons passed away over the weekend, following complications of a stroke he suffered last week. For almost 40 years, Clemons was the saxophonist for Bruce...
View ArticleBill Evans
Sax player Bill Evans talks about his new album, “Dragonfly,” and about performing at the Blue Note April 10-14, which will include special guest appearances by players of Evans' pedigree: namely Mike...
View Article#3444: Moody Works for Trumpet or Sax
Listen to an hour of moody nocturnal works that grow out of the jazz tradition on this New Sounds. Hear music based on a silent film score, “Wind” by Ibrahim Maalouf, an American trumpeter who plays a...
View Article#3444: Moody Works for Trumpet or Sax
Listen to an hour of moody nocturnal works that grow out of the jazz tradition on this New Sounds. Hear music based on a silent film score, “Wind” by Ibrahim Maalouf, an American trumpeter who plays a...
View ArticleIn Studio with The Donald Sinta Saxophone Quartet
Last week, The Donald Sinta Quartet drove 11 hours from Ann Arbor, Mich., to perform in the Young Artists Showcase studio.The group is named for legendary University of Michigan saxophone pedagogue...
View Article#3444: Moody Works for Trumpet or Sax
Listen to an hour of moody nocturnal works that grow out of the jazz tradition on this New Sounds. Hear music based on a silent film score, “Wind” by Ibrahim Maalouf, an American trumpeter who plays a...
View ArticleMeet Frank Morgan: Jazzman, Conman, Charlie Parker's Successor
Frank Morgan was a gifted alto sax player and Charlie Parker's protégé. He was also a heroin addict and conman who spent 30 years of his life in and out of prison, most of it at San Quentin, where he...
View ArticleFather and Son Jazz Legends George Coleman Sr. and Jr.
Over the course of his six-decade career, George Coleman Sr. has earned a reputation as one of jazz’s most eloquent tenor saxophonists. Coleman’s latest album, “A Master Speaks,” is his first album as...
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The ‘white heat’ and vulnerability of improvisational jazz
Watch Video | Listen to the AudioHARI SREENIVASAN: Next: how a passion for improvisation can make beautiful music.Two jazz stalwarts rejoin forces for a new album and a series of concerts.Jeffrey Brown...
View ArticleSaxophone Ensemble Puts Fresh Spin on a Holiday Favorite
And now for something slightly different. Under the direction of classical saxophonist and composer Lin Chien-Kwan, the University of Rochester's Eastman Saxophone Project played several selections...
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Jazz saxophonist Charles Lloyd on his lifelong intoxication with music
Watch Video | Listen to the AudioWILLIAM BRANGHAM: Finally tonight, another in our music series.Jazz musician Charles Lloyd plays the tenor saxophone, and he recently caught up with “NewsHour” producer...
View ArticleSaxophonist Plays Devilishly Quick Paganini Caprice
The music of Pedro Rafael Garcia Moreno, also known as Pedrosaxo, aggressively trespasses boundaries and expectations. The saxophonist expands the limits of the instrument and many of his performances...
View ArticleThis Saxophone Version of Debussy's 'Syrinx' Caught Our Ear
Debussy’s Syrinx is a staple of the solo flute repertoire. The music is wistful, with the notes interacting with the silence in a way that transports you into a dreamlike state. But it fits just as...
View ArticleMountain Goats Go Into Their Black Hearts On "Goths"
The Mountain Goats are led, as always, by singer, songwriter, and now - bestselling novelist, John Darnielle. Their latest record is Goths, recorded in a fancy Nashville studio via the console that...
View ArticleWhy Is It So Hard to Find Saxophones in the Concert Hall?
You cannot deny that the saxophone is the odd-one-out in orchestral ensembles. Some reference books or encyclopedias (hi, Grove!) will include entries that present the saxophone as an instrument like...
View ArticleThis Middle School Sax Player Wowed His Band Class With 'Flight of the...
Rimsky-Korsakov’s "Flight of the Bumblebee" just might be the only party trick that matters. Or so it may seem based on a video of eighth-grader Aidan Brown's “Bumblebee” performance that went viral a...
View ArticleThis Is What a Saxophone-Recorder Hybrid Sounds Like
Meet the Venova. It’s the first of its kind — the product of what happens when the saxophone, with its blistering sensuality ... ... and the graceful, sentimental recorder ... ... love each other very...
View ArticleGig Alert: Colin Stetson
ARTIST: Colin StetsonGIG: 'Sorrow,' Monday night at Le Poisson RougeSax player and composer Colin Stetson is probably best known for his work with Arcade Fire, Lou Reed, Bon Iver, and others, but his...
View ArticleGig Alert: Pharoah Sanders at Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park
Gig Alert: Pharoah Sanders at Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect ParkTickets: Free, Show at 7:30PMIn the 1960s, sax players John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders explored a spiritual, even mystical brand of...
View ArticleHow Steven Banks Learned That No Black Classical Musician Is Alone
Steven Banks is a classical and jazz saxophonist, music educator, and advocate for diversity and inclusion in classical music. In honor of Black History Month, we asked him to share a piece of his...
View ArticleWatch: Vijay Iyer and Rudresh Mahanthappa's Duet for Piano and Saxophone
Vijay Iyer and his longtime performing partner, saxophonist Rudresh Mahanthappa, perform their strange and savory duets in The Greene Space.
View ArticleWatch: Randy Weston and Billy Harper perform 'Blues to Senegal' (Live in...
Randy Weston is one of jazz's most renowned and visionary pianists and composers. Over six decades' Weston has been a true innovator, crafting thoughtful works that seamlessly meld jazz and blues...
View Article#4094: Playing With Saxes
On this edition of the program we’ll hear works that have two things in common: first, they all feature the sound of the saxophone, or multiple saxes; and second, they all exhibit a sense of play. This...
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