What Is It About The Selmer Mark VI? Musician`s Dystonia: A Silent

Transcription

Winter 2013 Volume 38, No 4
What Is It About
The Selmer Mark VI?
Musician’s
Dystonia:
A Silent Plague
Also: What’s on & where to go,
news, reviews and much more
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Society of Great Britain
2 Clarinet & Saxophone Winter 2013
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Regulars
42 Reviews
42 cD
44 Music
46 Diary Details of concerts, courses and play days
52 Readers’ Letters
52 Classifieds
52 Notice of AGM
53 Library Booking Application Form
54 Editor’s Notes richard edwards
54 Guidelines for Contributors
55 New Members
55 Clarinet & Saxophone Society Details
52 Index of Advertisers
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News
Clarinet & Saxophone Society Recital David campbell and caroline Jaya-ratnam
perform after the Society’s aGM at the Manoukian Music centre, Westminster
School Sunday 5th January, 5pm. you are invited
Bernard Parris at 90 interviewed by Stephanie reeve
What is it about the Selmer Mark VI? Kenneth Morris and Steve crow reflect
Musician’s Dystonia: A Silent Plague tim redpath in conversation
with William Upton
Ryo Noda’s Improvisation Performance directions discovered, ellie Parker
Peter Ripper a musical life, William Upton
Aurélie Tropez Well known in france and deserving of an audience here, John
robert Brown
Special Delivery Luca Luciano discusses his transcription of eddie Daniel’s clarinet
solo
Caroline Franklyn’s New Year Quiz Prize for the winner
Julian Marc Stringle Kenneth Morris’s pen portrait
ABRSM Clarinet Grade 4 your guide to the new syllabus, Stephanie reeve
Where Can I Play? Huntingdon, Slinfold, new Malden, Bingley, Machynlleth
Celebrating 25 Years of the Colchester Single Reed Festival full details of the gala
concert and play day, charles Hine
Who Are Our Readers? New Series John Davenport interviewed by Stephanie reeve
The Official Publication of the Clarinet & Saxophone Society of Great Britain Winter 2013 Volume 38 Number 4
Editor: Richard Edwards
Clarinet & Saxophone, Fron, Llansadwrn, LL59 5SL
Tel. 01248 811285, [email protected]
Editorial Team: Philip Bee, Janet Eggleden, Graham
Honeywood, Kenneth Morris, Susan Moss, Stephanie
Reeve, William Upton
Membership: Andrew Smith, Tel: 08456 440187 [email protected]
Printed by WO Jones, Llangefni, Ynys Môn, LL77 7JA
Advertising: Clarinet & Saxophone, Fron, Llansadwrn, Menai Bridge,
LL59 5SL Tel. 01248 811285, [email protected]
Copy Dates: January 15, April 15, July 15, October 15
© All copyrights reserved 2013 • ISSN 0260 390X
Views expressed in the magazine do not necessarily
reflect those of the Editor or the Editorial Board.
Winter 2013 Clarinet & Saxophone 3
News
PARK LANE GROUP YOUNG
ARTIST NEW YEAR SERIES
Park Lane Group continue to provide a
prominent platform for outstanding young
musicians and performances of special
interest. now in its 58th year, their
distinguished young artist scheme will
stage 40 events in six different venues
across London throughout 2013/14. Last
spring, a rigorous audition process whittled
over 140 soloists and ensembles down to the
final 16, and amongst those are the young
artists taking part in the January new year
Series at London’s Southbank centre.
two young soloists, saxophonist anthony
Brown and clarinettist Max Welford will
perform with their respective duo partners,
Leo nicholson and Katherine tinker, in the
week beginning 6th January, which
promises to be an imaginative and
stimulating series of masterclasses and
high quality performances. Both anthony
and Max will be performing works by the
late richard rodney Bennett, and the
premières of new commissions by Graham
ross and Shiva feshareki, funded by PLG.
these specially written works have been a
feature of PLG’s work for over half a
century, and continue to this day to fuel
new soloist/ensemble-composer
relationships.
anthony Brown
rozenn le trionnaire
Both of these promising performers have
already attained great success as soloists.
Max has performed at many prestigious
venues throughout the UK and abroad,
including new york’s Lincoln center, and is
a member of the award winning
Marylebone Wind Quintet. anthony’s
competition success has included first
prize in the Haverhill Sinfonia Soloist
competition and the Bromsgrove
international young Musician’s Platform,
and he has also been accepted into other
prestigious young artist schemes for
2013/14.
audiences attending the PLG concerts
can also look forward to performances
from Ensemble Matisse, featuring
clarinettist Rozenn le Trionnaire. as a
graduate of the conservatoire de Paris
(crr), the Paris Boulogne-Billancourt
higher arts education centre, La Sorbonne
University and the royal academy of
Music, London, rozenn is a keen exponent
of contemporary music whose career is
gaining recognition on both sides of the
channel. the Cataleya Wind Quintet will
perform works by Ligeti and Berio and
premiere a work by Vykintas Baltakas.
amongst the masterclass series running
alongside the evening concerts, the
Jacquin Trio make a return to PLG to work
with composer nicola Lefanu. they can be
heard at the Southbank centre, London:
tuesday 7th January 2014, 7:45pm - Max
Welford (clarinet) Katherine tinker (piano)
Wednesday 8th January 2014, 6:15pm Jacquin trio, nicola Lefanu (masterclass)
thursday 9th January 2014, 7:45pm anthony Brown (saxophone) Leo nicholson
(piano)
friday 10th January 2014, 7:45pm cataleya Wind Quintet ■
CITY MUSIC FOUNDATION INAUGURAL AWARDS
British saxophonist, alastair Penman, has
been selected alongside five other soloists
and two groups to receive an inaugural
award from the city Music foundation, a
new charity established to support
musicians at the start of their professional
careers.
for each city Music foundation artist a
programme will be arranged that consists
of a series of concerts, mentorship from
experienced performers and industry
experts, plus marketing, and Pr support.
in this first year, over 50 nominations were
received from conservatoires, arts
organisations and venues from across the
UK. these were assessed by a panel
consisting of artists and experts from
across the music industry and reduced to a
short list of 20 who were invited to audition
and interview.
the 2013 award winners are saxophonist
alastair Penman, cellist Mikhail nemtsov,
recorder player Miriam nerval, violinist
Mari Poll, harpist claire iselin, pianist
alastair Penman
cordelia Williams, folk band
Bridie Jackson and the
arbour, and alternative-folk
group tir eolas.
as well as being provided with
an umbrella of support from the
cMf, alastair has received a financial
award in excess of £7,000 that will enable
him to record a debut album and give a
concert tour later next year. alastair’s
main musical focus is on contemporary
saxophone repertoire, particularly those
works involving the fusion of saxophone
and electronics. to encourage more
activity in this area alastair is planning to
commission a number of new works and is
hosting a saxophone composition
competition, launched in november 2013.
the competition will feature a substantial
cash prize and the winning composition
will be recorded on alastair’s debut
album later next year. for full
details visit
www.alastairpenman.co.uk/
competition.
for more information about
the city Music foundation visit
www.citymusicfoundation.org
and for more information about
alastair and to see forthcoming
concert dates visit
www.alastairpenman.co.uk. ■
CAMBRIDGE CLARINETS
the first clarinets have been made at the
cambridge Woodwind Workshops at
Stapleford Granary, cambridge. Under the
guidance of Daniel Bangham, canadian
clarinettist Simon aldrich made his own
classical clarinet based on a five-keyed
model by Simiot (c.1805). at the end of the
two week course Simon played his new
instrument in an informal concert at the
Stapleford Granary recital Hall and talked
about his experiences of making and
playing the instrument. after improvising
around some themes of Mozart, Simon
commented that playing a clarinet such as
this gave a better understanding of what
composers such as Mozart were writing for.
More closely related to the recorder than
the modern day clarinet it was clear why
composers were drawn to it as an
instrument and the vocal quality of the
sound was projected beautifully with very
little effort across the hall. Simon is
currently principal clarinet of orchestre
Métropolitain de Montréal and has
appeared with many orchestras across
canada, the United States, europe,
australia and Japan. He teaches at McGill
University.
also attending the course as an
apprentice technician was adam fedor, a
language graduate and clarinettist
originally from Poland. Having taken part
in another of Daniel’s workshop courses,
Daniel Bangham
and Simon
aldrich with the
newly made fivekeyed clarinet
the Barrel experiment, adam worked for
three months learning skills necessary for
instrument manufacture and also
produced his own clarinet. He hopes to
become a clarinet maker after completing
further training. now based in Melbourne,
adam said: “Daniel was very supportive
and generous with his knowledge and he
inspired me into making clarinets in
australia.” for information on the clarinet
making courses visit
www.cambridgewoodwindmakers.org. ■
MARGARET
CELEBRATES
Margaret archibald celebrates her 65th birthday with a concert at
7.30pm on 3rd february 2014 at the Musicians’ church, St. Sepulchrewithout-newgate (on the junction of Giltspur Street and Holborn
Viaduct). Her programme is performed with friends Julia Desbruslais
on cello and pianist John flinders and includes Brahms trio in a
minor, op. 114.
the evening features two clarinet premières. nick Planas is
currently working on a suite for basset clarinet and piano in tribute to
his father ted, called simply To My Father, that has been 20 years in
the planning. nick has offered Margaret the opportunity to feature an
extract which she will perform on the very same basset clarinet, now
her own, that was the first instrument made by Selmer in discussion
with ted Planas, after he made his pioneering basset instrument for
alan Hacker.
Michael omer, film and tV composer and a long-standing friend
and colleague of Margaret’s, is writing a new work for clarinet and
piano especially for the occasion, inspired by themes of re-growth and
re-birth, and in particular by a lithograph picturing a gnarled olive
tree that has endured all kinds of weather and survived, it is called You
Could Hear the Olive Trees Groan...
www.st-sepulchre.org.uk/concerts.html ■
Margaret archibald
News
yoUr LiBrary –
BiGGer anD Better
Loans are increasing and the library continues
to expand. During the last few months we have
received a large collection of music from
isobel Godsell, whose late husband ted was a
clarinettist, saxophonist and teacher in
croydon and South London and a clarinet and
Saxophone Society member for many years.
ted’s collection includes clarinet and
saxophone ensembles, clarinet choir and wind
chamber music. Music from this collection
will have the suffix tG and we are very
grateful to isobel for donating ted’s
collection.
flautist caroline franklyn has donated a
large amount of wind chamber music to the
library including many wind quintets and we
have received roger tempest’s alto
Saxophone concerto and several works
featuring the clarinet by frank Bayford.
Both of these collections have been added to
the main database which is available within
the members’ area of the website. for further
information on these and other collections
please contact our librarian Stephanie reeve
at [email protected]. a library borrowing
application form is available on page 54 of this
magazine. ■
NEW WOODWIND
ORCHESTRA RECORDING
conductor Shea Lolin is to record an
album of music for woodwind
orchestra, entitled Twisted Skyscape,
with soloists from the czech
Philharmonic in January 2014. this
unique project showcases a genre
almost unheard of: an entire album
devoted to music for woodwind
orchestra by contemporary British
composers.
the woodwind orchestra’s tonal
palette is in turn boldly vibrant and
delicately beautiful, excitingly powerful
and hauntingly tender. it will be
captured here, in all its variety,
featuring the outstanding playing of
soloists from the czech Philharmonic
and including music by Gary carpenter,
christopher Hussey, adam Gorb and
Philip Sparke. the album will be
released as a cD and as a digital
download next March.
this project is ambitious and will not
be possible without a good deal of
public support. Some funding has
already been secured, but in order to
raise the funds necessary to produce
this album, you are invited to pledge
money in support. a pledge of £12 will
be rewarded with a copy of the album
sent to you ahead of the release date,
and you will be providing a vital part of
the jigsaw which will bring this exciting
and vibrant project to fruition. to find
out more and consider making a
pledge, please visit:
www.twistedskyscape.com. ■
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Society of Great Britain
David Campbell enjoys a varied career as a
clarinet soloist, chamber musician and
teacher.
at the age of 23 David was appointed as
the clarinettist in Sir Peter Maxwell
Davies’s ensemble, the fires of London,
and was quickly invited to play with
numerous other ensembles and orchestras
including the London Sinfonietta and the
London Mozart Players.
over recent years David campbell has
developed the solo and chamber music
strands of his career, performing in over
forty countries as a soloist with leading
orchestras and ensembles. His repertoire is
wide-ranging but he still champions new
works, many of which have been written for
him.
recent engagements have included
concerts in france, the USa, china and
Mexico. Premières over the past few years
have included concertos, written for him by
USa composers, Peter Lieuwen and charles
fitts.
in June 2010, David gave a series of
televised masterclasses at the Domaine
forget international academy in
charlevoix, Quebec which can now be
viewed on www.PlaywithaPro.com .
David campbell particularly enjoys the
genre of the clarinet quintet and has
appeared as a guest artist with many fine
string quartets including the Bingham,
Bridge, Brodsky, copenhagen (Denmark),
coull, Danubius (Hungary), Delme,
emperor, endellion, fine arts (USa),
Maggini, Medici, Solstice and tippett.
recently, David toured the UK extensively
with the prize-winning Sacconi and Solstice
Quartets. clarinet quintets have been
written for David campbell by richard
Blackford, roger Steptoe, Simon Holt,
Gareth churchill, Keith amos, and Michael
Stimpson, and a new work will be
commissioned from rolf Hind.
as well as numerous broadcasts over the
past thirty years, David has made many
cDs including two versions of the Mozart
concerto with the city of London Sinfonia
and royal Philharmonic, two versions of
the Brahms clarinet Sonatas as well as the
Mozart and Brahms Quintets, Messiaen’s
Quartet for the End of Time, two albums of
music by charles camilleri, the Bliss
clarinet Quintet, Phillip cannon’s Quintet,
Logos and works by Martinu, Maxwell
Davies and carey Blyton. His recording of
Peter Lieuwen’s River of Crystal Light was
released in May 2007 and the following
year Reflections - clarinet concertos by
carl Davis, Gerald finzi and Graham fitkin
with the aurora orchestra, conducted by
nicholas collon. in 2010 a recording of the
following the Society’s aGM at
4.30pm on Sunday, 5th January 2014,
members and friends are welcome to a
RECITAL
David Campbell (clarinet) Caroline Jaya-Ratnam (piano)
Manoukian Music Centre, Westminster School
Sunday 5th January 2014 at 5pm
Johannes Brahms
Charles-Marie Widor
Richard Rodney Bennett
Henri Rabaut
Sonata in eb op.120 no.2
Introduction et Rondo, op. 72
Ballad in Memory of Shirley Horn
Solo de concours, op. 10
Septet by Welsh composer, John Metcalf,
was issued to great critical acclaim and
richard Blackford’s Quintet, Full Moon has
recently been released. a recording of
roger Steptoe’s Quintet is planned for 2014.
David campbell is also passionate about
music education. He is currently Head of
Woodwind at Westminster School and since
2002 David has been artistic Director of
‘Musicfest’, a combined summer school and
festival in aberystwyth. He also gives a
week of masterclasses at Dartington
international Summer School. in June 2013
he stepped down from his position as a
Visiting Professor at canterbury christ
church University.
David campbell is the UK chair of the
international clarinet association, and has
represented the UK at the international
clarinet conferences in London, Quebec,
Ghent, Lubbock, Paris, ostend, Salt Lake
city, Stockholm, Vancouver and oporto.
from 2010 to 2013 he was also chair of the
clarinet and Saxophone Society of Great
Britain.
has given duo recitals at the Wigmore Hall
and royal festival Hall, and
internationally. She recently performed a
piano concerto live on radio 3 from the
Queen elizabeth Hall with the BBc concert
orchestra.
as a repetiteur (freelance) at english
national opera, caroline has worked with
conductors edward Gardner, richard
Hickox and artists such as Willard White,
John tomlinson and Philip Langridge. She
is a professor on the staff at the Guildhall
School of Music and Drama.
More recently caroline has sung high
treble parts for Synergy Vocals in Steve
reich’s music in the UK, amsterdam,
Dresden, Paris and tokyo - with personal
praise from reich!
David campbell is grateful to Buffet –
crampon for their support. He is playing
on Buffet Divine clarinets with a Lomax
mouthpiece, rico reserve 3.5 reeds and
BG ligature. ■
Caroline Jaya –Ratnam read music at
cambridge holding an instrumental award
and a choral exhibition. following her
masters degree she was
appointed Junior fellow at the
royal college of Music.
national prize-winning
pianist caroline is in demand
as an accompanist. television
appearances have included
accompanying international
opera singers Danielle de
niese, rolando Villazon
(andrew Marr show) and Bryn caroline Jaya –ratnam
terfel; and itV’s Popstar to
Operastar with rolando and
Katherine Jenkins.
caroline has performed five
times on BBc radio 3’s InTune
and has appeared at the royal
albert Hall in numerous
Proms as part of the London
Symphony orchestra and the
BBc concert orchestra. She
David campbell
continuing the series looking
back on the long and varied
careers of players Stephanie
Reeve caught up with Bernard
Parris to learn about his move
from working in a dockyard to
playing in jazz bands and from
college study to involvement
with the Musicians’ Union and
association of Woodwind
teachers. Bernard celebrated his
90th birthday earlier in the year
so on a sunny day towards the
end of the summer i found
myself on a quiet country lane
just outside the Suffolk seaside
town of Southwold where i met
Bernard and his wife Janet to
reflect on Bernard’s life in music.
B
ernard’s interest in music had begun in
his home town of Chatham. His family
were not particularly musical although
his mother played the piano a little. Bernard
had initially wanted to be a drummer and
used to have sessions in his parents’ front
room with a very good pianist. “We couldn’t
afford a proper set of drums so I had cases,
tins and home-made sticks which I rattled
about.”
The main employment in the area was at
Chatham Dockyard and Bernard’s father and
other family members had worked there. On
leaving school Bernard followed the family
tradition and was taken on as an apprentice
electrician at the docks. Bernard recalls: “I
was expected to go into the dockyard. I had an
apprenticeship which was more than my
father had so it was quite a good thing. ‘You’ve
got an apprenticeship, you’re going to be a
proper tradesman!’” By chance Bernard found
himself working opposite another musician.
“I went to chat to him and I found out he was
a saxophone player and I said I fancied being a
drummer. He said ‘you don’t want to be a
drummer taking all that kit about, why don’t
you take up the saxophone?’ So I did and he
put me in touch with somebody locally who
sold second hand instruments and I bought
my very first saxophone for £5.” This was
around 1938 and as there were no teachers
locally Bernard taught himself to play various
tunes and pieces. “After not very long I began
to take little engagements with bands.” A
further connection led Bernard to a tenor
saxophone player in the local RAF station
band and Bernard was able to take lessons
from him. “He used to come to the house and
introduced me to proper technique and
diaphragm breathing and for the first time I
BERNARD
PARRIS AT 90
had definite aims. These lessons, although
irregular, went on for a considerable period.”
Shortly afterwards Bernard took up the
clarinet. “As a saxophone player in the band it
became necessary to play the clarinet so I got
myself a clarinet and decided that I would
take it up properly and have lessons. I made
enquiries at Boosey & Hawkes and was
introduced to Albert Goossens who was quite
a prominent teacher. He lived in London and
so I travelled up to London every Sunday
morning through the buzz bombs and the V2
rockets bombs as the war was still at its
height.”
Despite having a promising career in the
docks Bernard made a big decision. “When
the war came to an end I decided that I
wanted to leave my day job and become a full
time musician. And this meant I needed to
take up full time study. Albert Goossens
taught at Trinity College so this took me to
Trinity on the teacher training course which
was a two year course during which I obtained
LTCL and AMusTCL diplomas.” After the first
year Bernard decided not to continue with the
teacher training but kept his instrumental
studies going. “I learnt the piano, the clarinet
and I took up the violin because I thought I
ought to know something about strings so I
had three instruments. By this time I was
based in Birmingham working in professional
bands. I used to travel to London frequently
and managed to compress my lessons at
college into one day.”
After leaving college in 1952 Bernard
continued to take clarinet lessons and
obtained FTCL and LRAM performance
diplomas. Albert Goossens had been a very
good teacher and Bernard was then led to one
of the most prominent players at that time,
Jack Brymer. Bernard had continued to play
the saxophone and realising dance bands
were usually short of tenor players he bought
a tenor saxophone and eventually specialised
in that. The list of bands includes Ronnie
Hancox, Vincent Ladbrook and others and
Bernard played regularly in Birmingham and
the Midlands while also doing tours to coastal
towns. “I’ve had jobs all the time. I can’t
remember all the details of when and where
but I can remember a long term engagement
at Hastings during the freezing winter of 1946.
I had regular long term engagements as well
as spells when I hadn’t got a full time job. I
then used to come back home and play with
local bands and could always rely on one or
two bands to give me gigs. At that time I was
doing my studying as well.”
Bernard’s teaching career has seen him as a
professor at Trinity College of Music, both
junior and senior colleges, and clarinet and
saxophone teacher at schools including St
Felix and Roedean and for Kent Music School.
“While I was at Trinity I enjoyed teaching the
junior exhibitioners. These were selected
talented children who came on Saturdays. I
was a member of the team led by Gladys
Puttick. William Lovelock and Gladys Puttick
were the big names at that time. Dr
Greenhouse Allt was the principal, later
followed by Myers Foggin.”
Bernard joined the Musicians’ Union early
on in his career and became part-time
secretary of the Medway branch. Invited by
Tom Barton to apply for the position of
Central London Branch secretary, Bernard did
not want to give up his professional playing
work which would have been a requirement of
the job. He therefore turned it down. However
when the job came up again Bernard applied
and was appointed secretary in 1971. This was
around the time of the BBC strikes and he was
in charge of the strike fund which gave grants
to musicians. He also led the salary
negotiations for the London Opera Houses
and the West End Theatre musicians. Bernard
remained in this job right up until retirement
having been there for 17 years.
Another of Bernard’s long standing
involvements was with the Association of
Wind Teachers, later renamed Association of
Woodwind Teachers, of which he became
chairman following Mary Chandler, exprincipal oboe of the CBSO. “When Mary
retired she handed over to me two things
which were run by what became Benslow
Music Trust and of which I was also chairman
at one time. One was the AWT who ran
courses for various aspects of wind teaching
including a course on woodwind repairs
which was run by Daniel Bangham. The other
was the playing weekends where we
assembled about 30 or so amateur players.”
These courses enabled participants to play in
small ensembles but also to come together to
form a large ensemble. The courses ran twice
a year and in order to keep a balanced group,
players were invited to apply. “From those we
selected hopefully a balanced group so that
we could make up about six wind quintets.
The problem was always to get enough
bassoons and horns. We had plenty of flutes
and loads of clarinets. Oboes were a bit scarce
so instead of an oboe we often had a second
flute. Angela Fussell and Michael Axtell
tutored on the playing courses and were both
wonderful.”
While Bernard had an incredibly active and
varied career throughout his life he continued
to study. He had gained his diplomas whilst at
Trinity but had often thought about doing a
degree. “One day at an MU meeting of some
kind I got chatting to Malcolm Barry who
taught at Goldsmith’s College and I said ‘oh, I
fancy doing a degree at some time’, he said
‘well why not!’ Lo and behold a few days later I
Once they realised
it was not Jack
they settled back
down and finally
Jack did appear to
perform
had a communication saying would you like to
come to Goldsmiths to do a degree. So I had a
formal interview and signed on to do the first
year”. This was in 1976. Bernard had to take
some time off during the second year due to
the BBC strike and when he returned the
syllabus had changed so he had to go back to
year one. The end of the course also stands
out in Bernard’s memory as he had to dash to
London to get his final thesis handed in with
just hours to spare before going off to a
meeting in London. One of his tutors there
had been Janet Ritterman who had given good
guidance throughout.
What might interest clarinet players mostly
though is his Masters degree which he
completed in the early 1990s. This looked at
British clarinet playing from 1940 to the
present day and centred on what was the
English style, the effects of recordings and
developments of instruments and other
factors. Bernard interviewed Roger Heaton,
Alan Hacker, John McCaw and Jack Brymer.
He met Geoffrey Acton, a clarinettist who had
worked for Boosey & Hawkes and who had
designed the last series of 1010s. Following
Janet Ritterman’s input on Bernard’s first
degree he requested her again as supervisor
and describes her as ‘wonderful’ in guiding
him through the final stages.
Our talk turned to instruments and
Bernard’s own instrument history is perhaps
very straightforward. As a clarinettist he
played on 1010s for a long while before
switching to Leblanc. “As a saxophonist I’ve
had the same Selmer Mark VI tenor for all my
playing life. And I also acquired a Mark VI alto
at some stage, but I was always a tenor player.”
His mouthpiece was a metal Link. “Otto Link
was my favourite. I acquired a 6* Otto Link at
quite an early stage and I kept it because I
loved it. There was nothing like it.” For
straighter playing Bernard used an ebonite
mouthpiece but this was not as frequently
used. “On the alto I always had an ebonite
Selmer mouthpiece which I used all the time.”
After such a career Bernard could not stop
that easily and continued to teach for Kent
Music School and play with the City of
Rochester Orchestra, the East Anglian Single
Reed Choir, directed by Angela Fussell, and
with Noah’s Ark Wind Quintet until he finally
retired eight years ago. He is now enjoying life
with Janet in Southwold and Janet joined us
during our chat. As a clarinettist herself she
shares many of Bernard’s memories, recalling
in particular detail some of the more amusing
stories. Bernard kept in close contact with Jack
Brymer and they were very good friends.
Attending a concert in Surrey Bernard and
Janet went to see Jack beforehand to say hello.
They left the Green Room a few minutes
before Jack was due to go on. The Green Room
was under the stage and to get back to the
auditorium they had to climb some stairs and
enter at the front of the hall which was also
the entry for the performers. Bernard led the
way but owing to the similarity between
himself and Jack, at least from the eyebrows
up, the audience applauded! Once they
realised it was not Jack they settled back down
and finally Jack did emerge to perform.
There were more tales as we talked about
players and places and it was clear that they
have both had many immensely satisfying and
enjoyable times. Now that Bernard and Janet
are fully retired from playing and teaching
they have very kindly donated their extensive
woodwind library to the Clarinet &
Saxophone Society library. We hope to collect
and catalogue this over the next few months
which will enable members to enjoy the
varied works collected over a fascinating
lifetime in music. As members of the Clarinet
and Saxophone Society Bernard and Janet
keep up to date with the single reed world and
we thank them for their donation which will
continue to be used for many years to come.
■
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE
Kenneth Morris in discussion with
saxophone engineer Steve Crow
Kenneth
Morris
KM: Well Steve, where shall we start?
SC: this is one of my favourite instruments
and in the right hands (and chops) and
given a bit of tLc over their now quite long
life they are a very fine instrument
indeed.
KM: i detect some hidden ‘buts’ here –
can this be anything to do with the
extraordinary prices being asked for
what could be a near 60 year-old horn?
something like 150,000 pieces using
mandrels and tone-hole forming
techniques not much different from
adolphe Sax’s, and also made many design
adjustments/improvements more or less
as they went along. i’ve noted more
than 45 body/key-work changes to
the altos and tenors alone in the
course of 20 years servicing Mark
Vis.
KM: if you include export versus
european engraving differences,
original lacquering and plating
variations plus the odd low a models,
along with the cumulative effect of
good and bad servicing work i’m
beginning to think that there is no
such thing as a ‘standard’ excellent
price-worthy example of a Mark Vi
out there in the market.
SC: they are seemingly expensive, but
considering they have the perfect
combination of excellent keywork, a
great sound and were hand crafted, you
are paying for quality. computer-aided
design did not appear until well after
the ‘last’ Mark Vi alto and tenor left the
factory around 1973. can we please return
to this ‘last’ business in a minute because
other Mark Vis (sopranino, soprano,
baritone and bass) were being made right
up to the appearance of the Super action
80s. computer-aided manufacture of
saxophone components came along much
later still in the mid 1990s.
SC: not quite true. you know the old
aphorism, “Beauty lies in the eye of the
beholder”? i firmly believe that saxophone
value lies in the ear of the player. i once
heard two professional players try out the
same sax. one claimed that the instrument
was well out of tune the other stated it
delivered the finest intonation he had ever
experienced.
KM: So what’s all this caD/caM business to
do with Selmer horns made from 1954-73?
KM: So apart from stating the obvious “noone should buy a horn without trying it
SC: nothing, Selmer hand-made
Steve’s PANEL A BEFORE PURCHASING, CHECK
MYTHS
ALL SIZES
ON ALTOS
• bell tip has no bends/badly executed
repair to inner wire (a very difficult
repair).
• tone hole heights have not worn down to
body level.
• there is a complete absence of crook
cracking or crook repair.
• pearls/pearl holders are not too worn.
• key-work barrels/tubing are not badly
worn or have been crudely repaired
• for signs of bad re-laquering.
• that the main body tube is straight.
• early models with short bells can be
sharp at the bottom, middle models with
long bells could be flat at the bottom,
late models (with a medium bell) are
good at the bottom.
• most models tend to have a sharp middle
e/f.
• five digit serial numbered and/or
european assembled examples are
best. all Mark Vis were made in
france, whether they were finally
assembled/engraved/lacquered in
Paris or the USa makes no difference.
• Post 1965 examples are made from a
different quality brass resulting in a
less good timbre. certainly many
players hear a different sound when
they play different vintages of Mark Vi
- but it’s all in the ear of the listener.
• Many suffer from poor intonation –
only a minority exhibited this trait exfactory – most cases of bad tuning
result from poor set up/regulation or
physical damage (rectifiable under a
good engineer).
ON SOPRANOS
• shorter bell models can have tuning
problems.
• early models don’t have a half-c cover to
flatten the middle c#.
• always difficult to play quietly in the
middle register e and f
• some are sharp at palm keys (vent
adjustment can correct this).
• all models have no front f.
ON TENORS
• tuning of early models good, middle are
very good and late still good but all
models tend to be sharp at middle e/f.
ON BARITONES
• long bell models from the 1960s tend to
have tuning difficulties.
• medium bell models from the later years
are better in tune.
• the low c# can be problematic.
• some 1974 – 1986 models can be stamped
Mk Vii on the front of the bell but were
made with Mk Vi tooling.
SELMER MARK VI?
out”, where does this take us? What pearls
of wisdom can we impart to our readers?
KM: that’s good news, it must be worth a
small fortune!
SC: i’m happy to provide a condition check
list for a prospective purchaser to use
when viewing/testing out a Mark Vi horn.
it’s important to realise that just a few
‘conditions’ are at the extreme ends of
repair-ability and that if these are
identified it would be unwise to make a
purchase without the advice of a really
competent/experienced engineer. SEE
PANEL A.
SC: not necessarily! Don’t forget the laws
of supply and demand, plus all the
‘condition’ qualifications in my panel. Well
heeled “pro’s/semi-pro’s” are a bit in the
minority these days.
KM: and i’m willing to put down some
salient background facts gleaned from
Mark Vi owners and various websites
(some of which are listed). SEE PANEL B.
SC: can i now return to the matter of serial
numbers higher than 220xxx (1974
onwards)?
KM: certainly, i personally own a low a
Selmer baritone sax numbered 287xxx
which from Selmer’s own charts appears
to be a late Mk Vii.
SC: no, Ken! it’s a Mark Vi because Selmer
never made any Mk Vii sopraninos,
sopranos, baritones or basses: up to and
possibly a little beyond the introduction of
Super 80 altos/tenors these four sizes were
made with Mk Vi tooling.
KM: are there any value yardsticks for
Mark Vis?
SC: now we are entering tricky territory
here. Just as a rough guide any Mark Vi
alto and tenor will usually be worth more
than the current new Selmer equivalent
model (ref. 54 - market, not recommended
retail) price if it comes with an exceptional
provenance i.e. it was once owned by a
very famous artist or in the hands/chops
of the potential purchaser it has ‘that
unique sound’ he/she is looking for. By far
the majority of Mark Vi’s value is
determined by condition (both playing
wise and cosmetic appearance) which
governs the amount of remedial work
needed to get the instrument into full
working order.
KM: So they are never cheap. Maybe the
potential purchaser should look at other
makes?
SC: Possibly. a number of my Mark Vi
owning clients have chosen to supplement
their horn family with a conn 12M or new
Wonder (replete with my conversion work
which is designed to make the instruments
‘feel’ more like a Selmer!). Without
exception these professionals have
changed purely to get the sound the
vintage conn emits. across the atlantic
King Super 20s are favoured as a jazz horn
while both in the US and europe Selmer
Series 3, Buffet S1 and Buffet
SuperDynaction are valued for classical
and small ensemble work.
KM: oK, let’s sum up. Selmer, over the
period of Mark Vi production, perfected
horn design so as to make the instrument
an almost ‘gold standard’ regardless of the
music genre involved. if you are lucky
enough to own one treat it like a valuable
horse; keep it clean and lubricated, stable
it securely (hard case, not a gig bag) and
give it an annual Mot using a service
station staffed with someone with a sound
knowledge of the breed.
Kenneth Morris has owned saxophones of
all sizes and many makes since 1946. Steve
Crow has been repairing and overhauling
saxophones for 20 years specialising in
Selmer Mark Vi models for most of that
time. ■
Kenneth’s PANEL B TRUTHS
MARK VI CUSTOMISING POSSIBILITIES
• almost all current Selmer competitors have copied the later
Mark Vi keywork topography, this makes it clear it has the best
ergonomics so far. additionally Mark Vis are rugged, have good
sound projection and are not ‘strident’.
• the Mark Vi is the instrument of choice for very many
professional players but this does not mean that a beginner or
student ‘in funds’ will get the best results from his/her investment
in a Mark Vi, such players should not ignore quite excellent new or
second-hand student and intermediate grade instruments
available for very reasonable prices.
• if you have a Mark Vi to sell and a professional player is
interested in purchasing it, be prepared to organise an extended
loan/trial period. a genuine buyer will be happy to arrange
comprehensive insurance whilst the instrument is in their
possession.
• Like all makes of saxophone Mark Vis need proper setup/regulation (more accurately re-set-ups/re-regulations).
ensure that your chosen saxophone engineer is experienced in
dealing with the brand.
• Unlike many brands of vintage horns, spares for Mark Vis (and
for that matter, Mark Viis as well) are fairly easily available.
• the best guide to vintage Selmer serial numbers/year of
manufacture can be found at
http://vintagesaxontheweb.net/SelmerSerial_no.html. other
useful sites include: www.shwoodwind.co.uk ,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wki/Selmer_Mark_Vi and
www.saxpics.com/model/14/Selmer-Mark-Vi.html.
Professional players and serious amateurs should be aware
that customised set-ups of most Mark Vi instruments can be
discussed with and implemented by an experienced engineer
e.g.:
•
•
•
•
•
•
spring tensions
key heights
left hand table key set-up
palm key risers
octave key mechanism adjustment/alteration
matching set-ups of alto and tenor
Steve Crow
Saxophone Specialist
0113 440 0987
0789 900 1099
www.stevecrow.co.uk
[email protected]
tim redpath in conversation with William Upton
MUSICIAN’S DYSTONIA
A SILENT PLAGUE
Trifarious
I
magine rising to the summit of your profession, and then having it all taken away
by a condition that appears to have no cure. Once one of this country’s top
soprano saxophonists, Tim Redpath found himself sitting at the back of concerts
in which he would once have been starring. Having myself suffered from a neck
problem that briefly threatened my career, I approached Tim with huge sympathy,
and found myself inspired by a story which has a remarkable and happy ending.
We all know the story of Django
Rheinhart, whose meteoric career as a banjoguitarist seemed prematurely over when he
was badly injured in a fire in his gypsy
caravan. Reinhardt suffered crippling injuries
to the fourth and fifth fingers of his left hand.
Despite doctors’ warnings that he would
never perform again Reinhardt took up the
guitar and devised a unique playing style
with which he emerged as the most revered
jazz guitarist of all time.
Tim Redpath’s encounter with careerthreatening adversity lacks some of the more
colourful elements of Reinhardt’s tale. He
grew up in the South of England in a house
that wasn’t ravaged by fire, cut his teeth in
youth music festivals rather than gloomy bals
musette of working class Paris, and he wasn’t
struck by injury until his mid-40s, by which
time he was already a well established
orchestral and chamber musician.
Nevertheless, his cautionary tale has a great
deal to say about musical society in Britain.
Musicians are notoriously bad at looking
after their health. Their instruments are
typically in better working shape than their
bodies, which sometimes isn’t saying much,
and they’re often more attuned to the needs
of their car than their own wellbeing. “If your
car hesitates once on the way to a gig, you
worry about whether you’re going to get
there”, Tim tells me. “If it happens twice you
take it to a garage first thing the next day. But
as a musician you just put up with all the
aches and pains we associate with the
profession, never considering that some of
these might be the warning signs of
something more serious.”
For the last four years Tim has been
dealing with dystonia, a neurological
condition of which there is limited
understanding and strictly speaking no cure,
which makes his story of recovery
remarkable. Dystonia is a clinical syndrome
in which involuntary muscle contractions
produce twisting and repetitive movements
or contorted postures; it can affect the whole
body, half of the body, or specific muscle
groups.
Mercifully, dystonia is rare, affecting only
0.000127% of the population. Rare, that is,
until you look at professional musicians, of
whom two out of every 100 are likely to suffer
from a particularly cruel sub-form of the
condition called focal task specific dystonia –
otherwise known as musician’s dystonia.
‘Focal’ means that it affects only one part of
the body, and ‘task specific’ means it only
manifests when performing a particular task
– playing an instrument.
Scientists remain unsure about the cause of
musician’s dystonia, and until recently it was
often misdiagnosed as a psychological
malaise, an analysis no doubt encouraged by
the stereotype of the highly-strung classical
musician. Today we understand that there are
at least two genes linked to a predisposition
to the condition, and the intense physical
demands of being a musician can trigger this
susceptibility.
When one learns an instrument to a high
level, the brain adapts, streamlining the way it
processes stimuli from, and controls
movement in, the parts of the body most
intimately involved in performance. In
musician’s dystonia, these adaptations go too
far, distorting the brain’s map of the body and
leading to abnormal sensorimotor processing
in performance situations, causing muscles to
work against one another. For pianists at their
instrument this can manifest in an
involuntary and uncontrollable curling of the
fingers, while guitarists and percussionists
can be left unable to hold their plectrums and
sticks. Phil Todd, who I interviewed in 2011,
was left unable to lift his right-hand fourth
and fifth fingers from the keys of his flute
despite having full use of his hand in day-today life; in his case, regular Botox injections
were used to weaken the offending muscle
sufficiently for him to continue performing.
For Tim the symptoms of musician’s
dystonia were less visually striking, affecting
the muscles of his embouchure, responsible
for creating a seal around the mouthpiece and
controlling the vibration of the reed and the
flow of air into the instrument. Tim tells me
about the moment when dystonia put a stop
to his career: “I was in the middle of a long
run of performances with Opera North,
culminating at Sadlers Wells, when suddenly I
just couldn’t play; I had to stop at the end of
the first act because my jaw was clamping
shut towards the back of my head, all the
muscles forcing me to bite onto the
mouthpiece which would just slide out
between my teeth.” The only way Tim made it
to the first interval was by putting his tongue
between his back teeth, his subconscious
preventing him from biting through it. At the
time this was a shocking blow, and
threatened to end his career in a flash, but in
hindsight the early symptoms had been
bothering him for years.
Embouchure dystonia can take many
shapes, resulting in severe lip tremors, loss of
control of the tongue, contortions of the lip,
or as in Tim’s case, involuntary jaw closure.
Musicians are
often more
attuned to the
needs of their car
than their own
wellbeing
One of its cruellest aspects is its insidious
onset, the early stages of the condition
indistinguishable from the telltale signs that
accompany lack of practice: loss of clarity of
articulation, an unfocused or out-of-tune
upper register, or a slight twitch attributable
to fatigue. When Tim noticed a lack of
flexibility and evenness in his vibrato he
turned to the practice room to solve what
appeared to be a technical niggle. This was
the worst thing he could have done, further
habituating the condition.
Tim is best known for his work as soprano
saxophonist and founder member of the
acclaimed Apollo Saxophone Quartet, formed
in 1985 at the Royal Northern College of
Music. Apollo have always had the air of an
ensemble with a mission, whether it be their
highly visual performance style, their drive to
develop a uniquely energised post-minimalist
repertoire, or their ‘us-and-them’ quest to
have the saxophone taken seriously as a
classical instrument. “Through our early
years at college”, says Tim, “there was still
this conservative attitude that you couldn’t
make a living playing the saxophone, and
that’s what drove us – we were young, very
ambitious, and wanted to prove the
establishment wrong.”
There have been films made and much ink
spilt over the dynamics of top chamber
ensembles. Most musicians agree that actors
and writers never really come close to
evoking the unique combination of
friendship, professional rivalry, inspirational
interplay, and suffocating proximity of which
the onstage drama too often gives only a hint
(Vikram Seth’s An Equal Music is a
noteworthy exception); with Apollo the
intensity has always there for all to see both
on and off stage. “During the first 10 years out
of college, Apollo really was like a marriage in
terms of the time and effort we were putting
into it”, says Tim. “There was a great intensity
about that whole period, and through the
competitions we were winning we were in the
unusual position that we had regular wellpaid gigs.” Of all the members Tim had
arguably the hardest decision to make in
committing to Apollo. He went to RNCM as a
clarinettist, and by the end of his studies he
was already sitting in with the BBC
Philharmonic Orchestra as second clarinet to
his teacher Paul Dintinger on a regular basis,
and performing with the Hallé. “That could
easily have been a career path for me, and
were it not for Apollo I’d probably be sitting
in an orchestra right now. But I couldn’t do
Apollo and have an orchestral job, and with
the exuberance of youth there really wasn’t
any question about it.”
Apollo sealed their reputation when they
won the 1992 Tokyo International Chamber
Music Competition, and spent the next
decade commissioning major works and
performing at festivals. This commitment to
the festival circuit, and the amount of time
new works require to learn, cut them off from
the more lucrative music society gigs that had
been their bread and butter, and Tim was
starting to understand why they’d been told
you couldn’t make a living playing the
saxophone alone. “I was having to drive
countless hours each day just to do enough
work to make ends meet”, he tells me. “I was
doing a lot of teaching alongside the quartet
rehearsals and orchestral work, and of the
whole quartet I was the only one who was out
there playing as much clarinet as saxophone.
One moment I would be playing guest
principal clarinet, or Eb, or bass, or basset,
and the next I would find myself in the
saxophone ‘hot seat’ playing works like
Shostakovich’s Paradise Moscow (a socialrealist opera set in a tower block, replete with
magic singing flowers and crooked officials),
which has a virtuosic soprano part.”
It was in 2002 that Tim’s vibrato began to
falter. Vibrato, writ plain, is little more than a
fluctuation of pitch created by moving the jaw
up and down, but as a musical device it can be
the difference between the saxophone as a
piece of plumbing, and the saxophone as
second only to the human voice in expressive
potential. “I could make the same sound I
always had done, but day-by-day I lost the
ability to produce a controlled, uniform
vibrato”, Tim recalls. “I still knew what
vibrato was, and what I wanted it to sound
like, and I even started analysing the physical
movements that make it, but my body just
wouldn’t do it.” Anybody who has ever had to
take a penalty kick, or had the chance to
make a winning putt, will know what happens
when you begin to think about things that
have always been second nature, and as such
Tim’s problem only got worse. “I could just
about cover it in Apollo, because we were
never a group that used wide French vibrato,
and it obviously wasn’t a prerequisite for the
clarinet, but it was worrying me, and I wanted
to know what was wrong.”
Tim attended a succession of clinicians,
with doctors, physiotherapists, chiropractors,
and vocal coaches all pointing out his
excessive muscular tension and poor posture,
no doubt exacerbated by long hours in the
MUSICIAN’S DYSTONIA: A SILENT PLAGUE
from the apollo
Saxophone Quartet
archive
car, the weight of clarinets and saxophones
on the arms and neck, and poor lifestyle. But
none of them could find anything to explain
his embouchure travails. “I was convinced it
was a physical issue, but at this point when
they couldn’t find anything I was starting to
think ‘Am I going mad?’” he recalls. “I was
having to lift my top teeth off the mouthpiece
to compensate for my jaw coming up, so the
mouthpiece was starting to float around. This
meant that things were becoming more
noticeable in terms of my general control of
the soprano, particularly in Apollo.” Apollo’s
planned year-long sabbatical of 2007 couldn’t
have come at a better time.
Unfortunately musician’s dystonia does not
improve with rest, sufferers can retire for
decades but the symptoms will still manifest
when they return to play, and despite Tim’s
reduced workload, the problems continued to
escalate. “A year later, I met up with Apollo
and we agreed it was probably better if I left
the group. At that point Apollo was a year and
a half shy of its 25th anniversary. I’d
dedicated 23 years of my life to the group, and
leaving it wasn’t just a case of losing that
playing work; Apollo was my musical identity.
If it weren’t for Apollo I wouldn’t have been
where I was, because you get the respect and
the recognition and the exposure that comes
with the ensemble. When that crutch is gone
you feel very empty.”
Tim’s decision to leave Apollo was
rendered somewhat irrelevant when his
symptoms took a turn for the worse. “The
real catalyst was a performance of music from
The Threepenny Opera with the Northern
Sinfonia at the Sage in Gateshead. I was
playing lead alto, and during the rehearsal the
conductor kept asking me for wider vibrato
and more stylistic flair, but the more I tried
the more my jaw said no. I convinced myself it
would be OK, and I went away and sat in a
practice room for the whole three-hour break
prior to the gig, but when nothing improved I
found myself overwhelmed by a feeling of
total despair. Then, halfway through the gig it
was like my embouchure had completely
gone, and I was hanging on for dear life just
to play the melody – forget the vibrato, just
get through the gig. A month later I was in
Sadlers Wells and my career ground to a
complete halt. I couldn’t play.”
Tim now wonders whether there was an
element of hubris nemesis to his dystonia.
“While I was freelancing in the build up to
the dystonia I was performing a lot, but there
was little time to practice, let alone take care
of myself. Fortunately I’d always been a great
sight-reader, so I thought ‘It’ll be all right, I’ll
just go in there and do what I do’. I just
wonder if, by pulling my embouchure in all
these different directions with very little
focused practice on any of the instruments, I
was asking for trouble.” Added to this pot of
self-destruction was the physical duress of
leading Apollo, waving a soprano around
without a sling (like many tall saxophonists,
Tim finds a sling attached to a Selmer Mark
VI soprano too restrictive). Whether or not
these were contributing factors, Tim was left
in a situation where he couldn’t put an
instrument near his face without his jaw
clamping shut, and where even drinking a
cup of tea or blowing on hot food could
trigger his symptoms. “The one saving grace
was that I had finally been diagnosed with
musician’s dystonia by a very knowledgeable
physician at the charitable organisation
British Association for Performance Arts
Medicine (BAPAM), so at least I could put a
name to it. But at the time there didn’t appear
to be any effective treatment available, or
very much knowledge of the condition, so
that’s where it was left.”
Few people identify with their work so
much as musicians. Whether you call it a job,
a vocation, a calling, or a lifestyle, nothing
can prepare you to face forced retirement
from performing. “When everything ground
to a halt I cut the whole musical world off. I
found it hard to be around another musician
because I felt like I’d lost everything that
made me who I was.” It would have been easy
for Tim to slip into depression, but the drive
that had made him a great performer didn’t
vanish with his ability to play an instrument.
“Dystonia in musicians has become much
more publicised within the last few years”,
Tim tells me. “However, the support required
is often overlooked. Behind most musicians
with dystonia, there will doubtless be a wife,
partner or close family member who is living
and sharing the experience of despair with
the sufferer. In my case, my wife Rachel
(Calaminus), herself a professional freelance
violinist and violist, has experienced the
journey with me. Without her constant
reminders that I ‘will play again’, and her
never-ending positivity, I wonder whether I
would have got through it without giving in to
sticking my instruments on eBay. It has been
hard for her, she has had to put up with so
much, but it has been worth it.” Rachel
suggested that Tim get away from the music
world for a while to clear his head. “I’ve
always loved restoration work and all things
‘practical’. I’d already taken a City and Guilds
course in plumbing a few years earlier, so I
decided to embark on some occupational
therapy armed with a toolbox and an
adjustable spanner! Once the word got out, I
was working for half the musicians in South
London – there must be at least a dozen
bathrooms I’ve installed within this rather
exclusive community.”
Some people might argue that the
saxophone would serve equally well as a
urinal as it is, subject to the application of
solder, but others might find the career
switch from musician to plumber hard to
reconcile. Fortunately Tim has no qualms
about the humorous side to his story. “I had
to do that as part of the process. I love doing
things, and I just wanted to get everything out
of my system.” Of course, this was easier said
than done when constantly confronted by
ghosts from his former life. “My lowest point
was when I’d finished a very long day
working for an orchestral musician friend,
and I was just coming downstairs in my
scruffs as he turned up with his fellow
orchestral clarinettists for a post-gig drink.”
Being confronted by his ex-peers shocked
Tim back into action. “It cleared my head and
made me realise that I had to get back and try
playing again, whatever it took.”
With the ubiquity of medical advice on the
Internet it is now possible to unearth
numerous resources on musician’s dystonia,
although as with all Internet dealings one
should approach most of these with healthy
scepticism. For one thing, it does not take
long to realise that there is something of a rift
between members of the scientific
community, who will tell you that strictly
speaking there is no cure, and the small but
significant number of musicians who seem to
have recovered from the condition. Reporting
on a recent medical conference in New York,
James Oestreich observed that classical
guitarist David Leisner, a recovered dystonia
sufferer, ‘electrified the proceedings with his
challenge to the [dystonia] research
foundation’s claim on its website that “there
is no cure for dystonia at this time.’” Tim was
fortunate enough to fall on Joaquin Fabra,
another musician who claims to have cured
himself and led many others to a cure; his
website is adorned with ‘before and after’
videos of musicians cured of dystonia.
“Generous support from both The Musicians’
Benevolent Fund and the Royal Society of
Musicians enabled me to spend five days with
Fabra in Madrid”, Tim tells me. “Most of that
time was spent talking to him about what was
going on and the positive mental steps I could
take. As far as he’s concerned, recovery is a
thought process – a way of undoing what
you’ve learnt.” Fabra’s advice is not actually
far removed from the advice of many
neurological specialists, although they would
doubtless consider his labelling of the
condition as ‘psychological’ and ‘emotional’
problematic. His advice, however, gave Tim
the hope he needed. “I remember the first
thing he said to me was that if I get through it
I’d play better than I’d played before.”
Tim returned to the UK inspired to retrain
his dystonic embouchure, but this was easier
said than done. “There were times when I
could almost catch myself off-guard, put the
mouthpiece in for a few seconds and just
blow with ease, but then my jaw would clamp
shut. It was like looking at your little finger
and trying to bend it all the way to the back of
your hand just by strength of will – you can’t
even imagine being able to do that. In the
same way, I couldn’t imagine being able to
play without my jaw closing. The first step to
recovery was getting over that disbelief.”
Tim tried every embouchure variation he
could, but temporary respite was the best he
could achieve. “It went on like that for two
years”, he recalls. “I was looking at photos of
other players and trying to copy their
embouchures, but nothing worked and I
became completely obsessive over it. During
my career I’d had all this information about
what an embouchure was, and now my brain
couldn’t process any of it.”
Enter John Harle, a controversial figure in
the saxophone world, responsible for kickstarting the careers of some of Britain’s most
exciting soloists. When Tim and the rest of
Apollo were in their final year at RNCM they
started travelling to London for lessons with
Harle, who was then taking the musical
establishment by storm. “I started thinking
back to those first lessons with John, where
he told us to forget everything we’d ever
learnt”, Tim tells me. “He got us to just put
the mouthpiece in without forming an
embouchure and blow as hard as possible.
You make this huge, uncontrolled sound
which looks after itself, and all you have to
think about is moving the fingers. It trains
you to breathe and blow with a complete
sense of freedom, and once you can do that
Tim is determined
to take the Apollo
spirit into
unchartered
territory with
Trifarious
without thinking you gradually step back and
involve the embouchure and the tongue,
building up the muscle to cope with the
unprecedented volume of air you’re expelling.
I think everybody deals with that process of
stepping back differently, and I began to
wonder if I’d got it all wrong.” Going back to
the exercises from that formative year was a
seminal moment for Tim, who found that
although he couldn’t make a nice sound,
when he didn’t worry about an embouchure
his jaw didn’t clamp shut. “I’d got into this
vicious cycle of thinking that the clarinet and
saxophone had taken me all that time to learn
to play, so they must be really complicated.
But they’re not. I’d been trying to make subtle
adjustments to my embouchure when what I
needed was to wipe the slate clean and start
from scratch.”
The year of 1977 is often regarded as a
blemish on pianist Glenn Gould’s otherwise
remarkable career, one in which his excessive
perfectionism led him to hide away from the
music industry. But there is a growing theory
among neurologists that the archhypochondriac was actually suffering from
musician’s dystonia of the right hand. Close
scrutiny of his diaries suggests that his year of
silence was instead bustling with systematic
attempts to overcome the worsening
condition. As Frank Wilson writes, ‘with his
career at stake and apparently convinced no
doctor could help him, [Gould] turned his
studio into an experimental laboratory with
his own body as object of enquiry. For the
next year he used his eyes, his exquisitely
tuned kinaesthetic sense, and his
imagination, to dismantle and scrutinize
virtually everything in his own posture and
movements that might bear in any way on his
playing.’ Gould re-emerged to make his
defining musical statement, his second
recording of Bach’s Goldberg Variations, and
Tim’s recovery is no less remarkable. “After
my epiphany I remember getting some
repertoire out, and just playing it all. I didn’t
care about the sound, and thankfully the
fingers weren’t any worse for wear even after
three years away from playing. I did this every
single day, with a ridiculously soft reed, and
slowly the sound started to develop, and I
would hit on small things every week. But I
couldn’t get complacent, because each time I
let myself think about forming an
embouchure I’d revert back to what I’d learnt
to do and the jaw would spasm.” As Tim grew
in confidence he realised that he really was
rebuilding an embouchure from scratch.
“Everything felt completely alien, because
every muscle was in a slightly different
position to where it was before. I unlearnt 30
years of bad habits, and even now I look in
the mirror everyday when I play and think,
Yes, this is better than yesterday.”
Perhaps the most remarkable thing about
Tim is that he feels lucky for having been
given the opportunity to take a step back
from a job that had lost its joy. “It’s very easy
in the music industry to end up having to
claw for air and do stupid things just to break
even. As musicians we need to keep ourselves
physically and mentally fit, and not take our
abilities for granted. I never thought: ‘Hang
on; something’s not working’, until it was too
late.”
The Apollo Saxophone Quartet has of
course moved on to an exciting new period in
its history, with Carl Raven and Jim
Fieldhouse joining Rob Buckland and Andy
Scott. Similarly, Tim is determined to take the
Apollo spirit into unchartered territory with
his new trio Trifarious. “During the period in
which I couldn’t play and I was picking
MUSICIAN’S DYSTONIA: A SILENT PLAGUE
Rachel up from concerts, or sitting at the back
of the hall, I used to yearn to perform”, Tim
explains. “I made myself a promise that when
I got through this we would play music
together and we would go out and perform
new music, including music written by the
composers I’d worked with closely in the
past.” Tim and Rachel have been joined on
piano by Nadine André and he has made good
his promise to commission new repertoire,
starting with Andy Scott and Barbara
Thompson. “Just before the dystonia kicked in
I recorded and co-produced a CD for Andy,
and we had a deal that he’d write me a piece
in return. All the way through this he’s been
saying ‘Just let me know when’, and sure
enough when the time came he wrote me a
fantastic trio called Stride.” Tim was more
sheepish about getting back in touch with
Barbara Thompson, whose struggles with
Parkinson’s disease, a condition with strong
links to dystonia, are well documented, but
her response was characteristically warm.
“She was just so pleased to see me, and she’d
already written a piece for clarinet and piano
called Russian Roulette; I just needed to
persuade her to add a viola! It’s one of the
most ferociously challenging pieces of music
I’ve ever seen, and when she sent me the part
I said ‘Barbara, I’m going to play this for you
one day’, with more confidence than I felt.”
Before long, Barbara had expanded on
Russian Roulette, turning it into a 20-minute
four-movement suite. “I have spent and
continue to spend an awful lot of time with
Barbara and her husband Jon (Hiseman).
Their constant positivity has been a real tonic
for me, and to now have the chance to
perform her music is a great privilege.”
Trifarious have now performed five
concerts, and are currently recording an
album for release in spring 2014 to coincide
with a national tour celebrating Barbara
Thompson’s 70th birthday year. This will
feature a brand new 35-minute work
commissioned by the group for clarinet/bass
clarinet, viola and piano.
Today Tim finally feels that he can see the
end of the recovery process, and is enjoying
every minute of his new lease of life. “It’s
taken four and a half years to get to this point,
and now it’s just a case of continued muscle
building and refining. I feel that I’m playing at
80% of my full potential. I say 80% because I
think that’s a healthy way to look at it,
because recovery from dystonia should never
be taken for granted. It crept up on me before
so what’s to stop it doing the same thing
again? Fabra was very wise when he told me,
‘Never become complacent. Always keep
looking over your shoulder, just to be sure.’”
Dystonia is something of a silent plague
among musicians, both in terms of the way it
creeps up on us, and in terms of the lack of
acknowledgement it receives. If as many as
two out of every one hundred musicians
suffer from the condition, then
conservatoires owe it to their students to
educate them about the risks and symptoms,
because neurologists and musicians agree on
at least one thing: the longer the symptoms go
undiagnosed the more difficult it is to retrain
and recover. We like to say that musicians are
“athletes of the small muscles”, but if we are
to take this analogy seriously then we are
decades behind our Olympic counterparts in
terms of both physical and mental wellbeing.
Until we catch up we remain reliant on
inspirational anecdotes such as Tim’s to guide
current and future sufferers to rehabilitation.
www.timredpath.co.uk
www.trifarious.com ■
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ELLIE PARKER
RYO NODA’S
IMPROVISATION
Improvisation I by Ryo Noda has found its way neatly into standard alto saxophone repertoire.
It gives saxophonists an introduction to extended techniques and unconventional scores
without being too harsh to an audience’s ears. Noda (b.1948) studied in Japan and the USA
before moving to Conservatoire de Bordeaux to learn from Jean-Marie Londeix. When Noda
published his collection of three improvisations in 1974 he dedicated them all to Londeix. The
publication by Alphonse Leduc is the only edition available for purchase, however whilst I was
studying at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels I was given an unpublished, handwritten score
which was sent by Noda to Londeix in 1972.
The score is made up of two parts, the
techniques do appear in the score. In the
instruction page and a two page score. The
manuscript, Noda describes the repeated
main issue with the 1974 published edition is
grace notes at the Vivo section as ‘Flushing
that the translation between the French and
tones’ and only stipulates that the grace note
English explanations of techniques and
should be a middle C# by the fingering chart.
symbols do not translate directly. Some
However in the published edition the C# is
directions are left out completely, whilst
notated as a grace note.
others suggest a different playing style. The
There are differences on the actual score
French directions are generally much more
too. Some are very minor, such as an added
specific than the English, which might be due rest to create a moment of complete silence at
to Londeix’s advice. For example, the
the end of the first phrase, as well as a few
instruction, ‘grow hazy tone’ in the
minor pitch changes in the Vivo section
manuscript has evolved to become ‘grow
where in the manuscript Noda notates
hazy tone or Flatter’ in the English
variations between chromatic patterns and
translation of the 1972 edition, but the French repeated notes. The biggest addition to the
instruction is much longer: ‘Souffler sur
score occurs towards the end of the piece.
l’extrémité du bec, afin de faire clairement
After the shrieking high C# at the end of
entendre le soufflé en même temps que la
the Vivo section, Noda changes the
note écrite ou Flattez’, which loosely
atmosphere entirely by adding smooth,
translates as ‘blow on the extremity of the
lyrical lines which allows the performer to
mouthpiece, in order to clearly hear the
show another side of his playing, culminating
breath at the same time as the written note or
use flutter tongue’. This instruction gives a
much more specific idea of the quality of
sound and the technique of the tone
production desired. Such phrasing sounds
like an instruction from a teacher, rather than
a performance, and it is possible that the
French instructions derive, in fact, from
Londeix. There is also a Japanese translation
of the instructions which match the English
translations and seem to be a publisher’s
addition rather than part of the original
score.
Some of the differences between the
versions result in a quite different approach.
In the 1972 unpublished manuscript, Noda
refers to a ‘moving tone’ and produces a
waving line next to this phrase to illustrate
the effect. In the published edition the
instructions only refer to vibrato. If the
performer only uses vibrato at this point,
then the standard bending of the pitch by
pulsating the bottom lip will create the effect.
However, if the performer is looking to create
a more extreme ‘moving tone’ technique the
addition of the bottom C key alongside the
use of vibrato can create a very different
result. There are also some instructions in the
handwritten score which do not make it into
the published instruction sheet; however the
in the bottom Bb. In the 1972 score this
happens over two fairly short phrases and
finishes on the low Bb with a forte dynamic,
fermata and with the ‘moving tone’ line.
However, in the manuscript this is developed,
with Noda creating a rhythmic sequence and
therefore extending the entire piece.
The final part of the phrase ending on a
low Bb has the marking rubato and indicates
pianissimo dynamic but still includes the
moving tone technique at the bottom. In
reference to the moving tone question mark
from before as to whether or not it refers to
dynamics or whether you should include
extra keys to get a more extreme result, Bb
being at the very bottom of the alto
saxophone range means there is no way to
add keywork to create a more extreme effect
so you can only use the vibrato technique
here.
Improvisation I is a mainstay of the
contemporary saxophonist’s repertoire, yet it
is only generally known in its published form.
A chance encounter whilst travelling allowed
me to consult this manuscript draft and I
have since approached the work’s
performance with fresh eyes. Study of the
two sources allows any performance to
recreate dialogue that took place between
Noda and Londeix who were central to the
creation of the work.
Noda, R (1974). Improvisation I pour
Saxophone Alto seul. Paris: Alphonse Leduc
■
WILLIAM UPTON
PETER RIPP
B
ack in 1957 when Peter Ripper
took his first musical job, he
was paid just three pounds a
week. The music industry has
changed a lot since then (even the
wages have improved a little) but the
qualities required of a good multiinstrumentalist remain the same, and
Peter is showing no sign of tiring of
his work. I met him at the National
Theatre where he will soon be
deputising in the on-stage band for
Luigi Pirandello’s Liolà – a one-off
gig, played from memory. This seems
like a lot of hard work for just one
show, but is symptomatic of the
dedication that has made him one of
the most popular and highly regarded
all-rounders of the last 50 years.
Above all I was struck by the amount
of variety in his career, and couldn’t
help but wonder if he is part of a
dying breed of musician, born of the
unique British music scene of the
‘60s and ‘70s.
The interwar period is remembered as
something of a golden age for British
musicians, and if the novels of Evelyn Waugh,
Anthony Powell, and P. G. Wodehouse are to
be believed, one could hardly set foot in
London without being bombarded by dance
bands, light orchestras, and popular songs.
Many musicians played dinner music on
strings before switching over to saxophones
for the dance, providing a welcome dose of
perspective to those of us who despair at
having to double on flute. Peter’s own father
was one such musician, and by the time Peter
was 13 their household boasted five violins
and two saxophones. Happily, he chose to
play the alto, and was soon studying with a
Who’s Who of the London music scene. One
of his first tutors was Leslie Evans, whose
name will be familiar to many Clarinet and
Saxophone Society members through his
Daily Practice Routines, which remain some
of the most highly regarded resources of their
kind. He also took lessons from Charles
Chapman, now only vaguely remembered as
one of the great saxophone virtuosi of his day,
and Michael Krein, who was almost solely
responsible for establishing the saxophone
quartet in this country. Peter even formed a
band with Robin Gardner, whose father
Freddy, with his distinctive vibrato and
mastery of the altissimo register, gave the
Peter Yorke Concert Orchestra its evocative
sound. With such a wide range of early
influences it is hardly surprising that Peter
went on to make his name as something of a
saxophonic lyrebird – capable of reproducing
the sounds of the great players of the first half
of the 20th century.
After a brief career as a conveyancing clerk
Peter joined the band of the Scots Guards for
a nine-year tour of duty during which he
toured Australasia and the Far East and
performed at Winston Churchill’s funeral – a
poignant moment for a young man born at
the onset of World War II. For a musician of
the period it was preferable to join up as a
regular in one of the army bands rather than
to lose three years of one’s career to national
service. “I would have liked to study at a
conservatoire”, Peter admits, “but this served
the same function, and at least I got paid!” He
started on the inconspicuous third clarinet
chair, unaware that he was about to be thrust
into the limelight as the Band’s alto
saxophonist. “That was how I learnt to sightread”, he remembers somewhat ruefully;
suddenly there was no hiding from the band’s
formidable Director – a tyrannical lieutenant
colonel with no praise for anyone, and an
unlikely soft spot for Jules Massenet, the
much vilified French melodist and champion
of the classical saxophone. The colonel’s
favourite piece was Scènes alsaciennes, in an
arrangement which boasts a rather beautiful
melody for the alto saxophone. “Being in the
army, he only knew how to shout”, Peter
recalls. “So when we came to my solo and he
barked ‘THAT’S BETTER!’ I knew I’d done all
right. I’ve never been scared of a civilian
conductor since!”
On demobilisation Peter joined the Bertram
Mills International Circus on baritone and
piccolo, and was then invited to tour with the
Michael Krein Saxophone Quartet. “At that
time I’d never played in a quartet, so it really
was a baptism of fire”, he recalls. “Norman
Barker, who was on baritone, picked me up,
PER
and the first thing he said to me was: ‘You
know what you’re doing, lad?’” Sadly, Krein
passed away six months later, and the only
commercially available recording of the
ensemble features Jack Brymer in his place.
In 1967 Peter joined Victor Silvester’s
famous ‘strict tempo’ dance band, whose
repertoire, and the inclusion of a solo violin,
brought him back full circle to the popular
music of the 1930s and ‘40s. Peter toured with
Silvester for two years, until he became in
such demand as a session musician that it
was apparent that a life on the road was not
for him. After that, a typical month might
include a week with The Four Tops,
Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition with
the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra,
deputising in West End shows, and session
work with the likes of Elmer Bernstein and
Jerry Goldsmith (more recently Peter can be
heard playing bass saxophone on the
soundtrack to Harry Potter and the Prisoner
of Azkaban). He also made his début with the
BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBCSO), then
conducted by contemporary music giant
Pierre Boulez. “I can’t say I enjoyed the music
much, because it was all avant-garde”, he
recalls of his time with the BBCSO, “but it was
a good challenge, and an inspiration to work
with Boulez, who was on another plane to us
mere mortals. I can remember getting lost
during one rehearsal, and him just singing my
part over the top of this cacophony of sound”
– a situation a more introspective musician
might remember with less fondness.
In 1974 Peter was a member of the
orchestra at the Palladium Theatre,
accompanying the likes of Cliff Richard, when
he was offered a job with the BBC Radio
Orchestra (BBCRO), a job he accepted despite
a considerable drop in pay. By way of
compensation it offered both the opportunity
to gain experience on the bass clarinet, and
the chance to play a bewilderingly wide range
of styles during the orchestra’s seven weekly
recording sessions. The line-up of the BBCRO
had nine permutations, including what is
known today as the BBC Big Band. I met Peter
shortly after the announcement of major cuts
to the Big Band’s scheduling, a matter on
which opinion has been divided, with some
critics questioning whether the end of the
band’s monopoly really is a blow to the BBC’s
musical diversity. “I was very sad to hear the
news”, Peter tells me. “But were the BBC to
use a range of other live big bands I would
applaud the change. Unfortunately I think
they intend to use recorded music, and I
The first thing he
said to me was:
“You know what
you are doing,
lad?”
believe strongly that we should keep music
live. The BBC doesn’t appreciate the live
music scene at all.” Certainly it is sobering to
compare the staid reaction to these cuts with
the mass uproar that met the Big Band’s
proposed disbandment in 1994. “I think that’s
due to the diminished profile of big band
music in general”, Peter tells me. “Clare Teal
is doing a great job on her show on Radio 2,
but audiences are starved of what they want
to hear. The problem is that they don’t know
they want to hear it, but when they do they
like it.”
Shortly after joining the BBCRO, Peter was
invited to join the London Saxophone
Quartet (LSQ), led by Paul Harvey, which to
some extent inherited the mantle of Michael
Krein’s ensemble. Alongside their work as a
chamber ensemble, LSQ were a regular
feature in the thriving recording industry of
the ‘70s and ‘80s, where they were often
booked as a section. “That time in the music
business was good, there’s no doubt about it,”
Peter tells me. “There was always somewhere
to go and someone to book you; you’d look in
the diary and all you’d have written was ‘EMI
Studios 10-5’, not who it was with or what it
was, because you just turned up and did it
and that was that.” On one memorable
session, Peter was booked to record Bernard
Herrmann’s original, unused score for Alfred
Hitchcock’s Torn Curtain. Peter was one of
four bass flutes, and when he turned up 15
minutes before the first take, he found that
the other flautists had already ensconced
themselves on the second, third, and fourth
chairs, leaving the exposed first part to him.
“The joke was on them, however, because
they had to grovel around at the bottom of
the instrument, trying to get low Cs to sound,
while I didn’t have anything below an F”, he
laughs. Such a culture, in which one had no
idea what one might be up against each day in
the studio, demanded the highest standards
of stylistic awareness, sight-reading ability,
and general musicianship; arguably,
musicians like Peter were victims of their
own success, expected to be equally
proficient in a vast range of styles and on the
entire range of flutes, clarinets and
saxophones, a legacy we all have to live up to.
When Peter left the BBCRO in 1979 he went
back to freelancing, and took up a teaching
job at Eton College, where his students have
proved more likely to end up in Parliament
than the West End. “I say to my boys when
they start, ‘I’d like you to leave here with a
good grade eight and to be able to find your
way around a 12-bar blues and a few
standards’. But I’m not sure a parent who’s
spent all that money on education will want
them to go into the music industry.” One can
only hope that Peter is sometimes successful
in instilling a love of music into our future
leaders.
Alongside his teaching work, Peter started
taking on longer runs in West End shows,
joining the orchestra for Bob Fosse’s Dancin’.
The highlight of that show was a note-fornote rendition of Benny Goodman’s
legendary 1938 Carnegie Hall performance of
Sing, Sing, Sing, with Peter cast as Goodman.
“We had to do it on stage from memory, and
the dancing was completely choreographed
to the music”, says Peter, “so there was no
room for error. At the end of the solo
Goodman hits a very long top B, and then
squeaks up to a D. Fortunately I got it every
time, and we did 96 shows!” His next show
was Starlight Express. “The fixer came in
during one of the first rehearsals and said:
‘You know what, this show could run for five
years’. It did 17-and-a-half!”
Given Peter’s penchant for variety, 17-anda-half years might seem a long time to
commit to playing the same music every
night, but in the 1980s restrictions on the
number of deputies allowed in pit orchestras
were not as strict as today. Understandably,
musical directors and fixers want to have the
best possible band every night, and this
means having as many of your regular players
in the pit as possible. Unfortunately, this can
be frustrating for musicians who need the
security of a regular gig, but have other
projects they want to pursue. “Back then, if
you wanted to put in a ‘dep’, you just rang the
fixer and said ‘I’m not coming in next week
because I’ve got such and such to do’, and
they said ‘fine’”, says Peter. “It gave you a
chance to keep all your plates spinning, and
when you’re playing the same music week
after week your playing starts to deteriorate.
It’s easy for me to say, because I don’t have a
mortgage and the kids have flown the nest,
but I wouldn’t take a show with the
restrictions imposed by fixers today. They’re
bad for the incumbent, and bad for the pool
of excellent freelancers who need the work.”
WILLIAM UPTON - PETER RIPPER
In 1993 Peter was a founder member of
Pete Long’s Echoes of Ellington Orchestra,
and features prominently on Jubilee Stomp
from their live CD Rockin’ in Ronnie’s, where
he reels back the years with a charming solo
on the awkward C melody saxophone, which
at the time had all but vanished from the jazz
landscape (the instrument is currently
undergoing a minor revival). Echoes of
Ellington prides itself on its stylistic fidelity
to the Duke Ellington ensemble of the 1930s
and ‘40s, which featured such distinctive
instrumental voices as Harry Carney, Johnny
Hodges, and Cootie Williams. Peter was an
obvious choice for such a band, given his
chameleon-like ability to mimic such players.
“Being a fixer is about finding round pegs for
round holes”, he tells me. “Pete Long is one of
my favourite people to work with because he
knows what his musicians can do and he
gives them the space in which to do it.”
Finding the right players for the right gig,
however, is rarely as black and white as it
might seem, as the members of Saxpak,
another of Peter’s ensembles, featuring all the
saxophones from sopranino to bass, will
attest. “Quite often a fixer for orchestral
works by the likes Leonard Bernstein and
George Gershwin will book a jazzer in the
section, and the classical players will all ask
‘Why?’” says Peter. “But it can just give you
that extra vibrancy”. In 1986, Sir Simon Rattle
conducted the London Sinfonietta in a
programme that called for seven saxophones,
and the musicians were drawn from the
worlds of contemporary jazz, the West End,
world music, and of course the classical
scene. The resulting sound was so good that
they formed Saxpak, with a repertoire drawn
from Ted White’s unusual septet
arrangements of classical overtures, jazz
standards, and film music. “We opened
Heathrow’s Terminal 5”, he recalls, “and
during the sound check we played The
Dambusters Theme. Somebody came running
over with a message telling us we risked
offending somebody with that tune, so we
played the theme from 633 Squadron
instead!”
Since 1998 Peter has been involved heavily
with music in his local community, founding
the remarkably prolific Maidenhead Concert
Band with the help of his daughter (his
brother, John, is also a professional
saxophonist, operating in the Malvern area).
The group performs a unique repertoire of
arrangements by Alan Gout and Ted White of
Saxpak fame, and Peter is excited by the
group’s success and individuality, citing his
work with adult learners as some of his most
satisfying to date. “We’ve played our own
arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue twice now,”
he enthuses, “and when you think about
Gershwin’s original scoring, the strings were
completely ineffectual, so you might as well
do it with a wind band.” When he gets a
younger student who wants to enter the
profession, he tells them that they have to be
able to double, rather than dabble, on
clarinet and flute. “Whatever instrument
you’re playing you must treat it like it’s your
principal”, he tells me. “Even if you’re a
saxophonist, when you play the flute you
have to approach it like you’re a classical
flautist, or you’re going to stand out.” (Peter’s
advice brings to mind a lesson I had with a
tutor from Versailles who suggested I do
seven hours saxophone practice per day;
when I pointed out I also played the clarinet
he said, “OK, seven hours on each!”) Peter’s
advice is rather less extreme. “As long as
you’ve got the right set-up on the saxophone,
and you do your harmonic series each day,
the instrument looks after itself”, he tells me.
“The clarinet and the flute, however, aren’t so
forgiving!”
As the interview closes, Peter tells me that
he’s going to be running through the music
for Liolà in his head on the train journey
home. His tireless dedication brings to mind
the words of the great cellist Pablo Casals,
who enjoyed a career spanning over 76 years.
“I don’t believe in retirement for anyone in
my type of work”, he wrote. “Not while the
spirit remains.” There can be no doubt that
even as Peter approaches his sixth decade as
a professional musician there is no chance of
his enthusiasm for music running out any
time soon. ■
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“e horn that I have been
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and now Nathaniel Facey joins
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Vincent Bach International Ltd
Unit 71 Capitol Park Industrial Estate, Capitol Way, London, NW9 0EW
Tel: 020 8358 8800
JOHN ROBERT BROWN
AURELIE
TROPEZ
I
first heard of Aurélie Tropez via my friend
the outstanding clarinettist James Evans.
James is to be seen in many clips on
YouTube. In several of these he appears in jazz
clarinet duets with Tropez, where the two
players play superb swing clarinet together. A
link to their performance of I Got Rhythm
(complete with a final super C from James) is
given at the foot of this page. Naturally enough,
through James Evans I made contact with
Aurélie. The following interview was originally
conducted in French, by email.
“My husband, Stéphane Gillot, is a
saxophonist. He leads the Red Hot
Reedwarmers (www.reedwarmers.com). I met
Stéphane during a jazz festival in Burgundy in
2003, where he was performing with a band. I
was there with The Jazzticots, my family
orchestra. Since we had similar feelings about
music, we decided to build a band together.
That began the Red Hot Reedwarmers. Little by
little, something other than music developed
between us. We became parents in 2010, and
got married last year.”
Now, Tropez lives in suburban Paris, at
Noisy-le-Grand. “I began to play the clarinet at
the age of eight, when I lived in a small village.
A school of music opened, where the only
professor played the clarinet. Therefore, I
played the clarinet!
“As far as I can recall, the first player I heard
was Benny Goodman, but I don’t remember
specifically. I listened to what my parents
listened to, without asking any questions. My
musical tastes are divided into two categories.
My favourite musicians whom I can listen to on
record and those who I can hear and see live.
“I am too young to have seen any of the jazz
masters in action. I appreciate them, but only
know their playing by proxy from records,
which distorts the feeling a little. Naturally,
therefore, I find compensation in listening to
members of my entourage. They have become
references for me.” Tropez lists her favourite
clarinettists as Benny Goodman, Buddy de
Franco, Edmond Hall, Kenny Davern, Buster
Bailey and Omer Siméon. Nearer home, her
favourite clarinettists include Evan
Christopher, Matthias Seuffert, Jean-François
Bonnel and Alain Marque.
“In jazz generally, there are too many names
to mention,” she says, “But they include Ruby
Braff, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, Count
Basie, Pat Metheny, Billie Holiday, Lester Young,
Paul Desmond, Coleman Hawkins, Oscar
Peterson, Stan Getz, Errol Garner, and many
others. Because I have such a huge admiration
for them I would also include: Jérôme
Etcheberry (trumpet), Philippe Milanta (piano),
Nicolas Montier, Nicolas Dary and André
Villéger (saxophones), Stan Laferrière (piano,
guitar, voice, arranger and drums), Spats
Langham (banjo and voice) and Nick Ward
(drums). In classical music I must mention
romantic and post-romantic musicians such as
Chopin, Satie, Beethoven, Debussy, Stravinsky,
Shostakovich and Tchaikovsky.”
Tropez didn’t learn to play the piano when
young, so she tried to learn it four years ago.
“But I didn’t have enough time,” she says.
“Since I’ve had my baby it has become difficult
to find time to do anything else!” Tropez
learned to play the clarinet from the age of
eight, with a teacher in a small music school.
“But he wasn’t a good teacher,” she says. “Then
I started to learn classical saxophone at the
conservatory in Nice. I won awards for
saxophone and chamber music. At the same
time I continued to play clarinet in jazz
orchestras, as I took the course.
“I resumed the study of jazz clarinet studies
in Aix-en-Provence with Jean-François Bonnell.
He opened my ears, and helped me to discover
the pleasure of listening. He also helped me to
discover great jazz solos. In turn, this pushed
me to become a professional musician!
“I then studied with Nicolas Dary in Paris,
who made me work at harmony. Now, I can
improvise on a piece without hearing it
previously. Following on I took a few courses
with André Villéger. He also made me work at
harmony, learning tunes and developing my
clarinet sound.”
Do you ever take consultation lessons
today? “No. I stopped during my pregnancy. My
life as a young mother, and as a professional
musician, left me no time to study.”
straight from school? “I earned some of my
living by playing the clarinet from the age of
20, but I became really professional at the age
of 25 years.”
Do you (or have you ever) transcribed great
jazz solos from records? “Yes. I did it a lot.
When I have time I still do it, and I love it.”
Have you ever studied the classical clarinet
repertoire - Weber, Mozart, Poulenc,
Milhaud, etc.? “No, never, I only studied
classical saxophone repertoire.”
What do you like most about playing
professionally? “Playing professionally has
helped me, in that I play regularly with
wonderful artists. It’s a huge pleasure to share
my passion with talented musicians. I also
much appreciate meeting and creating links
with people across the world. To be able to live
one’s passion is great good luck!”
Is there any aspect of playing professionally
that you dislike? That is, apart from
tiresome Englishmen trying to interview
you! “This interview is funny. I like it!
Sometimes to earn a living and to feed his
family, a musician should not be expected to
play in poor conditions for people who do not
heed his music, I don’t like that. This job calls
for years of personal work. During our entire
lives, almost daily the working hours are long.
Some people see only the fun side. Such lack of
respect hurts me deeply. There is also the
darker side of touring. I constantly have a
suitcase at home, ready to travel. Sometimes I
feel as though I’m living out of a suitcase.”
Have you any plans to come to the UK? “Not
for the moment.”
Do you have, or plan to have, a website of
your own? “Yes, I’m creating my own site. It’ll
be ready before the summer.”
Equipment: I play a Selmer Recital clarinet,
with a Vandoren 5JB mouthpiece and Vandoren
V12 reeds, strength three.
Discography :
Jazzticots, Static Strut (2000), High Fever (2006)
red Hot reedwarmers, King Joe (2005), Apex Blues
(2007), Stomp off records
Kirby Memory, Pastel Blue (2006)
Pink turtle, Pop In Swing (2007), Á la mode (2012)
Laurent Mignard Duke orchestra, Duke Ellington is
alive (2009)(Grand prix du Hot club de france),
Ellington French Touch (2012)(columbia/ Sony Music)
china Moses and raphael Lemonier, This One’s For
Dinah (2009)
Stan Laferrière, To My Guitar Heroes (2009)
Laurent Mignard Duke orchestra
Swingberries, Laughing At Life(2012)
Future CD issues:
“I recorded a CD with one of my bands, the
Swingberries, in April. Then I plan to record a
second CD with “Djangobop”, Stan Laferrière’s
band, in September.”
Video:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=z42A-r5aNI&feature=related
www.jamesevansjazz.co.uk ■
Did you become a professional musician
LUCA LUCIANO DISCUSSES HIS TRANSCRIPTION OF
SPECIAL DELIVE
E
ddie Daniels, one of the most appreciated clarinettists in the world,
performs Benny Goodman’s tune Air Mail Special. This solo has been
transcribed from a track included in the album Benny Rides Again, coproduced with the vibraphone player Gary Burton, as a keen homage to Benny
Goodman and Lionel Hampton. Many clarinettists, not only jazz ones, have
been studying Daniels’s style as a fine combination of focus, mastery of the
instrument, a touch typical of a classical instrumentalist and the instinct,
creativity and drive, typical of an inspired improviser. This solo will not
disappoint his fans.
This transcription is for
intermediate/advanced players and it is
written, of course, for a Bb instrument. The
key in which the tune is performed on the
recording is different from the one that can be
found on some ‘real books’ or ‘jazz fake
books’, it is in D instead of C. Changing the
key of a tune is common practice in jazz
music and it can happen for a variety of
reasons. Besides the obvious ones (e.g.
playing the tune in a more comfortable key,
that probably would not apply to this
particular case), one of the main reasons is to
find a key that either suits the style of the
player or his tone, as some tunes may sound
too high (and therefore too bright) or too low,
or can be interpreted better in a key that
gives, for example, the chance to play
different sections of the tune in a different
register of the instrument. In the specific case
of an album like the above with many tunes
in keys with one or two flats/sharps only, the
change of key would serve the purpose of
avoiding playing always in the same keys.
We can start our analysis with the use (or
better the lack of it) of the glissando. What
was once a great weapon of clarinettists (and
saxophonists like Johnny Hodges) of the past,
it is, in this solo, definitely absent. The (jazz)
clarinet excursus has seen the techniques
used developing during the years from
players like Sidney Bechet (whose glissando
and, most of all, vibrato was renowned all
around the world) via Woody Herman and
Benny Goodman and passed through players
like Buddy DeFranco and Jimmy Giuffre and
sees Daniels as a logical continuation. One
can notice a clear idea behind many of
Daniels’s solos, not only those on albums like
Breakthrough that critics would categorise as
‘third stream’ and therefore it would justify
the absence of techniques associated with
Hot Jazz, Dixieland, etc. Reducing what feels
almost like an abuse (more than a use) of the
glissando and the vibrato (so dear to players
like Sidney Bechet and clarinettists of the
swing era), playing with a more focused, purer
tone with the right dosage of vibrato only
when needed, replacing the glissando with a
chromatic scale (as on this solo too),
exploiting the whole extension of the
instrument without limiting oneself to the
register with the speaker key, emphasising
the whole dynamic range of the instrument,
would give the instrumentalist the chance to
face the whole of the 20th century and
contemporary repertoire (including
Stockhausen, Berio and contemporary
improvised music) with a technique that is
more suited for the music of today. In other
words, instead of remaining stuck with the
jazz styles of more than a century ago, a
clarinettist can either embrace the postmodernist movement or overcome the latter
and become equipped to be a 21st century
musician. As better expressed by the
intellectual Umberto Eco:
‘…(a) postmodernist author neither merely
repudiates nor merely imitates either his 20th
century modernist parents or his 19th
century post-modernist grandparents, he has
the first half of our century behind his back
but not as a burden on his shoulders’i.
Paraphrasing his comments on postmodernism, we could say that a musician of
the 21st century could be someone who
‘neither repudiates nor imitates either his
modernist or post-modernist parents and has
the music of the past centuries behind his
back but not as a burden on his shoulders’.
For most of the solo, Daniels stays within
an octave and a half, hardly going under the B
on the third line. This is one of the main
issues encountered on clarinet solos on uptempos or in situations where the instrument
is somehow out-powered by other
instruments (e.g. in a big band or a loud
rhythm section). Therefore the chance to
explore and emphasise darker tones and/or
the lower register is quite limited forcing the
player to stay on a brighter and louder
register of the clarinet which may turn out to
be, in the long run, counterproductive or
even monotonous. This point can also be
related to the idea of the clarinet excursus we
mentioned earlier. The repertoire related to
the Western-European tradition has wisely
used two great features of the clarinet: an
extension almost unparallelled by any other
wind instrument; the dynamic range of the
instrument itself is capable of going from a
pianissimo that can be barely heard to a
fortissimo that can fill a concert hall with a
quickness that is, again, almost unparallelled
by other instruments (not only woodwinds).
The absence of these two characteristics
(along with the others mentioned earlier) not
only forces the player to a short solo (in this
case only two choruses), but prevents him
from achieving the aesthetic goals of postmodernism as there is no ‘ironic and innocent
revision of the earlier styles’ (as suggested by
Eco, op. cit.).
The chord progression of this track is a
kind of rhythm change in the A section where
D is mainly meant as a D7, the original chord
progression is then played on the B Section.
The rhythm change (along with the blues
form) is the bread and butter of any jazz
player and this arrangement serves the
purpose of ‘personalising’ the tune in a way
and works well at this speed as many jazz
virtuosos do play the rhythm change at a
quite fast tempo. Many jazz instrumentalists
would also play the rhythm change in C,
which gives another good reason for
changing the key of the piece. As often
happens, such a tempo forces players
(including Daniels) to an approach that is
mainly diatonic with some intervals of a third
here and there, mainly part of arpeggios. On
some sections, though, like the B section of
the first chorus, he uses a chromatic passage
and on bars 9-12 the chords |D7 EbMaj | G7 |
Cmin7 GMaj7 | D D7 | maybe intended as
superimposed material by the melodist, as on
bars 33-36 the chords | D | Cmin7 | D7 G | E7
A7| can also be intended as superimpositions.
Note how he begins and ends the solo
using the pentatonic scale built on the main
key. This may serve the purpose of building
up the solo using scales with fewer notes at
the beginning and then take the solo up with
scales of seven and eight notes, playing the
passages with more pitches before drying the
solo up and fading it out. It also serves the
purpose of compensating the more dissonant
material that a soloist may play introducing
more consonant material to release the
tension. It is exactly this ‘tension and release
basis’ that the saxophonist and educator
David Liebman so eloquently explains
(Liebman, 1991:13) that is part of not only
every great solo (and a distinctive feature of a
mature improviser), but, in wider terms, of a
great work of art.
It is worth noting how he strictly adheres to
the diminished arpeggio on bar 17-20 and
ERY
Eddie Daniels’ clarinet
solo on Air Mail Special
Talented musicians
of the past were
all-round musicians
and, of course,
excellent
improvisers
again in bars 49-51. It would also raise the
question as to why he chooses to do so. Most
probably it serves the purpose of
compensating the A section (where he mainly
plays diatonic material) and the use of
dissonances on bars 52-54 where he
emphasises the major seventh on diminished
seventh chords. Classically trained
clarinettists may notice how this material has
been widely used in this fashion (i.e. in the
form of a diminished arpeggio with or
without jumps of a third) in compositions for
clarinet by Mozart and Weber, just to
mention but two. This can also be connected
to the excursus we were mentioning earlier
(and somehow extend it in order to
accommodate the
improvisers/instrumentalists of 18th and 19th
centuries) as the original scores of both
Mozart’s and Weber’s concertos demonstrate
how much the clarinet virtuosos of those
days added in terms of cadenzas,
embellishments, articulations, etc. Those
who have a deeper knowledge of jazz and
classical music know very well that many
talented musicians of the past (Mozart,
Domenico Scarlatti, Paganini, Chopin, etc)
were all-round musicians and, of course,
excellent improvisers. So it is only natural
that musicians like Woody Herman and
Benny Goodman (generally categorised as
jazz players) not only were involved with
classical music, but also commissioned (and
premiered) compositions written by
Stravinsky, Copland, Poulenc that are now
part of the repertoire of many classical
virtuosos all around the world, just as
instrumentalists like Daniels are excellent
classical players themselves (see the album
with the Trio di Clarone) and have premiered
new compositions too. It is interesting what
in fact Copland himself has to say about the
cadenza on his clarinet concerto (written for
Goodman) and how he ‘felt there was enough
room for interpretation even when
everything is written out’ii. Many jazz
educators, like Liebman (Liebman, 1991:63),
concur that composing is nothing more than
‘improvisation slowed down’ and therefore it
is only natural that the same
harmonic/melodic material used in the socalled classical music is also used in the socalled jazz music as it belongs to music
regardless of the label that critics,
aestheticians or scholars have put on that
specific kind of music.
Another typical approach to jazz
improvisation is used here with great mastery
by a consummate player like Daniels: the use
of a minor third (the so-called blue note)
during the last eight bars of the first chorus.
The blues scale is another important part of
the jazz and blues tradition and even boppers
like Parker (and this solo is definitely a bop
solo) used it with great mastery and never
abandoned it. Daniels emphasises even more
the blues scale in bars 45-48 where also a
flattened fifth is present. Musicians and
educators like Liebman (Liebman, 1991:11) see
in the blue note (as the superimposition of a
minor third over a chord that actually
includes a major third) the beginning of a
process (within the so-called jazz music) that
will develop over the years and will lead to
more chromatic clashes, more ambitious
superimpositions, stronger dissonances and,
eventually, to what Schoenberg defined as the
‘emancipation of the dissonance’iii. It was
actually thanks to the Bebop movement that
the chromatic clashes used on the blues scale
were conceptualised as part of an upper
structured chord. That explains why on this
transcription the dominant seven chords,
even when clearly altered by the players, are
still written without specifying the
alterations.
In conclusion, what I think this solo really
shows, and therefore the lesson that can be
learnt from it, is the great equilibrium that
Eddie Daniels has in his playing. It is
remarkable how he is able to keep the
instrument always under control, play with
such a focus (above all on the tone) without
holding back on his creativity and instinct.
Not only has he the ability of playing with
such a drive and energy without losing the
focus, but, as shown by our harmonic and
melodic analysis, he shows the ability of
balancing so well the material he uses with
attention to the tension-release-basis in ‘real
time’ and therefore produces a solo that
makes the listener want to ask for more. ■
References
Berger, arthur, Aaron Copland (new york:
oxford University Press, 1953)
Berio, Luciano, Sequenza IXa for clarinet
(Universal edition, 1980)
Berio, Luciano, Lied per Clarinetto Solo
(Universal edition, 1983)
copland, aaron, Concerto for Clarinet and String
Orchestra with Harp and Piano (Boosey &
Hawkes Ltd 1950)
Goodman, Benny; christian, charlie; Mundy,
James Air Mail Special (regent Music
corporation, 1941)
Liebman, David, A Chromatic Approach to Jazz
Harmony and Melody (advance Music, 1991)
Mozart, Wolfgang amadeus Clarinet Concerto K.
622 (Boosey & Hawkes Ltd, 1946)
Poulenc, francis, Sonata for Clarinet and Piano
(chester Music 1963)
Schoenberg, arnold, 1926 essay Opinion or
Insight?
Stravinsky, igor, Ebony Concerto (Boosey &
Hawkes 1945)
Stockhausen, Karlheinz, In Freundschaft for
clarinet (1977)
Weber, carl Maria, Clarinet Concerto no.1 op.73
(edition Breitkopf 1940)
Weber, carl Maria, Clarinet Concerto no.2 op.74
(G. Henle Verlag, 2003)
Various authors, The Ultimate Jazz Fake Book
(Hal Leonard Publishing corporation, 1988)
Discography
Benny Rides Again, eddie Daniels & Gary Burton
(GrP records, 1992)
Blues for Sabine, Sabine Meyer & eddie Daniels
(eMi, 1995)
Breakthrough, eddie Daniels with the
Philharmonia orchestra (GrP records, 1990)
Flight, Bremen 1961, Jimmy Giuffre trio (Hat art,
1992)
Hark , Buddy Defranco meets the oscar
Peterson Quartet (Pablo records 1985)
i
Umberto eco, Postmodernism, Irony, the
Enjoyable, reflections on the name of the rose,
1983, trans. 1984
ii
arthur Berger, Aaron Copland (new york:
oxford University Press, 1953)
iii
arnold Schoenberg’s 1926 essay Opinion or
Insight?
LUCA LUCIANO’S TRANSCRIPTION OF
SPECIAL DELIVERY
Eddie Daniels’s clarinet
solo on Air Mail Special
CAROLINE FRANKLYN’S
Win a box of Vandoren reeds of your choice and a
Every completely correct answer is worth
two points.
1
in response to a work composed in
1938, which australian composer was
thanked by a government, which
awarded him with an annual free barrel
of rum; and what was the work called?
2
Which group’s museum in Stockholm
opened in 2013?
3
What is the word that describes a
recurring musical phrase or theme,
used to denote a person, thing or
abstract idea, which was raised to
highly complex form by Wagner?
4
5
What was the song that took terry
Wogan to no 2 in the UK Singles chart
in 1977?
Who composed the original music for
Dr Who, and who (from the BBc
radiophonic Workshop) realised the
score?
6 in the opening scene of oscar Wilde’s
play The Importance of Being Earnest
what instrument is heard from an
adjoining room? and which character is
playing it?
7
8
9
What is the full title of a six part BBc2
series, which started on 26th January
2013?
What is the term for the technique used
by wind players, to produce a
continuous sound, without
interruption?
Which comedian/conductor/pianist was
known as ‘the clown Prince of
Denmark’, and ‘the Great Dane’?
10 in May 2013 a musical instrument was
declared as ‘genuine beyond
reasonable doubt’ after a ct scan. What
was the instrument, to whom had it
belonged, and what was its owner’s
final professional position?
11 Who conducted the Last night of the
Proms (2013), and which piece by
Benjamin Britten received a rare
performance?
12 Which prolific composer held the post
of Vienna court Kappellmeister until
his death in 1831, and is now best
known for his wind music?
13 What was the combined age of the
rolling Stones on 29th June 2013, the
day they performed at Glastonbury?
(answer in years and days, e.g. ‘988
years, 43 days’. answers within 5 days
will be accepted as correct.)
14 Which indian musician worked with
yehudi Menuhin, Stéphane Grappelli,
and George Harrison; and what was his
instrument?
15 What is the name of the Muppets house
band, and who plays a) sax; b) lead
guitar; c) drums?
16 Why is the plant Arundo donax so
important to members of the clarinet
and Saxophone Society?
17 originally denounced by Henri Quittard
in Le Figaro as ‘a laborious and puerile
barbarity’, which work’s (composer and
title) centenary was internationally
celebrated in May 2013?
18 Who won Best actor in a Musical, and
Best actress in a Musical in the olivier
awards 2013; what was the show, and
who was it by?
19 What is the full title of the exhibition at
the Victoria and albert Museum 23rd
March – 11th august 2013, which was a
retrospective of the career of a
musician/singer-songwriter, actor and
arranger?
20 Who wrote the music for A Chorus Line?
21 What links an eighteenth century
Master of the King’s Musick with a
small sweet pastry filled with currants?
22 What radio 4 comedy panel show,
hosted by nicholas Parsons, has
chopin’s opus 64, no. 1 as its theme
music?
23 Which multiple Grammy-winning
singer songwriter provided backing
vocals on tom Jones’ recording of
Delilah in 1968?
24 How old was J. S. Bach on the day that
G. f. Handel was born, and how old was
D. Scarlatti on the day the J. S. Bach
was born? (answers within 3 days will
be accepted as correct.)
25 Who is the sax player on the 1978
recording of Baker Street, and who
wrote the song?
26 in the King James Bible, Samuel 1,
chapter 10, which instruments are
listed with ‘a company of prophets
coming down from the high place’?
27 Whose Stradivarius violin was
recovered in July 2013, having been
stolen in 2010, the name of the café,
and the nearby railway station, where it
was stolen?
28 What is the name of the quiz on
weekday mornings on radio 2,
normally presented by Ken Bruce?
29 What links the player of Cavatina, in
the film The Deer Hunter, and the
composer of the music for Star Wars?
30 Which film/opera director, who
received an honorary knighthood in
2004, directed the royal opera House
production of Tosca, with Maria callas
and tito Gobbi?
31 How many Gymnopédies did eric Satie
compose?
32 What wind instrument raised health
and safety concerns, and a demand for
an outright ban, after a sports event in
2010, and what was the sports event?
33 Who presents a weekly jazz programme
on radio 3, and for 20 years also
presented Jazz Record Requests?
34 Which english indie rock band’s name is
SPONSORED BY VANDOREN THROUGH BARNES & MULLINS
Vandoren Reed Resurfacer
a play on the title of a 1908 handbook
for boys?
Winner of MIA ‘Best Supplier Award’
2009, 2010, 2011 & 2012
35 Polish bread or Polish composer?
a) Babka
b) Koffler
c) Sikora
d) chleb
36 Where is fingal’s cave, from what type
of rock is it formed and in what year did
felix Mendelssohn visit it?
37 What are the terms for:
a) the ability to remember the pitch of
any note
b) the ability to pitch a note correctly, at
a certain interval above or below
another note.
38 What plucked string instrument’s name
can be translated as ‘jumping flea’?
39 Whose clarinet sonata was
commissioned by Benny Goodman,
dedicated to arthur Honegger, and was
premiered by Benny Goodman and
Leonard Bernstein, three months after
the composer’s death?
40 Which key is the relative major of the
supertonic minor of the subdominant of
the relative minor of the dominant of
the flattened leading note of c major?
41 Which of Shostakovich’s 15 symphonies
did he describe as ‘an artist’s creative
response to just criticism’, and in what
year was it premiered?
42 What is the title of the piece by John
adams, for clarinet and chamber
ensemble, which was premiered at the
Queen elizabeth Hall on 19th october
1996?
43 What facially follicular characteristic
do the guitarist and lead vocalist
members of ZZ top share, and what is
the surname of the drummer?
44 What do the terms Zauberflöte, contra
Violone, Bombarde, Vox Humana, have
in common?
45 Who said ‘Without music, life would be
a mistake’?
46 Which dance was considered so
disreputable and suggestive that it was
banned in 1583 in Spain, but survived
into the Baroque era to become a slow
processional dance?
47 Which composer, who wrote the music
for the films Far From the Madding
Crowd and Murder on the Orient
Express, died on christmas eve 2012 in
new york; and in which english town
was he born?
49 What links
a) an irish group formed in 1969
b) norman Quentin cook
c) a jazz pianist and composer born in
1904
d) american singer (1923-2013) famous
for his yodelling abilities, and three
octave falsetto range?
50 Who was the american jazz multiinstrumentalist (tenor sax, flute,
stritch, manzello, nose flute, cor
anglais) who was renowned for his
ability to play several instruments at
the same time? ■
48 in 1962 the clarinettist acker Bilk
composed a piece called ‘Jenny’ named
after his new-born daughter. the piece
then became the title track of a new
album, but with the title changed – to
what?
To enter: fill in this form (or photocopy) and send it with the answers to
competition, clarinet & Saxophone, fron, Llansadwrn, Menai Bridge, LL59
5SL by January 31st.
the first correct entry drawn will win the prize. answers and the winner’s
name will be published in the Spring 2014 issue of Clarinet & Saxophone.
name
address
Post code
KENNETH MORRIS’S PEN PORTRAITS OF MASTER CLARINETTISTS
JULIAN
MARC
STRINGLE
as any music promoter or agent who has
studied the subject will know, marketing is the
technique of ‘profitably putting bums on (all
available) seats’ and that the most potent
weapon in his or her armoury is to make their
artist stand out from the competition in an
appealing way. in the distinctly unglamorous
world of marketing physical products this
weapon is called ‘differentiation’ and is a tool
equally applicable to performing artistes.
fortunately the subject of this article has
differentiation in spades!
A
world-class clarinettist, extremely
competent saxophonist (tenor and
alto), band-leader and therefore also
a fixer (of which more later), composer,
arranger, singer, performer in a host of
genres – and, but I haven’t actually asked, he
can probably dance. Add to this an attractive
stage presence and an uncanny knack of
getting the best out of supporting musicians,
often culled from the ranks of local semi-pro
jazzers, we have an exceptional talent well
worthy of a pen portrait.
Julian Marc Stringle was born in Marlowon-Thames on June 13th 1967 into a
manifestly show-business related family.
Father, Berny, was a one time manager of disc
jockey Alan Freeman and later a TV
commercial director and mother, Diane
McBride, a dance band singer. In 1975 the
Stringle household, now based in Enfield,
was constantly hosting a plethora of
musicians, actors, film technicians and
comedians. When Julian was only eight he
was overheard pulling a harmony line ‘out of
the air’ (to sing along with the King Louis
track from Jungle Book) by
trombonist/humorist George Chisholm who
was shooting a commercial with Berny.
Amused and impressed by the boy’s ear,
George suggested piano lessons. But Julian
had already got his eye on the clarinet in his
father’s music room having been fascinated
by Berny’s treasured collection of recordings
by great clarinet stylists from Johnny Dodds
to Buddy DeFranco.
The Latymer School in Edmonton provided
Julian with both a sound general education
and an opportunity to develop his musical
talents. He became principal clarinet in the
school orchestra, a chorister in the madrigal
group and choir and, with the blessing of
both headmaster Dr Kelly and head of music
Michael Brewer, formed the school’s first jazz
group. Hoping, initially, to graduate from
Trinity College, Julian heard that Wilf Kealey
at the London College of Music was well
disposed to the inclusion of jazz in the
curriculum so he chose to study clarinet
under Wilf and composition with William
Lloyd Webber.
Meanwhile back at home, now Clarendon
Cottage in Gentleman’s Row, Enfield,
Berny had transformed a dilapidated 18th
century schoolroom in the garden into a
rehearsal room. This provided a hang-out
for young musician friends of Julian, most
of whom are still active in the profession.
Indeed it became the birthplace of ‘Julian’s
Young Jazz’ his first (Dixieland style)
combo which made appearances, from the
age of 12, with many show business big
names including a later TV gig, at 14, with
Acker Bilk. He formed a modern jazz
quintet in 1984 with Dave Cliff, Nick
Weldon, Andy Cleyndert and Mark Taylor
which toured Europe with all of the
When Julian was
only eight he was
overheard pulling a
harmony line ‘out of
the air’ by George
Chisholm
forenamed still in the business and at a top
level. This is no coincidence. Anyone who
has heard Julian’s current aggregation ‘The
Dream Band’ will recognise a masterful
assembly of complementary talents and even
more remarkably The Dream Band can
accommodate personnel substitutions and
still sound exactly right for the music in
hand. Now that’s what I call ‘fixing deluxe’.
The decade 1986-96 saw Julian enhance his
versatility on clarinet via numerous concert,
club, festival and broadcast collaborations
with Peanuts Hucko (a hugely experienced
post-Goodman clarinettist/tenorist/leader),
Wild Bill Davison (a ‘Chicago’ style cornet
player and contemporary of Louis
Armstrong), the aforementioned George
Chisholm (whose playing style has been
described as ageless), Don Lusher (a virtuoso
trombone player/big band section leader and
soloist) and members of the Dankworth
musical family. His recorded work with John
Parricelli, Digby Fairweather, Danny Moss,
Jim Mullen, Tommy Whittle and George
Melly reinforce his jazz credentials whereas
studio work with Marc Almond, Chas and
Dave, The Grid and the Spice Girls
underscore his comfort with ‘pop music’.
Currently Julian appears regularly with his
Dream Band, his Septet (with clarinettist
Mark Crooks), Digby Fairweather combos,
and groups performing at jazz clubs and
festivals both in the UK and internationally.
Look at www.julianmarcstringle.com with its
link to MySpace for gig listings and
www.merfanglemusic.com (Berny and
Julian’s Production Company) for available
recordings.
Merfangle CD MJMSCD2003 Blues for the
Morning After has the Dream Band in fine
form, blending blues, be-bop, ballads and
Latin jazz with a very Eddie Daniels sound
from Julian and quite superb improvised
clarinet work. This, alone, supports a
comment from the late Sir John Dankworth,
“the best clarinettist to emerge on the British
jazz scene in decades”. MJMSCD 2008 LA
Sunset is a much more ‘commercial’ offering,
also from the Dream Band, again with
consummate musicianship and splendid
arrangements but clearly designed for the
Californian airplay market as it carries more
vocal content. Together with A Time for Love,
an essentially vocal album, the
aforementioned CDs can be heard on Spotify.
Enter ‘Julian Marc Stringle’ into YouTube to
find two delightful solos with Dominic
Ashworth (guitar) and video clips of a
number of his recent club appearances, in
particular the 25th Jan 2013 gig at the
Chickenshed. Also in 2013 Julian came
second to Alan Barnes in the clarinet section
of the British Jazz Awards.
More recently, and since the sad demise of
Kenny Ball, Julian has taken up the clarinet
chair in the Ball band now led by Kenny’s son
Keith. A number of very interesting projects
featuring Julian’s clarinet work are planned
for late 2013 and early 2014 which will
hopefully be publicised in our news and
diary pages as they progress. For the benefit
of members interested in such matters Julian
plays Raw Ebony clarinets and Random Mass
Raw Brass saxophones, both from County
Instruments. His clarinet mouthpiece is a
Gigliotti 2 with Vandoren V12 3-4 reeds. His
saxes are set up with Dukoff D8s with La Voz
medium reeds. ■
With George chisholm
With Wild Bill Davison
Stringle Swingers
STEPHANIE REEVE LOOKS AT
ABRSM CLARINE
Publications
the substantial changes to the repertoire lists leave just two choices from the previous
syllabus on list a, one on list B and a completely revised list c. Several publications
(Time Pieces Vol. 3, Schumann for the Clarinet, Microjazz Collection 2 and Tuneful
Studies) have new works selected so teachers should already be familiar with these
volumes. the aBrSM’s Clarinet Exam Pieces 2014-2017 includes three choices for each
list and is a fine collection of interesting and tuneful pieces. Scale, sight-reading and
aural test requirements remain the same.
LIST A
Ballad by Burgmüller and Concertpiece by
Danzi (originally Allegretto from
concertpiece) are the two pieces carried
over from the last syllabus. the aBrSM
clarinet exam Pieces list a options are
Mozart Minuet & Trio from Divertimento
no. 4, Weber’s Durch die Wälder, durch die
Auen, and Dvorak Waltz op. 54 No. 1. the
other recent publication is One More
Time!, a collection of folk songs arranged
by Sarah Watts and Charlie is My Darling
is selected here. familiar albums are
Schumann for the Clarinet which offers
Ring on My Finger, First Book of Clarinet
Solos which has Purcell’s Rondeau and
finally Mozart’s Adagio für
Glasharmonika from Times Pieces Vol. 3.
for the all round player Minuet & trio,
Durch die Wälder and Ballade are perhaps
the most complete technical challenges.
Minuet & trio is from the basset horn
Divertimento and while the notes are
perhaps easy the lightness of staccatos,
clean attack and detail makes this difficult
to play well. taken from the opera Die
Freischütz Weber’s ‘through the woods,
through the meadows (with a light heart)’
is a pastoral aria which contains
considerable detail. as the words indicate
these vocal lines should be light and
reflective in nature. Ballade requires some
nifty little finger work, light staccatos and
changes of character. for rhythm Charlie
is My Darling is a challenge for tonguing
and crisp dotted rhythms as well as
keeping the momentum going but this is
all in the low register. the Scotch snaps
may cause some concern here. Danzi’s
Concertpiece was previously a popular
choice as it was technically more
straightforward than others and remains
one of the more manageable pieces at
least in the early stages. it requires
imagination to play well. the slower works
are Mozart’s Adagio für Glasharmonika, a
beautiful melody and could lead to a
discussion on this fascinating instrument
and Schumann’s Ring on My Finger which,
as a song, has long lyrical lines, perhaps
slightly more serious than the adagio.
Purcell’s Rondeau is not too challenging
but stamina and gentle shaping of phrases
are required.
LIST B
cecilia McDowall’s ‘romantic Song’ from
Three Pastiches is the only piece to remain
from last time. Clarinet Exam Pieces
contains ‘Hernando’s Hideaway’ from The
Pajama Game, Paul Harris’s ‘andante
Pacifico con rubato’ from the Sonatina, and
Rumba du soir by Marie-Luce Schmitt.
new or recent publications are Mr Benn by
Duncan Lamont with ‘the Wizard’ selected
for grade four, and Great Winners, arr.
Lawrence which features Raiders March
amongst its many other popular and wellknown melodies. Spectrum is a collection
of contemporary works compiled by ian
This is surprisingly
fun and an
enjoyable test of
technique
Mitchell introducing players to modern
styles and robert Saxton’s Song without
Words is here. christopher norton’s
Microjazz gives us two choices,
Gallivanting or A Walk by the Sea and the
line up is completed with Muczynski whose
Fable No. 9 is in Time Pieces Vol. 3.
already the Raiders March jumps out as
a potentially popular number. as it is wellknown it should be straightforward to
most. However the level of accuracy
required through crisp rhythms and clear
accents should not be underestimated. if
Raiders March represents the film world,
musical theatre comes in the form of
Hernando’s Hideaway which is a
particularly clichéd tango requiring lots of
character through the low notes, rests,
staccatos and the higher staccato snatches
later on. Sharp contrasts of dynamics also
add to this. rhythm is tested in Rumba du
soir with its 3+3+2 cuban dance patterns
and Fable No. 9 which is in 5/4. Both are
straightforward once you have an
appropriate feel for the style.
Syncopations in A Walk by the Sea give a
different rhythmic challenge although this
atmospheric piece is not too demanding
technically. the laid back swing feel of The
Wizard makes rhythm the basic element
but the chromaticism here gives this piece
plenty of character. Gallivanting tests
arpeggio figures and speed. When this one
is up to speed it is great fun. Momentum
required so that the gallivanting does not
slow to a light trot. for the serious player
Harris’s Andante Pacifico con rubato (the
complete Sonatina is published
seperately) is well crafted and contains
great contrasts. Song Without Words is a
contemporary yet lyrical option and a
good introduction to modern styles. it is
easier technically but triplet minims,
triplet crotchets and sub-dividing at a slow
tempo are the challenges here. Both of
these pieces will require careful work with
a pianist. McDowall’s Romantic Song is an
ET GRADE 4
expressive piece with well shaped cantabile
phrases. the rhythms are not complicated
but the piece is in two so is always moving
forward.
the teacher accompanist should manage
most of these piano parts but the Weber
and Mozart Minuet in List a may require a
little more preparation. Within List B
Gallivanting and A Walk by the Sea are not
as easy as the others but the Andante
pacifico con rubato and Song Without
Words need more careful preparation due
to their interactivity with the clarinet.
LIST C
all pieces on this list are new to Grade 4.
Demnitz’s Elementary School is now
represented within Clarinet Exam Pieces
with Study in C selected along with Paula
crasbon-Mooren’s Study in D minor and
roger Purcell’s Jack the Lad taken from
Scaling the Heights. richard Benger’s 30
Tuneful Studies replaces Cantabile with A
Weird Story and James rae’s selected work
5th Avenue now comes from 38 More
Modern Studies rather than 40
Modern Studies. other new publications
are rudolf Mauz’s Step by Step, a useful
collection of exercises and Berr’s Moderato
and nocentini’s Andante complete this list.
of the traditional studies the Demnitz
Study in C is an arpeggio study featuring
patterns in c major and closely related
chords. this is surprisingly fun and an
enjoyable test of technique. Moderato by
Berr and Andante by nocentini are from the
Melodic Studies section of Mauz’s Step by
Step and both are all rounders. nocentini
has mixed articulation, chromatic scales,
unusual accents and arpeggios. the Berr is
lyrical but contains a large number of
rhythmic patterns. crasborn-Mooren’s
Study in D minor does indeed explore D
minor through 6/8 time and as an
intermediate study would probably be
the safe option. it is not my favourite but
is a clearly constructed work. of the
lighter pieces at first glance A Weird
Story looks uninspiring as the rhythmic
figure is the same for the entire piece.
However the melody is playful and this
has a natural momentum so once it
gets going it trips along very nicely.
Sticking to the diatonic c minor the
dynamics help shape the interest. the
only option in an irregular time
signature is 5th Avenue which as
expected is in five. rhythms are
crotchets and quavers allowing the
player to concentrate on the pulse
and creating a musical line, made up
of a large number of perfect fifth
intervals. Jack the Lad is the coolest
option, a great style but with a few
elements to catch you out. Due to
the swing rhythm the grace notes
will need to be quick, but effortless.
a few off beat notes will need
placing. ■
Winter 2013 Clarinet & Saxophone
35
THE HINSON
COLLECTION
Three albums from renowned clarinettist
Nigel Hinson featuring Keith Puddy and
Malcolm Martineau
The French Collection including
sonatas by Saint-Saëns and Poulenc,
also works by Debussy, Fauré,
Messager, Milhaud and Ravel.
The English Collection with Keith
Puddy (clarinet) and Malcolm
Martineau (piano). Works by Bax,
Bennett, Finzi, Hinson, Stanford and
McCabe.
Morceaux for Clarinet Works by
Cahuzac, Debussy, John Hall, Joseph
Horovitz, Milhaud (Scaramouche),
Penderecki and Templeton.
Philippe Cuper:
"Congratulations on your CD"
£7.99 each to Clarinet & Saxophone
Society members.
Available from www.nigelhinson.com
See Website for full track listings
WHERE CAN I PLAY?
HUNTINGDONSHIRE MUSIC
SCHOOL
Rehearse: Saturday mornings during
term time
Location: Huntingdonshire regional
college, california road, Huntingdon,
Pe29 1BL
Contact: [email protected] 07595
279349 this Saturday morning music school is
open to anyone of any age, who can either
play or is just starting to play a musical
instrument, singers included. the senior
wind band is conducted by clarinet and
Saxophone Society member and
composer colin radford. there is also a
wind band which plays intermediate
music, a jazz big band and several other
groups, and they all play at the end of
term concerts throughout the year.
these are very friendly groups and all
enquiries are welcome. www.huntingdon.ac.uk/music-school
SLINFOLD CONCERT BAND
Rehearse: tuesday evenings, 7.30 9.30pm all year round
Location: Slinfold Village Hall, West
Sussex, rH13 0rP
Standard: We do not audition members.
as a guide, players of around grade five
will cope with the music, but we
understand that less experienced players
often improve within a band environment.
Contact: Polly Hobbs 01403 270198
Slinfold concert Band was founded in
1978 as a village band. it now numbers
around 45 players, and has become one
of the busiest and most popular concert
bands in West Sussex. We have a large
and growing music library, and perform a
wide range of music in a variety of venues
under the baton of christopher newport.
We are always pleased to hear from
woodwind or brass players looking for a
band in this area, and would currently
also like to recruit a music reading
percussionist.
We are a friendly band, and organise
various well supported social events
throughout the year. all ages are
welcome; in the recent past we have
featured players whose ages have ranged
from 11 to 80!
if you play, or used to play a wind or
brass instrument, or like to hit things
(musically!) please call chairman Polly
for a chat. We hope some of you will join
us on a future tuesday evening.
www.slinfoldconcertband.org
THAMESIDE CLARINET CHOIR
MACHYNLLETH WIND BAND
Rehearse: thursdays from 8 - 10pm
Location: new Malden near Kingston
upon thames, South West London
Contact: Musical Director Martin
Hinckley
[email protected]
Rehearse: tuesdays during term time.
7.30 - 9.30pm
Location: the tabernacle, Heol Penrallt,
Machynlleth, Sy20 8aJ
Standard: We welcome players of all ages
at approximately grade four and above.
Contact: Sally Marshall 01654781304
07710452767
[email protected]
Machynlleth Wind Band is an
established and friendly community band
of about 25 members drawn from a wide
area. We have an active entertainment
programme in the locality and
enjoy performing music from the
traditional wind band repertoire, songs
from shows and in fact anything that is
interesting and challenging! We are
always keen to welcome new members.
www.machwindband.co.uk ■
the thameside clarinet choir is a wellestablished group of around 20 players
which rehearses most weeks during
school term time. the choir welcomes
new members of grade five/six standard
or above on eb, Bb, alto, bass, contra-alto
or contrabass clarinet.
www.thameside.org
WINDSTRUMENTS CLARINET
CHOIR
Rehearse: Second Sunday of each month.
4 - 6.30pm
Location: Windstruments, crossflatts,
Bingley, West yorkshire, BD16 2Dt
Contact: Juliet colville 07932 641214
[email protected]
the Windstruments clarinet choir is a
newly formed clarinet ensemble for
players of about grade five upwards. the
ensemble rehearses on the second
Sunday of each month upstairs in the
Windstruments shop. there are vacancies
in all sections of the choir, in particular
for those who can/would like to play eb
or bass clarinet. for more information,
please contact Juliet colville.
Bingley
Huntingdon
Machynlleth
Slinford
New
Malden
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COLCHESTER CLARINET AND
SAXOPHONE FESTIVITIES MARCH 2014
the weekend of 1st and 2nd March 2014
will see a major focus on the clarinet and
saxophone in the Swinburne Hall,
colchester institute with a Gala Concert
followed by the 25th anniversary staging of
the annual Single Reed Festival.
the British Clarinet Ensemble will join
with the East Anglian Single Reed Choir,
the Colchester Institute Clarinet Choir and
the South Tirol Clarinet Choir (from italy)
in a Gala concert on the Saturday night (1st
March 2014) featuring the British
premières of two new works closely
connected with colchester and the college.
Jumbo, a new clarinet choir work by
composer and saxophonist Andy Scott has
been ‘waiting in the wings’ as a companion
movement for the immensely successful
Paquito and Fujiko both commissioned by
and premiered by charles Hine and the
British clarinet ensemble. it is fortuitous
that the generosity of a number of
individuals and bodies (including the
clarinet and Saxophone Society and
colchester institute) has enabled this
commission to take place. the première of
this new three movement ‘sonata’ will be
given by a massed ensemble of all four
participating choirs. the title Jumbo refers
to the name of an elephantine landmark
water tower that dominates the town of
colchester.
the other major première that has been
keenly awaited is of Three Haiku for
clarinet choir which comes from the pen of
leading performer, educator and composer
Jeffery Wilson who has long been
associated with all facets of the single reed
family. as well as individual items from
each of the participating groups there will
be the opportunity to experience all
performers accompanying the weekend’s
featured artist Andy Scott in O Adonai by
Arvo Pärt and finally indulging in the
romanticism and frenzy of the Borodin
Polovtsian Dances arranged by carol
taylor.
in this special anniversary year we are
especially pleased that the fine musicians
of the South Tirol Clarinet Choir (who are
all clarinet teachers from their region of
north italy) can join us in these
celebrations and provide a strong element
of international collaboration in the
festivities.
the combined groups will number at least
60 players for the Gala concert while the
festival will attract up to 100 single reed
east anglian Single reed choir
players from across east anglia and the
South east. tutors and conductors will
include anthony Bailey, charles Hine,
carol taylor and Jeffery Wilson. the
organisers gratefully acknowledge the
support of the trade and Creative Arts Live!
at colchester institute.
Gala Concert: Saturday 1 March 2014,
7.30pm
Swinburne Hall, faculty of creative arts,
colchester institute, Sheepen road,
colchester, co3 3LL
Tickets: 01206 712999
[email protected]
www.creativeartslive.co.uk
www.facebook.com/creativeartslive ■
British clarinet
ensemble
Photo: Juliet Colville
TH
THE 25 ANNIVERSARY
EAST ANGLIAN SINGLE REED
FESTIVAL
it is very easy to forget anniversaries or
milestone events and to think that
something has become part of the fabric.
However, whilst the east anglian Single
reed festival has become an established
part of the calendar it has reached a
significant milestone which should be
celebrated.
the silver anniversary in 2014 makes the
festival one of the longest running in the
UK and it is as strong today as it was when
first started by angela fussell and charles
Hine all those years ago.
the east anglian Single reed choir took
over the management of the festival back
in 2010 although we had been helping
charles organise it for a few years prior to
that. Building on successful foundations
we have established the festival as an
independent and financially secure event
which attracts players of all ages and
standards and great professionals who
come to help with the masterclass and the
day generally.
We could not have done it without the
support from all the trade stands who
have been present to provide advice and
buying opportunities! a particular thank
you must go to Daniel Bangham and his
team from Wood Wind & Reed and to Kerry
from Vandoren who have been staunch
supporters of the event. recently
D’Addario, Sempre Music, Hummingbird
and Maskarade, Pack-a-Punch, Le Freque,
and Colchester Classics have joined us to
enhance the day.
So Sunday 2nd March 2014 starting at
9am is the day to join us at colchester
institute in essex to help us celebrate our
anniversary. We are thrilled to have Andy
Scott with us for the day to lead the
masterclass and to help with other
ensembles. Anthony Bailey will be leading
the massed single reed choir and, if jazz
interests you in any way, then do not miss
the fabulous jazz workshop with Jeffery
Wilson. there will be trade stands to tempt
and advise and a concert for all (free to
family and friends) at the end of the
afternoon. Do look at our website to see
details of the event as it develops:
www.singlereeds.co.uk/25th-single-reedfestival.html and please ‘like’ our
facebook page at
www.facebook.com/singlereeds or tweet
@eaSrc. ■
East Anglian Single Reed Festival
Sunday 2 March 2014, 9.00am-5.30pm
Swinburne Hall, faculty of creative arts,
colchester institute, Sheepen road,
colchester, co3 3LL
Tickets
www.singlereeds.co.uk/25th-single-reedfestival.html
www.facebook.com/singlereeds ■
CD reviews
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THE EQUINOX COLLECTION
Equinox
Saxophone
Ensemble
EQU02 £10
www.equinoxsax.
org.uk
the equinox
Saxophone
ensemble will be well known to readers of
Clarinet & Saxophone, with alistair
Parnell at the helm, guiding the group to
ever greater achievements in the
development of this genre. they have
acquired a deserved reputation for
excellence, and performed at the 16th
World Saxophone congress in St andrews,
Scotland in 2012.
The Equinox Collection is their second
cD and is sponsored by Windblowers and
Ken & elaine Morris. it has a total playing
time of 61 minutes, comprising
arrangements from Bach to Piazzolla, and
original compositions by roberto
Molinelli, Kieron anderson, and alistair
himself.
the cD opens with Lindsey Smith’s
arrangement of Libertango by Ástor
Piazzolla, a piece which readily lends itself
to adaptation, and this version works well.
next is a complete rendition of J S Bach’s
Brandenburg Concerto No 2 (the one with
the high trumpet part in Bach’s original)
arranged by nicola Pennill, and it is most
impressive. the sleeve notes refer to the
‘chameleon-like qualities of the
saxophone’ in its various incarnations
from sopranino to bass (all represented
here!), and the performance is proof of this
extended family’s versatility.
this is followed by Maurice ravel’s
hypnotic Bolero arranged by alistair, then
comes a change of mood with Jay Ungar’s
wistful Ashokan Farewell arranged by
Michelle Phillips. Written in 1982 by Ungar
at the end of a fiddle and dance summer
camp in the catskill Mountains, new york
State, it is redolent of the folk tradition
which came from Britain with the settlers
who emigrated to the new World
generations ago.
alistair features as soloist in Pequeña
Czarda, (little dance) by Pedro iturralde,
an experiment in the fusion of jazz and
flamenco, displaying the alto’s musical
potential to the full. the next piece also
provides opportunities for solos: nicola
Pennill plays the soprano in Dreamy Dawn
and Sarah Markham is on alto in Tango
Club, taken from Four Pictures from New
York by robert Molinelli. as the titles
suggest, they present contrasting moods,
and each receive assured performances.
first written for brass quintet,
Harlequin Dances has been adapted for
saxophone ensemble by the composer,
Kieron anderson, and he interweaves a
variety of dance styles into a splendid
ensemble piece. the final original work,
Babadağ, composed by alistair, was
inspired by a family holiday to turkey, and
he is soloist on the eWi (electronic Wind
instrument) while Sarah Markham
features on clarinet.
the last two items are arrangements of
well known tunes – the evergreen Over the
Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz (Harold
arlen), and Riverdance (Bill Whelan),
which bring this excellent cD to a rousing
conclusion.
equinox Saxophone ensemble
comprises alistair (sopranino, soprano,
alto, eWi, keyboards), nicola (soprano),
Sarah (alto, soprano, clarinet), Keri Degg
(alto, soprano), chris Jolly (tenor,
soprano), Lindsey Smith (tenor, soprano),
Michelle (baritone, tenor), Deb Hutt
(baritone) and claire tomsett-rowe (bass).
any percussion players, notably in Bolero
and Riverdance, are unacknowledged.
this cD, recorded between June 2012
and January 2013 at St Luke’s church,
Kinoulton, pushes back the boundaries as
equinox demonstrate the musical heights
that the full saxophone ensemble can
reach, and i urge you to buy it without
delay.
Robert Parker
MEDITATIONS
URBAN SPECIES
COMPOSITIONS FOR
SAXOPHONE
Jennifer Watson
Meditations, Urban Species,
Compositions, free demo CD
www.jennifer-watson.co.uk
readers of this section of the magazine
will have come across this extraordinarily
talented composer-saxophonist in the
Spring 2013 issue of Clarinet & Saxophone
wherein i reviewed her Reflections cD.
three more examples of her oeuvre have
turned up in my in-tray posing an
enormous challenge to my critical
faculties. i will explain! if one describes
musicality as a discernible collection of
melody, harmony, tonality and rhythm,
what does one call a work devoid of much
(or indeed, any) of these four stalwarts of
music? Well, i call it noise, or in the case of
much material proffered to arts
organisations for grant aid, outrageous
noise (on). and i view on as the artistic
equivalent to Pc (Political correctness).
Both contemporary classical and jazz
music are infested with on possibly
because it is an easy route to
differentiating one’s work from
competition. i am fully aware that new
works from the late 19th century onwards
were, when launched, often considered
outrageous but with very few exceptions
they contain plentiful helpings of melody,
harmony (often novel), tonality and
rhythm.
Meditations
presents Jennifer
as an
arranger/multiinstrumentalist/
singer and
composer of two
out of 10 tracks,
the rest are
standards such as Smoke Gets in Your
Eyes, Czardas, Danny Boy, Amazing Grace,
When the Boat Comes In etc. Her
instruments are violin, clarinet, saxes,
flute, piano and penny whistle
accompanied by a pianist. i’m inclined to
view this disc as a mild case of
musical/instrumental incontinence –
there is nothing wrong with the
musicianship but nothing much in the way
of saxophonic artistry apart from just over
one minute’s worth of glorious (multitracked) saxophone harmony writing at
the end of Amazing Grace. this confirms
Jennifer’s amazing skill as do her two
compositions Solitude and Leave my Soul.
Kenneth Morris
Urban Species
takes us deep into
Jennifer’s
contemporary
composition
territory – all the
sax playing is by
Kyran Matthews
accompanied by
Martyn Parkes on piano. Working from a
review copy cD i had no liner notes to
assist me through the seven movements
lasting just under the hour although i did
have a one-liner from Jenni: ‘an
exploration in music and visuals of human
interactions, with and within cities’. (the
‘visuals’ bit i did not see). in common with
several contemporary pieces recently
published this cD incorporates ‘street
sounds’ or possibly more accurately
‘underground railway’ sounds including
the odd platform announcement. i found it
very difficult to determine which saxes
were being played but track one
Construction had some pretty articulate
baritone work and tracks six (Unveiling)
and seven (Unseen City) were a quite
brilliant 10 minute unaccompanied alto
solo and a beautiful soprano (?) solo
respectively. tracks two to five came into
my on category – fantastic playing by
Kyran, but otherwise eminently
forgettable.
Kenneth Morris
Compositions for
Saxophone
i thought i would
leave the best till
last, is not entirely
free from on but is
largely accessible
and represents a
jolly good idea.
the composer, where feasible, plays her
own compositions and tells us where to get
the parts if we want them. the majority of
the 14 tracks lasting 51 minutes of ‘duet to
sax orchestra’ works are available from
astute Music (www.astute-music.com).
Starting with a brief one minute sop sax
duet Tail Lights we move on to Escalate a
pretty tricky six and a bit minute sop sax
feature to be played against a cD backing
track – not for beginners but interesting
with a marimba in the combo. next up is an
absolutely superb nine minute saxophone
orchestra composition/arrangement Ket
played with their usual uncanny balance
and panache by the rncM gang, again
here’s Jenni’s genius for harmonisation
shining through, a wonderful modern
piece. Chasing Angels for alto sax and
piano plus From Now On for sop sax and
percussion were (to me, on and) totally
inaccessible but the cD was, for me, wholly
redeemed by Helios a splendid three
movement six minute sax quartet and
three movements over nearly four minutes
(One Way Ticket, Polite Miss Knight and
Spiral) for aaaa/aaat from the apollo
Saxophone Quartet Series Book 3. Both
delightful. So there we have it, three cD’s
representing much hard work by Jenni and
her musical associates, a sort of musical
oyster bed. Some shells oK, some infected
and some replete with a gorgeous pearl.
Kenneth Morris
fitzwilliam’s leader Lucy russell along
with Uwe is an absolute delight. it’s 13
minutes of superb soprano saxophone
soloing over the strings. two movements
from Uwe’s Fantasias for string quartet
and saxophone, derived from Purcell’s
works for four viols Z.742 and Z.738, make
up tracks nine and seven respectively, and
are also splendidly rendered.
track eight, the middle movement from
the Fantasias along with track six
(chaconne for Steve Lacy, the late great US
jazz soprano sax star) take us into
contemporary classical mode and only
barely relates to this cD’s cover sub-title
‘music for jazz soloists and string quartet’.
even so this chaconne does deliver a quite
interesting, almost conversational,
dialogue betwixt sax and violin.
tracks one to five make up Steinmetz’s
Absolutely! a suite for string quartet,
saxophone and violin solo. in the cD
booklet the suite is sub-titled ‘musical
meditations on purity, unselfishness,
honesty and love’ and when one adds the
word ‘prelude’ before purity one gets the
five titles of the five movements. an even
closer look at the booklet notes uncovers
an almost metaphysical discourse on the
same five words. if our Uwe is trying to give
us a musical interpretation of purity etc.
via structureless, unmelodic, discordant,
arrhythmic noise then, in my book, he’s
failed miserably (or even spectacularly).
full marks to all involved for their ability
to perform this stuff but zero marks for its
ability to communicate anything
meaningful.
Kenneth Morris
ABSOLUTELY!
Uwe Steinmetz
(soprano
saxophone), Mads
Tolling (violin)
and the
Fitzwilliam String
Quartet
Divine Art CD DDA
25112 £12
www.divineartrecords.com
forewarned is forearmed? i rather
expected something weird when the cover
art appeared to depict the view from the
bottom of a bed of two three-legged people
entwined. i was not disappointed.
a veritable ‘curates egg’ of a record. Six
extremely gifted musicians, playing at the
top of their game in a wonderful acoustic
(St, Martin’s, east Woodhay, Hants) and
recorded to perfection. Unfortunately i
found much of the 62 minute content
almost too difficult to comment on so i will
start with the ‘tasty’ parts of the egg.
the last track, ‘chaconne’ from Bach’s
Violin Partita no.2 (BWV1004), arranged by
cLarinet
TONY SCOTT
Three Classic
Albums Plus
Avid Music AMSC
1098 (Double CD
Set) £6.99
Just as with buses
you can wait for
ages for cDs of an
artist and no less than 11 1950s vintage LPs
of tony Scott (the clarinettist who bridges
the artie Shaw to Buddy Defranco slot in
jazz history) come along. in our Summer
2013 issue, eight LPs were reviewed and
now three more show up, and at a bargain
price, from avid Productions.
this time the source material comes
from 1953s Tony Scott in Hi-Fi, 1956s The
Touch of Tony Scott and two 1958 efforts
52nd Street Scene and Newport 1958. as
previously with 35 tracks stretching over
two hours i chose to assign one to five stars
to each track containing a clarinet solo. it’s
pleasing to report that even though there
are eight tracks with two stars or less, a
surprising number get four or five – in fact,
18 do.
the ‘highlights’ of this set are: all three
items from the newport festival Blues for
an African Friend, Moonlight in Vermont
and Blues for Charlie Parker with a
quintet; four tracks from The Touch..., Rock
Me But Don’t Roll Me, Aeolian Drinking
Song, Vanilla Frosting and Yesterdays and
five from Hi-Fi, Swootie Patootie, I Cover
the Waterfront, Sweet Lorraine, I Never
Knew and Away We Go.
The Touch... LP has tony with either an
interesting big band or a ‘tentette’ and
quite important arrangers have been
contracted including ralph Burns, eddie
Sauter and al cohn. Hi-Fi uses a backing
trio. 52nd Street Scene employs some wellknown names in smallish groups such as
Jimmy Knepper, red rodney and al cohn
with tony playing (only) baritone sax on
three tracks.
of course there is the inevitable duff
track but at just over a ‘fiver’ this is a very
enjoyable early exhibition of modern jazz
clarinet work by the best technician of the
time.
Kenneth Morris ■
Superpads
for
cLarinet
only from
www.woodwindco.com [email protected]
Music reviews
SaXoPHone
S.M.S. SMALL MUSIC (FOR)
SAXOPHONE
Nicole Clément
Tenor or alto
saxophone
Leduc £20.99
this is a suite of
four pieces impromptu,
Scherzo, Sarabande,
and finale. it lasts
five minutes 15
seconds and i think the publisher has
miscalculated on the pricing. it’s for solo
tenor saxophone, with an alternative for alto
(written a tone lower) so i don’t understand
why it’s so expensive or why the key shift.
the work takes as its basis elements of
rigorous instrumental study which are set
against the modern predilection for lazy
language in text messages. thus the scherzo
is in a 3+2+3 metre, whilst elsewhere a mode
of limited transposition is used. the BacH
theme from the art of fugue is also
borrowed in three of the pieces, tying in with
the sense of a baroque suite. the standard is
grade eight or slightly above, and as
teaching pieces they are quite useful,
thorough and varied. But i really think the
publisher is not doing the composer any
favours at this price level. Richard Ingham
SAXOPHONE DEBUT
James Rae
Alto Saxophone
and CD
12 easy pieces for
beginners
Universal Edition
UE 21530 £12.95
this is an inspiring
collection of pieces
which can be used
to provide concert items or sight-reading
exercises. there are 12 in all, very varied in
style, divided into three sections of solo with
accompaniment, duo with accompaniment,
and duo without accompaniment,
compatible with other instrumental books
in the series. James rae’s knack of writing
superb music for every level doesn’t desert
him here, and this collection of easy
numbers bounces with musical energy
throughout. the cD accompaniments are
excellent and atmospheric, and an optional
piano accompaniment book is available with
written parts and chords. individual piano
parts can be downloaded at no cost. the
standard is around grade one.
Richard Ingham
TYNE SONATA
James Rae
Alto saxophone and
piano
Universal Edition
UE 21578 £13.95
James rae’s Tyne
Sonata is the latest
in his ever growing
series of saxophone
sonatas. it’s terrific
music and has everything - melodic
lyricism, virtuosity, dance music, lengthy
periods of reflection. the lyrical sections are
beautifully written, but not over-sweet,
while the virtuosic episodes have musical
integrity, avoiding pointless exhibitionism.
the composer has a sure feel for where and
how the saxophone works best, in terms of
registration and agility. Programmatically
based around the river tyne, the work is
dedicated to John Harle, who, like the
composer, is from that part of the world.
the first movement, ‘the Sources’, is a
bubbling allegretto introduction to the
work, and acts like a moto perpetuo, with
occasional restful sections. ‘Watersmeet’,
the slow movement, is a gentle rocking
waltz which alternates between minor and
major tonalities, and is an attractive recital
piece by itself. the finale, ‘Sandgate’, is a
high energy jig incorporating some dramatic
interpolations of developed chromatic
material. you’ll know you were at the dance
by the time you get to the end. another
valuable addition to the repertoire. Richard Ingham
CLANSY
François Rossé
Alto saxophone
and bass clarinet
Leduc £17.99
Clansy is a pretty
piece, set at a
challenging level
for both
performers.
françois rossé is
an engaging, musical and witty
contemporary composer, representing the
finest in french avant-garde saxophone
writing. the piece is five and a half minutes
long, and, given application, perfectly
playable. there are passages of
multiphonics, sections requiring great
dexterity and some metrical complexity.
Both players read from a score, which helps
the ensemble preparation, and the page
turns are manageable. the more demanding
ensemble sections are fun and rewarding,
whilst the contrasts in sonorities achieved
by the two performers form a major part of
the structure of the piece. thoughtfully
written for both instruments, with clear
instructions from the composer. Richard Ingham
REPRISE, ÉCHO, ACCUMULATION
Dominique
Clément
Alto saxophone
and delay pedal
Leduc £13.99
an interesting
work exploring
some of the
possibilities of
electronic delay
treatment. the saxophonist operates a fairly
straightforward delay pedal (or rack
mounted signal processor with pedal) which
is to be set in advance to the composer’s
specifications. the effect is cleverly thought
out and designed, so the music doesn’t
become an uncontrollable mush, which can
happen when experimenting with this
process. the part gives clear and precise
instructions as to when to switch the delay
on and off (switched by the saxophonist,
using a pedal). the part also (usefully)
contains a written version of what the
resultant delayed sounds are. i think this
piece is to be recommended as a learning
study for a performer around grade eight
standard who is approaching electronic
sound manipulation for the first time. the
actual saxophone line is not virtuosic in
terms of speed and dexterity, but an
advanced sense of dynamic (and therefore
instrumental) control is desirable. Richard Ingham
MÉFIE-TOI DES BLANCS
Vincent Bouchot
Saxophone quartet
(STTB or SATB)
Leduc £27.99
this quartet
contains elegant
writing, and is
based on a wellcrafted structure.
the title is a
paraphrase of a ravel song, and the piece is
dedicated to his memory. it would suit a
quartet in the early stages of conservatoire
training and is challenging yet rewarding.
the instrumentation is SttB, but the first
tenor can be substituted by alto. there are
metrical complexities, but of a musical
nature and providing attractive flowing
lines. there are also some passages of
rhythmic unison, which are obviously
helpful to the performers, and set against
these are sections with hocket effects. Some
slap tongue is required, as also is an
appreciation of what french saxophonists
really mean by pp dynamics - i.e. very soft,
not just as soft as you can manage. it isn’t
cheap, but i’d certainly recommend it for
chamber music teaching material and for a
recital piece. Richard Ingham
cLarinet
GLOBETROTTERS FOR CLARINET
Eb & Bb saxophone
Ros Stephen with
Melanie Henry
Clarinet and CD
OUP £10.95
this collection
features 12 pieces
in world music
styles in a well
presented and
attractive book. the melodies are
straightforward with simple rhythmic
inflections representing the country of
origin. as well as the main melody a second
part, labelled ‘clarinet accompaniment’
turns the piece into a duet. Piano
accompaniments are included on the cD,
downloadable as PDf files. each piece
includes detail about the style and
background, instruments typically used and
well-known musicians. Warm-up exercises
are included at the back and feature at least
two suggestions per piece based on the
features of the style. Some cover basics such
as rhythm and tone control while other
exercises look at the scale patterns for
klezmer and arabic styles and articulation.
the cD recordings are well produced with
Melanie Henry playing clarinet on the demo
tracks and live piano, bass and drums
effectively augmented with accordion, violin,
mandolin or guitar depending on the origin.
eleven of the pieces are available in
versions for clarinet, e flat saxophone and B
flat saxophone and in appropriate keys so
they are not entirely compatible. Saxophone
versions have Transylvanian Stick Dance, an
energetic piece, and the clarinet version
contains Alpine Schottische, a Swiss dance.
other favourites in all three volumes were
Breton Mariner’s Song with its rocking sea
accompaniment and accordion and
Bulgarian Gallop in 7/8 which tells the tale
of Vlad the horse and his wooden legs! this
is a fun collection and offers plenty of scope
for further activities to explore different
styles and techniques. recommended for
grade two to four.
Stephanie Reeve
JAZZ BALLADS
Rudolf Mauz
Clarinet and CD
Schott £15.99
this collection
features 14 wellknown numbers
and in his
introduction
rudolf Mauz
explains he has
included them for their interesting history
and a short paragraph about each song is
included at the front of the book. Standards
such as Moonglow and A String of Pearls
are included along with Summertime and
Night and Day from musical theatre while
Stranger on the Shore and My Way
complete this wide-ranging collection.
clearly presented over two pages, each
tune has a short intro with the main melody
and subsequent variation or improvisation
marked by rehearsal figures. Some songs
include the words printed underneath while
others have written out improvisations.
improvising is not necessarily encouraged
by the book but the chord symbols make
this possible.
the piano accompaniments are
straightforward, arranged simply with
chord symbols also given. the cD features
live piano, bass and drums with Mauz
playing clarinet (with more than a hint of
vibrato) on the demo tracks. arrangements
are uncomplicated and work well. Suitable
for grade three to five or anyone who enjoys
a good tune!
Stephanie Reeve
IMAGE OF THE EAST
Lenny Sayers
Clarinet and piano
Maskarade
Publications MK
402 £14
Lenny Sayers is a
clarinettist and
having played with
the fell clarinet
Quartet has also
composed and arranged works for them.
although not Jewish, Sayers has an interest
in klezmer music and has written some
particularly effective works. the evocative
eastern imagery here begins with a slow
introduction exploring intervals and
possible thematic ideas. the use of flutter
tonguing, glissando and molto
vibrato markings enable the music to
gradually build up before we launch into a
faster section. this just about gets going but
is then interrupted by the opening idea and
finally we are on our way with an exciting
interplay between piano and clarinet. the
time signatures mainly flit between 2/4 and
6/8 but before too long 3/4 and 5/8 are
introduced keeping the players and
presumably the dancers on their toes. a
slower unaccompanied monologue replays
some of the opening material and then the
piece builds up an even greater frenzy right
to the end. there is much to work on here
and the difficulties lie with the angular
melodies, acciaccaturas and trills fitted into
very small spaces and irregular rhythms.
ensuring the accuracy retains the
spontaneity is also a challenge! However it
was addictive to work on and the writing
suits the clarinet extremely well. Suitable
for a good grade seven or eight and above
player. at the time of writing there was a
good performance on Sayers’ website
www.lennysayers.com.
Stephanie Reeve
THE WILD GARDEN
Iain Hamilton,
Edited by Nicholas
Cox
Clarinet and piano
Queen’s Temple
Publications QT
137 £12.95
Born in 1922, iain
Hamilton studied
composition and
wrote many works for the clarinet. The Wild
Garden was written towards the end of his
life and was unpublished when he died in
2000. nicholas cox has produced this
edition and includes a comprehensive
biography of Hamilton as well as editorial
notes about the work. cox also performed
the work at the clarinetfest in assisi earlier
in the year and a few lines appear on pages
11 to 12 of the autumn 2013 issue of Clarinet
& Saxophone.
this is a modern work but the short
movements are evocative and lend
themselves to the fleeting imagery of the
wild flowers they represent. the five
movements broadly alternate between fast
and slow. Marked Allegro volante (flying)
‘Harebells’ has a spirited interplay between
clarinet and piano. ‘cornflowers’ is softer
and slower and the accompaniment is made
up of thirds while the clarinet takes the
delicate melody around the piano. ‘Birdsfoot
trefoil’ is fleeting and the clarinet dances
over the light accompaniment. this is the
most conventional rhythmically.
‘Mignonettes’ is slow and sad and very
atmospheric with a triplet semiquaver
pattern recurring . ‘Daffodils’ is more robust
and the work finishes with a flurry. each is
very well crafted and the texture in the
accompaniment is light. these are
recommended for advanced players with an
experienced accompanist. they are an
effective addition to the modern clarinet
repertoire.
Stephanie Reeve
DIARY
concertS
www.auricleensemble.org.uk
19 the Masonic Hall, Harrogate,
HG1 5ne, 2.30pm
Charity Concert
JANUARY 2014
5 Manoukian Music centre,
Westminster School, SW1P 3QB,
5pm
David Campbell (clarinet),
Caroline Jaya-Ratnam (piano)
Music by Brahms, Widor, Bennett
and rabaut
this follows the clarinet &
Saxophone Society’s aGM at 4.30pm.
free admission to members and
friends
9 Park Lane Group young artist new
year Series, Southbank centre,
London, Se1 8XX, 7.45pm
Anthony Brown (saxophone) and
Leo Nicholson (piano)
this shared concert will include
Bench by Ben foskett, a new work by
Graham ross commissioned by the
Park Lane Group and richard
rodney Bennett, Sonata for soprano
saxophone.
tickets: £12/£9.50/£7
www.parklanegroup.co.uk
Pupils of Debbie Scherer and Sarah
Jobson will again be performing
their annual concert with all
proceeds going to local charities.
Performances will include
accompanied solos as well as
ensembles.
free admission with donations
Dragon Music 01423 538473
23 Gaiety theatre, carrick Street,
ayr, Ka7 1nU, 7.30pm
Auricle Ensemble
nicky Long (clarinet/bass clarinet),
richard ingham (saxophone),
christopher Swaffer (conductor)
William Walton, Façade.
tickets: £14.50/£13.50
tel: 01292 288235
www.ayrgaiety.co.uk/facade
25 Music at St. Peters, St Peter’s
Street, canterbury, Kent, ct1 2Be,
7.45pm
Timothy Orpen (clarinet) and
Daniel Tong (piano)
12 the Shakespeare institute,
church Street, Stratford-upon-avon,
Warwickshire, cV37 6HP, 3pm
Programme to include music by
Schumann, Poulenc, Brahms and
Milhaud.
www.musicatstpeters.org.uk
26 Marden House, the Wharf, new
Stratford chamber Music Society
ravel, Piazzolla and Maurice.
tickets: £16/£5
www.stratfordchambermusic.co.uk
16 St. Matthew’s church, Station rd,
redhill, Surrey, rH1 1DL, 1.10pm
South London Saxophone
Quartet
noelle Sasportas (soprano), Bob
Lowdell (alto), Dave eastham
(tenor), ian noonan (baritone)
free admission
www.southlondonsaxophonequartet
.co.uk 17 overton church, ritchie Street,
West Kilbride, Ka23 9aL, 7.30pm
Scottish Wind Ensemble
Gounod, Petite Symphonie in Bb;
Schubert, Trois Marches Militaires,
op.51; enescu, Dixtuor, op.14;
françaix, Nine Characteristic Pieces.
www.scottishwindensemble.co.uk
17 University of Derby, Kedleston
road, Derby, De22 1GB, 7.30pm
Maurice, Debussy and Dubois.
tickets: £13/£12/£7
www.derbychambermusic.org
18 Victoria Halls, Sinclair Street,
Helensburgh, G84 8Ba, 7.45pm
Auricle Ensemble
William Walton, Façade
tickets: £11/£10/£5/£1
01436 678848
road, calne, Wiltshire, Sn11 0JJ, 3pm
Daniel Tong (piano)
Schumann, Poulenc, Brahms and
Milhaud.
www.mardenhouseconcerts.co.uk
29 St Stephen church, 21 St.
Stephen’s St, Bristol, BS1 1eQ, 1pm
Luca Luciano (clarinet)
Programme to include compositions
by Luciano from the album
Partenope, and music by Berio,
Puccini, Vivaldi, Gershwin and
Stravinsky.
admission free
0117 927 7977
3 Library theatre, central Library,
St. George’s Square, Luton, LU1 2nG,
7.45pm
Steiner, Waxman and Herrman.
0207 935 2141
www.wigmore-hall.org.uk
www.nashensemble.org.uk/html/wi
gmores.htm
John Reid (piano)
15 all Saints, Lovelace road, West
FEBRUARY 2014
finzi, Stravinsky, Brahms,
Schumann and Giampieri.
www.lutonmusic.org.uk/current_Se
ason/current_season.html
Dulwich, Se21 8Jy, 7.30pm
Anthony Brown (saxophone)
3 St. Sepulchre Without newgate
church (the Musicians’ church),
London, ec1a 2DQ, 7.30pm
Lambeth orchestra. conductor
christopher fifield
claude Debussy, Rapsodie; and
Paule Maurice, Tableaux de
Provence.
tickets: £12/£10/£1
www.lambeth-orchestra.org.uk
Margaret Archibald 65th
Birthday Concert
15 Paisley abbey, abbey close,
With Julia Desbruslais (cello) and
John flinders (piano)
Premières by Michael omer, You
Could Hear the Olive Trees Groan...;
nick Planas, To My Father; Brahms,
trio in a minor op. 114.
tickets: £10
tel: 0208 464 1645/07970 123105
[email protected]
or on the door
8 the Little theatre, 20 Hoghton
St, town centre, Southport, Pr9
0Pa, 7.30 – 10pm
Paisley, Pa1 1JG, Lunchtime recital
McKenzie Sawers Duo
Sue McKenzie (saxophone) and
ingrid Sawers (piano)
www.mckenziesawersduo.com
16 Deeside theatre, aboyne
academy, Bridgeview
road, aboyne, aB34 5Jn, 3pm
McKenzie Sawers Duo
Maghull Wind Orchestra
16 carnegie Hall, east Port,
charity concert on behalf of Queens
court Hospice, Southport.
0151 531 9562
www.maghullwindorchestra.co.uk
Richard Ingham (saxophone) and
Richard Michael (piano)
10 St Michael at the north Gate,
cornmarket, oxford, oX1 3ey, 1pm
Partenope, and music by Messiaen,
Kowalcyzc and Stravinsky.
admission free
01865 240940
15 Wigmore Hall, 36 Wigmore
Street, London, W1U 2BP, 6pm
Dunfermline, Ky12 7Ja, 7.30pm
Sax at 200! Music for saxophone and
piano featuring historic jazz and
classical works. tickets: £10/£1
Box office: 01383 602302
www.largo-music.co.uk
18 St John’s Kirk, 31 St John’s Place,
Perth, PH1 5SZ, 7.30pm
McKenzie Sawers Duo
Perth chamber Music
Nash Ensemble Series Concert
richard Hosford (clarinet)
29 Victoria rooms, Dept of Music,
University of Bristol, Queen’s road,
Bristol, BS8 iSa, 1.15 pm
Gemini and Ian Mitchell
(clarinet)
Programme to include
Birtwistle, Verses (clarinet and
piano); Joan tower, Rain Waves
(clarinet, violin and piano); Bright
Sheng, Tibetan Dances (clarinet,
violin and piano).
free admission
0117 331 4044
www.bristol.ac.uk/music/events
30 ray’s Jazz café, foyle’s
Bookshop, 113-119 charing cross
road, London, Wc2H 0eB, 6pm
fumi okiji (voice), noel taylor
(bass/Bb clarinet), Liam noble
(piano)
free admission
www.foyles.co.uk
Borealis Saxophone Quartet
perform in St John’s Smith Square,
London on the 27th february
20 St Mary’s church Hall, Main St,
Sprotbrough, Dn5 7rH, 7.30pm
Timothy Orpen (clarinet), Fiona
Winning (viola), John Reid
(piano)
Mozart, clarke, Poulenc, Schumann
and françaix.
Promoted by Sprotbrough Music
Society
www.sprotbrough-musicsociety.agilityhoster.com/links.php
25 Linlithgow academy theatre,
Braehead road, Linlithgow, eH49
6eH, 7.30pm
lectures
a lecture on the life and work of
adolphe Sax, the highly influential
inventor of woodwind and brass
musical instruments, including
examples of early and modern
works for the saxophone, and
performances from the XVi World
Saxophone congress, held in St
andrews in 2012.
information and booking:
[email protected]
MARCH 2014
1 Swinburne Hall, colchester
Auricle Ensemble
institute, colchester, 7.30 pm.
William Walton, Façade
Pre-concert talk 6.45pm
tickets: £13.20/£5.50
www.ents24.com/linlithgowevents/linlithgow-academy-theatre
Gala Concert to celebrate 25
years of the East Anglian Single
Reed Festival
27 St John’s Smith Square, London,
SW1P 3Ha, 1.05pm
Borealis Saxophone Quartet
alastair Penman, Mélina Zéléniuc,
Gillian Blair, Daniel White
traditional arr. Gillian Blair,
Bulgarian Suite; camille Kerger,
Schneelicht-bebend weiss
(première); alfred Desenclos,
Quatuor pour Saxophones; Barbara
thompson, Green (from saxophone
quartet no.2); Gary carpenter, a new
work (première); Jean rivier, Grave
et presto.
tickets: £10
www.sjss.org.uk
www.borealissaxophonequartet.com
28 chelmsford cathedral, 53 new
Street, chelmsford, cM1 1ty,
12.30pm
Luca Luciano (clarinet) and
Paolo Losi (piano)
Neapolis, and re-arrangements of
music by Puccini, Vivaldi, Gershwin
and churchill.
admission free
01245 294492
28 Peacock room, trinity Laban
conservatoire, old royal naval
college, Greenwich, Se10 9Jf,
1.05pm
Concert of music for bass
clarinet
Programme to include Paul Harvey,
Quartet for four bass clarinets
(première); Bill Smith Jazz Set for
two bass clarinets (première);
Lindsay cooper, Rain Song for
voice/tap dancer and bass clarinet.
free admission
020 8305 4477
www.trinitylaban.ac.uk/what’s on
28 Lecture theatre B, School of
Physics and astronomy, north
Haugh, University of St andrews,
Ky16 9SS, 8pm
Clarinet & Saxophone Society
President, Richard
Ingham presents Celebrating 200 Years of Adolphe
Sax
open association friday evening
the concert will feature the British
clarinet ensemble, the east anglian
Single reed choir, the South tirol
clarinet choir (from italy) and the
colchester institute clarinet choir.
Programme includs British
premières of andy Scott’s Jumbo
and Jeffery Wilson’s Three Haiku.
tickets and further details:
[email protected]
1 coronation Hall, county Square,
Ulverston, cumbria, La12 7LZ,
7.30pm
Snake Davis and the Suspicions
with Jess Gillam
the storming eight piece soul band
belt out northern Soul, atlanta and
Motown classics fronted by
saxophone legend Snake Davis.
01229 587140
www.corohall.co.uk
www.snakedavis.co.uk
Gerard
Mcchrystal
playing in
Sandbach
on 26th
March
arnold, Sea Shanties.
0208 305 4477
www.rmg.co.ul/whats-on
21 Slideslow Drive, Bromsgrove,
B60 1PQ, 8pm
29 Heywood civic centre, Heywood
Timothy Orpen (clarinet) and the
Cavaleri Quartet
civic centre, church Street,
Heywood, oL10 1LW, 7.30pm
artrix promoted by Bromsgrove
concerts
Janáček, Mozart and ian Venables,
Canzonetta for clarinet and string
quartet. the première of this new
work commissioned by Droitwich
concert club and Bromsgrove
concerts.
www.bromsgrove-concerts.org.uk/
www.artrix.co.uk/Music/cavaleriQuartet-with-timothy-orpen—
Bromsgrove-concerts/1857
Fell Clarinet Quartet
7 Heol Penrallt, Machynlleth,
Powys, Sy20 8aJ, 7.30pm
22 Droitwich Methodist church,
Y Tabernacl promoted by
Machynlleth Music Club
Worcester road, Droitwich, Wr9
8an, 7.30pm
timothy orpen (clarinet), Victoria
Simonsen (cello), Daniel tong
(piano)
frühling, ravel, cassadó and
Brahms.
Timothy Orpen (clarinet) and the
Cavaleri Quartet
9 St George’s Bloomsbury, 6-7 Little
russell St, London, Wc1a 2Hr, 4pm
Partenope, and music by Berio,
Messiaen, Puccini, Vivaldi, Gershwin
and Stravinsky.
admission free
0207 242 1979
9 Gatehouse of fleet Parish church,
carstramon road, Gatehouse of
fleet, DG7 2eP, 7.30pm
Fell Clarinet Quartet
recital for Gatehouse Music Society
Programme to include works by
Piazzolla, McGuire, Smetana and
Gershwin.
admission: £10
[email protected]
9 national Maritime Museum,
romney road, Greenwich, London,
Se10 9nf, noon
WeGottickets or purchase locally
www.sandbach-concertseries.co.uk/craig-ogden-gerardmcchrystal-saxophone-guitar.htm
Janáček, Mozart and ian Venables,
Canzonetta for clarinet and string
quartet. the première of this new
work commissioned by Droitwich
concert club and Bromsgrove
concerts.
www.communigate.co.uk/worcs/dr
oitwichconcertclub
25 Blackheath concert Halls, 23
Lee road, Blackheath, London Se3
9rQ, 7.30 pm
Trinity Laban Wind Orchestra
Harry cameron-Penny (clarinet)
Morton Gould, Derivations for
clarinet and band; Stravinsky, Mass
and Symphonies of Wind
Instruments; Grainger, The Power of
Rome and the Christian Heart;
Student commission (première). 26 Strathearn Music Society,
academy Hall, crieff, PH7 3an,
7.30pm
recital for rochdale Music Society
an exciting evening of great variety
ranging from early Hungarian
Dances to french composers,
Dubois and Desportes, as well as
pieces by Gershwin.
admission: £14/£12.50/£5/£1
www.rochdalemusicsociety.org
29 christchurch, avenue road,
Malvern, Worcestershire, Wr14 3ra,
7.30pm
Worcestershire Saxophone
Ensemble
Louisa Davidson (Musical Director)
a programme of saxophone
ensemble and quartet pieces from
Baroque classics to Latin funk. the
WSe show the versatility of the
saxophone in an accomplished
dazzling evening of entertainment
in the beautiful acoustic of
christchurch.
tickets:
£10/£8 concessions available at the
door on or from Malvern theatre
box office. tel: 01684 892277
www.malverntheatres.co.uk/events
APRIL 2014
1 eastgate theatre, eastgate,
Peebles, e45 8aD, 7.30pm
Sax Ecosse
Bach, Glazunov, Gabrieli, Diana
Salazar and Grieg.
www.saxecosse.com www.musicinpeebles.org.
27 the Palm House, Sefton Park,
Scottish Saxophone Ensemble
Liverpool, L17 1aP, 2 – 4pm
www.scottishsaxophoneensemble.c
o.uk
Maghull Wind Orchestra
Trinity Laban Wind Ensemble
26 St Mary’s church Hall, High
Street, Sandbach, cW11 1HD
Programme to include Paul
Harvey, Eulogy for Horatio
Nelson for 12 bass clarinets;
Gerard McChrystal (saxophone)
and Craig Ogden (guitar)
a variety of wind orchestra works
from traditional military band
through to symphonic film scores,
conducted by Phil Shotton. tel: 0151 531 9562
www.maghullwindorchestra.co.uk
tickets: online via
DIARY
coUrSeS
JANUARY 2014
2 - 5 alston Hall, alston Lane,
Longridge, Preston, Pr3 3BP
Extended Saxophone Weekend
tutors: Sarah Jobson and Debbie
Scherer
a course providing ensemble
experience for saxophonists with at
least 18 months playing experience.
Group sizes and music will be
altered each session to provide new
learning opportunities throughout
the course. a vast and diverse
library will be available for use.
01772 784661
www.alstonhall.com
3 - 5 Benslow Music, Benslow Lane,
Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4 9rB
Clarinetfest
Luca Luciano in Hull on 2nd May
27 all Saints church, Kings Heath,
Birmingham, B14 7ra, 3 – 5pm
6 St Bride’s church, fleet Street,
Birmingham Bassoon Choir and
Birmingham Clarinet Choir
colin touchin (conductor)
if you are interested in playing in
the clarinet choir, there will be a
playday on 11th January, and a
short rehearsal before the concert.
tel: alison Kennedy 0121 459
9867 [email protected]
www.allsaintskingsheath.org.uk
London, ec4y 8aU, 1.15pm
Messiaen, Berio, Kowalczyc,
Vivaldi, Puccini and Stravinsky.
admission free
0207 427 0133
17 Bedford corn exchange, St
Paul’s Square, Bedford, MK40 1SL,
7.30pm
Anthony Brown (saxophone)
27 crosby Hall educational trust,
Back Lane, Little crosby, Liverpool,
L23 4Ua, 7.30pm Borealis Saxophone Quartet
alastair Penman, Mélina Zéléniuc,
Gillian Blair, Daniel White
Programme to include works by
Gershwin, ravel and Piazzolla. www.chetcentre.co.uk
www.borealissaxophonequartet.com
MAY 2014
Bedford Sinfonia, Michael rose
(conductor)
concerto by alexander Glazunov
tickets: £13/£10/£3
www.bedfordsymphony.com
23 coronation Hall, county Square,
Ulverston, cumbria, La12 7LZ,
7.30pm
Courtney Pine plus guest Jess
Gillam
01229 587140 www.corohall.co.uk
www.snakedavis.co.uk
2 Hull University, Larkin Building,
Hull, HU6 7rX, 1.15pm
Luca Luciano (clarinet) and
Bruno D’Ambra (piano)
Programme to include music from
the album Neapolis, and music by
Berio, Puccini, Vivaldi, Gershwin
and Kurt Weill.
admission free tel: 01482 462045
2 Hull University, Larkin Building,
Hull, HU6 7rX, 2.30pm
Clarinet Masterclass with Luca
Luciano (clarinet)
24 St Paul’s cathedral, High Street,
Dundee, DD1 1tD, 1pm
Fraser Burke (piano) and
Richard Ingham (saxophone)
Sax 200! contemporary music for
saxophone and piano, including
new works by fraser Burke and
richard ingham.
tickets: £4/£3 schoolchildren free.
www.saintpaulscathedral.net/musi
c/concerts.aspx
www.largo-music.co.uk
clarinet technique and repertoire.
admission free to students
01482 462045
31 the concert room, 2 Sudley
road, Bognor regis, West Sussex,
Po21 1eU, 7.30pm
3 central Methodist church, Queen
Amy Green (saxophone) Daniel
King Smith (piano)
Street, Scarborough, 7.30pm
Scarborough Symphony
Orchestra
Jonathan Sage (clarinet) Shaun
Matthew (conductor)
finzi clarinet concerto
www.scarborough-orchestra.co.uk
www.jonathansage.co.uk
Programme to include
Debussy, Rapsodie; Marcello,
concerto in c minor; creston, Sonata
op. 19.
www.bognerregismusic.org.uk ■
tutors: Shea Lolin, Paul Harris and
anthony Bailey
clarinet players of all abilities are
offered the opportunity to play in
workshops, classes and choirs at the
relevant level and to join at the end
of the course in one joyful,
celebratory ensemble. With music
from the renaissance to the
contemporary, the weekend focuses
on repertoire building but also
includes sessions which focus on
technique and musicianship.
fees: residential £255, non
residential £205
01462 459446
[email protected]
www.benslowmusic.org
10 - 12 Benslow Music, Benslow Lane,
Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4 9rB
John White’s Wind Chamber
Music
tutors: John White and Shane
Moroney
oboist John White, formerly
principal at english national opera,
leads the year’s first wind chamber
music course, intended for
individual applicants. together with
a colleague he’ll help wind players
improve their chamber music skills.
Plenty of music, some for unusual
combinations, will be provided, but
you can also bring works you are
especially fond of or are simply
interested to explore.
residential £205
01462 459446
[email protected]
31 – 2 Feb Benslow Music, Benslow
Lane, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4 9rB
Wind Ensembles with the London
Myriads
tutors: Members of the London
Myriad ensemble
another weekend with the popular
London Myriad ensemble designed
exclusively for pre-formed wind
ensembles. applications from any
configuration of wind or wind and
piano ensemble within reason, from
trios to dectets are welcome. Please
bring along your prepared
repertoire.
residential £205
01462 459446
[email protected]
FEBRUARY 2014
14 - 16 Knuston Hall, irchester,
Wellingborough, northants, nn29
7eU
Beginning To Read and Play
Music
tutor: Sarah Jobson
a course for those who have always
wanted to be able to read music but
never had the time or courage to
try. Using a cheap and easy to learn
instrument, the recorder, this course
will open doors to the world of
playing and understanding music.
01933 312104
[email protected]
www.knustonhall.org.uk
7eU
Saxophone Week
tutors: Sarah Jobson, Debbie
Scherer and Sarah Markham
this course is offered to
saxophonists with at least 18
months experience. the course will
cover a wide variety of playing
opportunities through ensemble
coaching and workshops.
Participants can expect to play in
groups ranging from duos to full
choirs. an extensive library will be
available throughout.
fees: residential £556 (single room)
£492 (shared room), non residential
£377
01933 312104
[email protected]
22 – 23 the Hayes conference
centre, Swanwick, Derbyshire, De55
1aU
Nottingham Saxophone Weekend
course director: alistair Parnell
tutors: Sarah Markham, Julia Mills,
nicola Pennill, James rae and
naomi Sullivan
two days of saxophone
masterclasses, ensembles and
workshops for the intermediate to
advanced (grade five - diploma)
player.
fees: £220
[email protected] www.saxday.co.uk
24 - 27 Benslow Music, Benslow
Lane, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4
9rB
Quintessential Clarinets
(Elementary)
tutors: Shea Lolin and clifton
Hughes (piano)
this version of Shea Lolin’s course is
aimed at less advanced players, but
like its sister course aims to develop
your solo and ensemble playing by
working through pieces you bring
and presenting you with new
repertoire. you will have the chance
to spend time with the course pianist
to work on your performances.
Should you want to share the fruits
of your labours with the rest of the
group then you can, in Benslow
Music’s uniquely informal and
supportive ambience. Shea will
address all areas of performance,
including stagecraft, how to cope
with nerves, practice regimes and
sight-reading techniques.
residential £290
01462 459446
[email protected]
MARCH 2014
Lane, Hitchin, Hertfordshire, SG4 9rB
Clarinet Choir
tutor: Shea Lolin
We decided that although our
clarinetfest brings clarinettists
together for a celebratory play at
the end of the course, we were
missing a course entirely devoted
to the clarinet choir, a popular
genre. Shea Lolin, as Director of the
east London clarinet choir, has
considerable experience of the
genre and its music so if you are
looking for a couple of days of pure
enjoyment as you play through a
wide range of repertoire, original
and arranged, then look no further.
Please let us know which clarinets
you are bringing to the course.
everything from contrabass to e
flat very welcome.
residential £205
01462 459446
[email protected]
9rB
The Kerry Camden Advanced
Wind Ensembles Course
tutors: Simon de Souza, elizabeth
Drew, Liz fyfe, Pete Harrison and
Lisa nelsen
the Kerry camden advanced Wind
ensembles course, named in
honour of the late, great bassoonist
who led it for many years,
continues under the highly
experienced guidance of horn
player Simon de Souza and his
expert team of coaches (one for
each instrument so detailed help
will be on hand for all). the
emphasis is on having fun through
making music, but course members
should expect to be challenged and
sometimes, gently, taken out of
their comfort zone. all corners of
the wind quintet and dectet (double
quintet) repertoire will be explored
and finish on the Sunday afternoon
with an informal concert, where we
will address issues relating to
performance skills, rehearsing and
repertoire learning. this course is
designed for individual applicants
only and not for pre-formed
groups.
residential £205
01462 459446
[email protected]
as newly established ensembles, to
one-to-a-part playing in groups of
similar abilities. Minimum
standard expected is roughly
associated Board grade three, and
Janet likes you to be a reasonable
sight-reader. Perhaps you are
rejuvenating old skills, perhaps you
have only just taken up an
instrument, or perhaps you are
already a competent player but
lack experience in ensemble
playing. Whatever the case, this is
the course for you.
residential £205
01462 459446
[email protected]
APRIL 2014
4 – 6 Gartmore House,
Stirlingshire, fK8 3rS
Richard Ingham’s Gartmore
House Saxophone Weekend
this new residential course for
saxophonists will give you the
opportunity to play in large and
small saxophone ensembles and
meet new friends in the saxophone
world. you will receive coaching on
your ensemble playing, technique
and tone production. Bring one
saxophone, or perhaps bring the six
different ones you play. everyone
will be catered for with music
selected from one of the biggest
libraries of saxophone music in
europe, which will be available to
use in your free time. come as an
established ensemble, or as an
individual. the music will be an
eclectic mixture of classical and
jazz. a minimum standard of
approximately grade three aBrSM
(or equivalent) is recommended for
this course, as well as some fluency
in sight-reading. outstanding
accommodation set amidst
national Park landscape. fees: £240/£260
www.largomusic.co.uk/course_ghsw.php
9rB
Spring Saxes
richard
ingham’s
Gartmore
House
Saxophone
Weekend,
4th - 6th april
7 - 11 Scottish Hebridean island of
raasay
Raasay bass clarinet and
bassoon courses
Led by Sarah Watts (bass
clarinet) and Laurence
Perkins (bassoon), with antony
clare (piano)
this five day course is a wonderful
chance for bass clarinettists and
bassoonists (of any level) to enjoy
and develop their playing through
workshops (developing aspects of
technique), classes (you can bring a
solo piece to play, if you wish) and
wonderful ensembles - including
some Scottish music! there will be
a tutors’ concert, social events and
a chance to explore this magical
island sandwiched between the isle
of Skye and the Scottish mainland.
2013 raasay
course www.youtube.com/watch?v
=1noeBzUX6B4
www.raasaymusiccourses.com
7eU
Extend Your Saxophone Skills
tutors: Debbie Scherer, Sarah
Jobson, Susie tolley and Matthew
McGuffie
this course will be of particular
interest to those in the early and
intermediate stages of saxophone
playing. the course content will
allow for those with some
experience (recommended
maximum playing ability grade five
approximately) as well as those
with only six months learning.
those taking on saxophone as a
second instrument will also benefit
from this course. Material and
tutoring will be appropriate to the
standard of each individual and the
timetable will be devised to enable
progressive learning.
£257
01933 312104
[email protected]
7eU
Extend Your Saxophone Skills
tutors: Debbie Scherer, Sarah
Jobson, Susie tolley and Matthew
McGuffie
this course will be of particular
interest to those in the early and
intermediate stages of saxophone
playing. the course content will
allow for those with some
experience (recommended
maximum playing ability grade five
approximately) as well as those
with only six months learning.
those taking on saxophone as a
second instrument will also benefit
from this course. Material and
tutoring will be appropriate to the
standard of each individual and the
timetable will be devised to enable
progressive learning.
£175
01933 312104
[email protected]
9rB
Introduction to Wind Chamber
Music
tutor: Janet Myatt
Janet Myatt introduces players,
who might come as individuals or
tutors: neil crossley and Gerard
Mcchrystal
Play in ensembles ranging from
quartets to a whole sax choir,
exploring a wide range of music. no
previous experience of ensemble
playing is necessary, but
participants must be competent
sight-readers. you will benefit from
ensemble coaching, performances
and technique classes that cover
all aspects of playing the
saxophone in a friendly and
supportive atmosphere.
Please let us know what size(s) of
instrument you intend to bring
when you apply. if you have any
doubts about being of a suitable
level then Benslow Music will be
pleased to put the tutors in touch
with you.
residential £205
01462 459446
[email protected]
MAY 2014
7eU
An Extended Weekend of Flutes
and Clarinets
tutors: Sarah Jobson and Debbie
Scherer
this established course is aimed at
flautists and clarinettists who want
to play in specialist ensembles and
a mixed woodwind choir. an
extensive library combined with
experienced tutors ensures that
participants will have the
opportunity to enhance both their
instrumental and ensemble skills.
for maximum benefit participants
should have at least 18 months of
playing and have experience of
sight-reading.
Please note that you do not have to
be able to play both flute and
clarinet to benefit from this course.
£240
01933 312104
[email protected]
DIARY
11 – 17 La Moreau, charente
Maritime, france
Andy Scott’s Saxophone Course
in France
andy Scott leads a saxophone
ensemble course in South West
france that is designed for
beginners to more advanced
players who want to improve their
ensemble playing in a friendly,
supportive atmosphere. andy will
run sessions on improvising and
transcribing, composing and
arranging music for the saxophone.
Participants will play in duos,
quartets and a larger ensemble,
and will have the opportunity to
join in an evening jam session and
take part in a public concert at the
end of the course. each player will
also receive a half hour individual
lesson from andy.
www.andyscott.org.uk
9rB
Exploring the Saxophone and its
Repertoire
tutors: Jeffery Wilson and tim
Watts (piano)
Jeffery Wilson (saxophones) and
tim Watts (piano) direct, rehearse,
workshop and perform alongside
course participants a vast range of
music, from jazz improvisations to
classical repertoire, non-western
music, contemporary
arrangements and original
compositions, in solo and ensemble
settings.
residential £290
01462 459446
[email protected]
9rB
Quintessential Clarinets
tutors: Shea Lolin and clifton
Hughes (piano)
this version of Shea Lolin’s course
is aimed at less advanced players,
but like its sister course aims to
develop your solo and ensemble
playing by working through pieces
you bring and presenting you with
new repertoire. you will have the
chance to spend time with the
course pianist to work on your
performances. Should you want to
share the fruits of your labours
with the rest of the group then you
can, in Benslow Music’s uniquely
informal and supportive ambience.
Shea will address all areas of
performance, including stagecraft,
how to cope with nerves, practice
regimes and sight-reading
techniques.
residential £290
01462 459446
[email protected]
9rB
Sound trio.
www.cuillinsoundmusic.co.uk
New Winds
24 - 30 August 2014
tutor: Janet Myatt
a friendly course for those up to
associated Board grade three
standard with little or no
experience of ensemble playing but
at least a year‘s playing experience.
Boost your confidence by playing in
small conducted groups, learning
how to listen to those around you
and how to fit into an ensemble.
the accent is on informality and
mutual supportiveness. there will
be ample opportunity to discuss
challenges and to sort out
technical problems. Perhaps you’ve
taken up an instrument later in life,
or perhaps you’re wanting to
rejuvenate old skills.
residential £205
01462 459446
[email protected]
cubertou advanced Wind course
tutors: Sarah Watts (clarinet), Liz
cutts (flute), andrew Knights
(oboe), Miles Hewitt (horn) and
Laurence Perkins (bassoon)
this course is for adult woodwind
players (flute, oboe, clarinet,
bassoon and horn) of grade eight or
above who would like the
opportunity to play in ensembles,
explore some of the wonderful
music for wind groups, and develop
chamber music skills, all in an
idyllic venue in sunny South West
france.
www.cubertou.com
ON THE HORIZON
9 - 16 August 2014 Malvern
college, Worcestershire.
Malvern Summer Winds chamber
Music course
a chamber music course for
intermediate and advanced
woodwind and horn players
promoted and tutored by cuillin
31 August – 6 September 2014
cubertou elementary Wind
chamber Music
tutors: Sarah Watts (clarinet), Liz
cutts (flute) and Laurence Perkins
(bassoon)
this course is for adult woodwind
players (flute, oboe, clarinet and
bassoon) between grades three and
six who would like the opportunity
to play in ensembles, explore some
of the wonderful music for wind
groups, and develop chamber
music skills, all in an idyllic venue
in sunny South West france.
www.cubertou.com ■
PLayDayS
JANUARY 2014
11 northfield Quaker Meeting
House, Birmingham B31 2LD,
9.30am – 4.30pm
Clarinet Choir Playday with
conductor Colin Touchin
a variety of music will be provided
on the day, about grade five and
above.
tel: alison Kennedy 0121 459 9867
[email protected]
11 21 Stone road, Bromley, Kent,
Br2 9aX, 1.30pm
Clarinet Workshop and Concert tutors: Margaret archibald
(clarinet) and John flinders (piano)
John and Margaret will also
perform an item at the 6pm concert
for family and friends.
free choice of repertoire that
players would like to rehearse and
perform, although made in
discussion with Margaret and John
in advance.
fees: £42 (performers)
contact: Margaret archibald 07970
123105
[email protected]
25 regent Hall, 275 oxford Street,
London, W1c 2DJ, (nearest station:
oxford circus) 10am - 5pm
Woodwind Orchestra Play Day
artistic Director: Shea Lolin. tutors:
chris allen, richard caradon, ian
Mitchell and David Smith
the east London clarinet choir
present a play day for woodwind
orchestra. trade stands include
Wood, Wind & reed, Vandoren and
Sempre Music.
fees: £40 (£35 concessions).
0208 553 4973
www.elclarinetchoir.co.uk/playday.
htm
FEBRUARY 2014
1 the Venue, Leeds college of
Music, 3 Quarry Hill, Leeds, LS2
7PD, 10am-5pm
Woodwind Orchestra Play Day
artistic Director: Shea Lolin. tutors:
Keiron anderson, Paul Harris,
anthony Houghton and Michael
Shelton
the east London clarinet choir
present a play day for woodwind
orchestra.
trade stands include
Windstruments, Vandoren and
Sempre Music.
fees: £40 (£35 concessions).
0208 553 4973
www.elclarinetchoir.co.uk/playday.
htm
8 St Michael’s church centre,
Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, iP5
3PL, 10.15am – 1.15pm & 2.15 5.15pm
Saxophone Sessions
Morning session, one to a part in
small groups. afternoon session,
sax choir large group playing. all
with the aim to develop ensemble
skills and have fun with good music
written specifically for
saxophones. Sign up for a morning
or an afternoon or both.
fees: £10 per session.
tel: 01473 726426
www.packapunch.co.uk/workshops
23 Wells cathedral School,
Somerset
6 St. Paul’s Hall, University of
Huddersfield, Queensgate,
Huddersfield HD 1 3DH
Saxophone Day
Special guests Jerome Laran
(france) and equinox Saxophone
ensemble. Sponsored by Vandoren.
www.hud.ac.uk/concerts
South West Jazz Saxophone Day
Wells Music academy is hosting
another jazz improvisation
workshop day for players aged 18
and younger in the beautiful setting
of Wells cathedral School.
tutors will include andy tweed and
edward Leaker as well as a very
special guest to be announced
nearer the date. there will be
workshops on improvisation skills
for all levels, making a jazz sound,
jazz stylisation and trade stands
will be on hand so you can check
out the latest gear. the day will
also feature a performance from
the guest tutor with a professional
rhythm section.
the team behind the event has put
on the previous South West
Saxophone and clarinet Days that
have proved so popular. this event
will also give you some insight in to
the inspirational programme of
teaching available at Wells
cathedral School, in particular the
new Jazz Saxophone Pathway.
We recommend that children
should be at least grade three
standard to get the most out of the
event.
tel: Dominique Swain on 01749
834487
[email protected]
www.wellsmusicacademy.com
MARCH 2014
2, colchester institute, colchester
East Anglian Single Reed
Festival
this year the festival marks a very
special occasion with the 25th
anniversary event. andy Scott will
be leading the masterclass and
helping throughout the day and
other sessions will include single
reed choirs, novice class and the
ever popular jazz workshop with
Jeffery Wilson. there will be music
for everyone and all ages and from
grade two up are welcome to play
and browse the trade stands.
reduced rates for those in full time
education and for teachers bringing
three or more pupils. Up to date
details can be found on our website
www.singlereed.co.uk and please
email
[email protected] with
any queries.
23 Great Kingshill Village Hall,
Buckinghamshire, HP15 6Dr, 10am
– 4pm
Kingshill Clarinet Choir Play Day
Led by chris Hooker
open to all grade five plus players.
contact:
[email protected]
30 Maidment Building, Shrewsbury
School, Sy3 7Ba, 10am – 5pm
Shrewsbury Saxophone Day
a chance to work with andy Scott
and rob Buckland in workshops,
masterclasses and ensemble
sessions, and participate in a
concert in the lovely surroundings
of Shrewsbury School. Minimum
standard grade five approximately.
trade stands will be available
throughout the day. Supported by
Vandoren, Selmer and astute
Music.
fee: £25
contact: Maria eglinton
[email protected]
www.andyscott.org.uk
MAY 2014
4 cardiff University School of
Music, corbett road, cardiff, cf10
3eB, 9am – 7pm
Clarinet Convention
course Leaders: Leslie craven and
Peter fielding.
a fun day of concerts,
masterclasses, ensemble coaching,
clarinet choirs and lectures in all
things clarinetty.
trade stands to include Vandoren,
rico D’addario, John Packer,
Marca and Woodwind & co.
concessions for groups available on
application.
10 St Michael’s church centre,
Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, iP5
3PL, 10.15am – 1.15pm & 2.15 5.15pm
Saxophone Sessions
Morning session, one to a part in
small groups. afternoon session,
sax choir large group playing. all
with the aim to develop ensemble
skills and have fun with good music
written specifically for
saxophones. Sign up for a morning
or an afternoon or both.
fees: £10 per session.
tel: 01473 726426
www.packapunch.co.uk/workshops
11 King George’s Hall, community
Walk, esher, Kt10 9ra, 10am – 4pm
APRIL 2014
27 Bury farm, Bury road,
Stapleford, cambridge, cB22 5BP, 1
– 6pm
Clarinet Afternoon with James
Rae
following on from their highly
successful clarinet and saxophone
days, the ace foundation invites
intermediate and advanced level
players (minimum grade five) to a
more intensive clarinet ensemble
day, during which James rae will
guide you through some
stimulating and enjoyable
repertoire from the clarinet and
Saxophone Society library now
based at Bury farm. there will be
an end of day concert at 5.30pm.
James will also direct a masterclass
and give a demonstration concert.
the maximum number of
participants is 25.
there will also be the opportunity
to visit Daniel Bangham’s
cambridge Woodwind Makers
workshop.
fee: £45
contact: the ace foundation 01223
845599
Superpads
Clarinet Choir Play Day
the day will be led by the
thameside clarinet choir Musical
Director, Martin Hinckley who will
include some in-depth work on
substantial repertoire from the
clarinet choir including some new
compositions and arrangements,
together with a lighter look at a
varied selection from the choir’s
library. Parts will be available for
eb, Bb, alto, bass, contra-alto and
contrabass clarinet.
fees: £30 (£15 half day)
Martin Hinckley
[email protected]
www.thameside.org
ON THE HORIZON
1 June 2014 Hurworth community
centre, Darlington, DL2 2Bn, 10am
– 5pm
Darlington Clarinet Ensemble
Clarinet and Saxophone Play
Day
tutors: alistair Parnell and Sarah
Markham
fees: £20/£15/£5
[email protected] ■
for
cLarinet
only from
www.woodwindco.com [email protected]
LETTERS
Dear Richard,
Clarinetfest 2013, 24-28 July, Assisi, Italy
The Scottish Clarinet Quartet is delighted that a review of our concert at
the recent ClarinetFest held in Assisi was published in the last issue of
Clarinet and Saxophone (Vol.38/3). In the interests of strict factual
accuracy, we’d just like to make readers aware of the following minor
corrections. The title of the piece by Judith Weir is Sketches from a
Bagpiper’s Album, Francine Trester is a US composer, and her new work
Many Miles Away was commissioned by the Scottish Clarinet Quartet and
not Creative Scotland. However we are grateful to Creative Scotland for
supporting our trip to Assisi.
Readers interested in obtaining the sheet music to either of these works
may like to know that Alex South’s new arrangement for clarinet quartet
of Judith Weir’s Sketches from a Bagpiper’s Album will soon be available
from Music Sales (Novello & Co), and that Francine Trester may be
contacted at [email protected] or [email protected]. The remaining
piece in our programme, Becky Milne’s Waulking Bass (scored for four
bass clarinets), may be obtained by contacting her at
[email protected]. Details of these and other past
commissions may be found at our website scq.org.uk.
Alex South, The Scottish Clarinet Quartet ■
The Clarinet and Saxophone Society of Great Britain
company Limited by Guarantee, number 3010228
the companies acts 2006
Annual General
Meeting
notice is hereby given that the annual General Meeting
of the clarinet and Saxophone Society of Great Britain
will be held in the
Manoukian Music Centre, Westminster School, 9 Tufton
Street London, SW1P 3QB
on Sunday 5th January 2014 at 4.30pm.
the relevant papers for the meeting can found in the members’
section of the Society’s website – www.cassgb.org.
John a MacKenzie
company Secretary
CLASSIFIEDS
Yamaha Tenor Saxophone YTS275 in
pristine condition. £680 ono. tel: 01286
831705
Jazzlab Saxholder. Great for bass
clarinet or tenor/baritone sax. as new
£35
tel: alan 01258 453800
[email protected]
Yamaha Piccolo 82, very good condition,
solid silver head joint £1350
tel: John 07933 926023
Leblanc bass clarinet to low eb plus case,
mouthpiece, sling and stand. in good
playing condition. £1000 tel: 01689
837633 (orpington)
Selmer Series 9 Bb clarinet, overhauled
by George Gladstone in august 2013.
complete with case, Selmer c85 120
mouthpiece and folding stand. £500 tel:
01248 360108/0781 204 6610 (Bangor,
Gwynedd) ■
Index of Advertisers
Barnes & Mullins - antigua
17
Barnes & Mullins - Juno
23
Barnes & Mullins yanagisawa
outside back cover
clarinet & Saxophone Society of GB 2
creative Vacances
D’addario - rico
1
George Gladstone
Howarth of London
16
inside front cover
Jonathan Myall
6
John Packer
37
Matt London
23
nigel Hinson
37
redwine Jazz
22
reeds Direct
37
Sax.co.uk
36
Steve crow
11
Vandoren
19
VBi - conn Selmer
24
Windband
39
Windstruments
39
Windstruments Harrogate summer course
50
Wood, Wind & reed
39
Woodwind & co.
yamaha
39
23, 43, 51
inside back cover
CLARINET & SAXOPHONE
SOCIETY LIBRARY SERVICE
Members’ Borrowing Application Form
four works may be borrowed at a time for a period of four weeks. charges are £1.50 per item, plus postage
(variable depending on weight of parcel) and must be paid by cheque made payable to caSS GB on return of the
items. overseas members are required to pay by either ViSa or Mastercard or by visiting our website
www.cassgb.org and using the PayPal facility. Please photocopy this form if you wish.
Send requests to: Stephanie reeve, 9 Hamden Way, Papworth everard, cambridge cB23 3UG
or by email to [email protected]
name:
address:
Postcode:
telephone no.
Membership no:
Works to be borrowed:
1. Composer:
2. Composer:
title:
title:
arranged for:
arranged for:
3. Composer:
4. Composer:
title:
title:
arranged for:
arranged for:
Terms and conditions: the borrower agrees that he/she will not make any copies of the materials supplied, for any purpose whatsoever.
if the materials supplied are used in any concert performance, it is the responsibility of the hirer to notify the Performing right Society of
all the details of the performance. the borrower understands that if the declaration is false in a material particular the borrower may be
liable for an infringement of copyright. Lost pieces or parts will be charged at the current cost of replacement plus 20% to cover costs.
the period of loan is for one month from despatch of the items. the loan period may be extended provided that items have not been
requested by another member. a further charge of £1.50 per item per month will apply for loan extension.
i agree to the terms of borrowing and agree to pay the standard charges current at the time of my application.
Signed:
Date:
EDITOR’S NOTES
I
was immensely saddened to be told of
the death of Professor John Playfair. A
long-standing member of the Clarinet
and Saxophone Society, he joined the
Editorial Board of this magazine in 2006
and gave to the team not only an incredible
amount of expertise, but shared his great
enthusiasm and love for clarinets of
historical interest and of recorded music.
He was never shy of putting his views
across and had the knack of submitting a
letter for publication or soap box style
article that sparked discussion and
responses from our readers. He was full of
ideas and reflected the interests of a
significant segment of our readership. Prior
to his retirement he worked as the Professor
of Immunology at University College
London Medical School with a string of
publications to his name. If I commissioned
him to review an item it would be in my
inbox by return, 65 of them over the years,
erudite, insightful and fearless in his
criticism. Since I took the chair in 1999, the
Editorial Board has evolved into a team of
hard working, focused musicians,
representing the many facets of our
instruments and repertoire, with a mission
to make the magazine an unmissable
journal for the single reeder. John filled his
role to the full and will be very sorely
missed.
John would have been very enthusiastic
about a new idea of organising a concert
following the Society’s AGM. David
Campbell will be performing music by
Brahms, Widor, Bennett and Rabaut,
accompanied by Caroline Jaya-Ratnam. Do
find your way to the Manoukian Music
Centre, Westminster School on Sunday 5th
January 2014 at 5pm for the recital and you
are invited to the AGM at 4.30pm.
2014 sees the 200th anniversary of the
birth of Adolphe Sax. We are planning a
series of articles to mark the event and
from the diary section it can be seen that
concerts and lectures are also being
planned to reflect this significant date.
We have changed our approach to the
series looking at the ABRSM
syllabus for clarinet and saxophone.
Stephanie Reeve is writing now from the
perspective of what teachers need to know
about the music listed. Are the
accompaniments easy? What is the range of
the music? She will highlight the level of
difficulty within that grade and the
challenges the pupil might find with the
music. I hope that this makes the series
even more useful.
I’m very struck by the number of
interesting people of diverse professions or
interests that I’ve spoken to or met in my
time as Editor, who are members as
amateurs in the true sense of the word. To
reflect this we’ve decided to run a new
series for the back page of interviews with
members looking at their work and the role
the clarinet or saxophone plays in their
lives. I hope you enjoy it!
Richard Edwards ■
GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUTORS
ARTICLES
• 850 words fill one page with obvious
multiples thereof.
• It is helpful if the text is also pasted into the
email in case of problems opening
attachments. Please do not submit articles in
Microsoft Publisher format - this seems to
give us the most problems. MS Word or text
saved in Rich Text Format should be fine.
• Please supply pictures to enhance the
presentation of text. Pictures should have a
minimum resolution of 350 dpi or if hard
copy they will be returned once scanned if
requested. Pictures should also state if
attribution/photo credit is necessary and be
submitted with clear captions.
• Please do not put pictures within text - send
them as separate attachments in JPEG
format or similar, cross referenced to text
where relevant.
•A brief biography of the author should be
supplied along with an image.
• Hard copy is usually sent to contributors for
proof-reading, so please ensure that in this
electronic age we have your postal address!
• Copy deadline: April 16th for June issue, July
16th for September issue, October 16th for
the December issue, January 16th for the
March issue. The magazine is distributed
around the 21st of the month of publication.
• For guidance with regard to titles,
references etc we use Trevor Herbert’s Music
in Words (pub. ABRSM) as our guide.
• We reserve the right to edit all submissions.
• No guarantee is made that a submission will
be published - this is at the discretion of the
Editorial Board.
FOR REVIEW
• All material for review should be sent to the
Editor (Fron, LLANSADWRN, Menai Bridge,
LL59 5SL).
• A review is published for the benefit of the
reader, not simply to give an artist/author
some publicity.
• We cannot guarantee to publish a review of
every item sent to us.
• The editorial team will choose the reviewer.
Unsolicited reviews will not be published.
• It may be that the reviewer will not like the
work, hence a positive review is not
guaranteed.
• Music received by email in PDF or similar
format will not be accepted.
NEWS & DIARY/LISTING
• News of forthcoming events or listings is
very welcome. Please send your information
to the Editor. You can request to be notified
by email as each listing/news is being
compiled as a reminder of the opportunity to
submit information.
• There is no charge for listings!
• Although great care is taken to ensure
accuracy in the listings, the Clarinet &
Saxophone Society of Great Britain cannot
accept responsibility for any errors. Readers
are advised to check details before making
long journeys to an event as the listing is
prepared some considerable time in
advance.
Deadline
Period Covered
January 24
April 1 - Aug 31
April 24
July 1 - Nov 30
July 24
Oct 1 - Feb 28/29
Oct 24
Jan 1 - May 31
CLARINET&SAXOPHONE SOCIETY OF GREAT BRITAIN
NEW MEMBERS We offer a warm welcome to the following members who have
joined the Society since the last issue of Clarinet & Saxophone. Please check page two
of the Membership Directory for an explanation of the abbreviations.
BACON, Mrs Glenys
98 Westbourne road, Suttonin-ashfield, nottinghamshire,
nG17 2er
[email protected]
om
c clM B Sw
COOKE, Dr Janet
20 crescent Walk, West
Parley, ferndown, Dorset,
BH22 8PZ
01202 577012
[email protected]
c aS tS c4 Sw
EMBLETON, Miss Catherine
25 Birchwood road, Utley,
Keighley, West yorkshire,
BD20 6BX
01535 610124
catherine.embleton@btintern
et.com
c S BB cM
EMINSON, Mr Stuart
5 Barker Gate, Hucknall,
nottingham, nG15 6Lt
[email protected]
c S oM P Klez
HARRIS, Mr John
22 oak Way, Heckington,
Sleaford, Lincolnshire, nG34
9fG
01529 460254
[email protected]
S
MARTIN, Mr Robert
‘innisfail’, 16 Derwent raod,
Palmers Green, London, n13
4PU
0208 886 4645
[email protected]
c S oM J
PUGH, Ms Jackie
84 thorpe House rise,
Sheffield, South yorkshire, S8
9nP
[email protected]
c Pi
SEMPRE MUSIC
old Waterside, Dunreggan,
Moniaive, Dumfrieshire, DG3
4HQ
01848 200117
[email protected]
TINLINE, Mr Edward
2 Sunnyhill road, Salisbury,
Wiltshire, SP1 3QH
01722 328901
[email protected]
aS
WALLS, Mr Michael
‘trelory’, 10 Moor close road,
Queensbury, Bradford, West
yorkshire, BD13 2ea
[email protected]
J
MOSELEY, Ms Cherryll C
2 rebekah Gardens, Droitwich
Spa, Worcestershire, Wr9
8UG
cherryll.moseley@btinternet.
com
WATSON, Miss Jennifer
31-33 Winnington Lane,
northwich, cheshire, cW8
4De
[email protected]
cSfP
ROSE, Mr Philip
Hazeltree cottage, old
Burford road, Bledington,
Gloucestershire, oX7 6Ut
[email protected]
WHITEMAN, Mrs Judith
1 Blacksmith cottages,
ticehurst, east Sussex, tn5
7BD
01580 201562
[email protected]
aS cM B J
STENHOUSE, Mr Alastair
36 Braemar Drive, South
Shields, tyne & Wear, ne34
7tZ
[email protected]
o.uk
WILLIAMS, Mr David
60 Grantchester Meadows,
cambridge, cambridgeshire,
cB3 9JL
[email protected]
tS J BB
CHANGE OF ADDRESS
COCHRANE, Miss Jennifer
8 Damocle court, norwich,
norfolk, nr2 1Hn
[email protected]
COLVILLE, Mrs Juliet
21 Broseley avenue,
Manchester, M20 6JX
[email protected]
DEANS, Ms Rebecca
72 Holborn View, codnor,
ripley, Derbyshire, De5 9rf
[email protected]
EVANS, Miss Eleri Ann
Damson cottage, Green Lane,
north Kilworth, Lutterworth,
Leicestershire, Le17 6HQ
01484 427382
[email protected]
HEALY, Mrs Linda
66 Hendre Park,
Llangennech,
carmarthenshire, Sa14 8UP
[email protected]
m
STREET, Dr Nigel
Po Box 77, esentepe, Girne,
Mersin 10, tUrKey
[email protected]
TURRIFF, Miss Alison
64 ivanhoe crescent, Wishaw,
north Lanarkshire, ML2 7Dt
[email protected]
WALKER, Rev Valerie
109 High Street, newburgh,
cupar, fife, Ky14 6Da
[email protected]
WALLER, Miss Alison
calderbank, Hillfield Drive,
Ledbury, Herefordshire, Hr8
1BH
01531 632498
[email protected]
WEST, Mr Ian P
1105 Lund ranch road,
Parkland, florida, 33076, USa
001 203 439 2353
[email protected]
It is with regret that we
report the death of:
The Clarinet & Saxophone Society of
Great Britain was founded in 1976 for
the benefit of everyone who has an
interest in the clarinet or saxophone
and their repertoire: teachers,
students, professional or amateur
players, manufacturers and
composers. the Society has members
in over 35 countries. the Society is a
company limited by guarantee:
registered in england no. 3010228,
whose registered office is at 15
Springwell, ingleton, Darlington, DL2
3JJ
Presidents: richard ingham and
Janet Hilton
Past Presidents: Lt. col. trevor Le M.
Sharpe MVo oBe, Jack Brymer oBe,
Dame thea King, Sir John Dankworth
cBe
Vice-Presidents:
Paul Harvey, charles Hine
Honorary Members: Paul Harvey,
alan Lucas, Susan Moss, Kevin
Murphy
Executive Committee: David
campbell (Past-chairman), Janet
eggleden, Gemma Harvey, Graham
Honeywood, Shea Lolin, Stephanie
reeve, plus those indicated *
*Secretary: William Upton,
25 albert road, new Milton, BH25
6SP
tel: 0758 824 7421
[email protected]
*Treasurer: John MacKenzie,
15 Springwell, ingleton, Darlington,
DL2 3JJ
tel: 01325 730280
[email protected]
*Editor: richard edwards,
fron, Llansadwrn, Menai Bridge,
LL59 5SL
tel: 01248 811285 [email protected]
*Membership Secretary: andrew
Smith, 23 Hanbury close, ingleby
Barwick, Stockton-on-tees,
tS17 0UQ
tel. 08456 440 187
[email protected]
• Back numbers of the magazine
are available to members from
the Membership Secretary
price £4.95. ■
Professor John Playfair,
chiswick, London ■
HOLLAND, Miss Liz
144 elizabeth Street,
atherton, Manchester, M46
9Jn
[email protected]
w
Ne
WHO ARE
OUR READERS?
se
rie
When did you start playing the
saxophone?
about 14 years ago. i always wanted to play
something. i went to a fair and there was a
man selling second hand instruments. i
bought an old Buescher. My daughter used
to play the flute and started playing the
saxophone. She then started to have
lessons and one day she caught a cold so i
turned up! that happened on more
occasions than it should have done so i
asked the teacher if i could have my own
lesson. that was alistair Parnell in
nottingham who was very, very good.
Where do you play now?
i moved south and was at grade five at that
stage. i’m now taught by Julian Landymore.
i’ve gone through different exams and i’m
now trying to do exactly what it says on the
page of music so not my own
interpretation! Julian is very patient and he
knows i’m not in a great hurry because it’s
not as if i’m going to be going off to college
or anything. i’m playing in a concert band
as well and that’s just amazing to be
involved.
What do you think you enjoy most about
your saxophone playing?
i enjoy music generally so the playing gives
me more of a feel for what’s involved. it
gives me more enjoyment now i’m listening
to music a lot more, “oh, that’s a nice bass
in there”. i’m aware of the process of music.
that’s not to say that i’ve become a
musician because the more i’ve gone on the
more i’ve realised the people who are
musicians have got a much wider grasp of
it, but i’ve an insight. i could not be doing
with Gilbert and Sullivan but when we
played some in the band all of a sudden i
s
What does your day to day job involve?
Making and selling frames. We’re a little bit
unusual in that we don’t just get readymade lengths of moulding. We work
from raw timber which is finished
here. We do special finishes and a lot
of treatment of old art work, delicate
stuff. Both claire and i are from
conservation backgrounds. i was a
cabinet maker and furniture restorer.
it’s nice, it’s the combination of the
general public and it’s creative, you’re
doing things, so it’s an enjoyable job.
one of the things that i’ve never heard
anything quite like was at the ace
foundation Playday when the tutors’ choir
opened with La Mer arranged by John
Halton. it sounded just like harmonicas! i
was just knocked out by that. i thought
“wow, that was so fresh, it’s brilliant!”
What do you enjoy most out of being a
Clarinet and Saxophone Society member?
the magazine. i look forward to it coming. i
don’t pounce on it straight away and i stop
myself rifling through all the pages and
cherry picking. and the fact that caSS is
involved with playdays.
And your favourite part of the magazine?
i think it’s the insight, interviews of famous
musicians. Little bits come out and you
think gosh that’s interesting.
Stephanie Reeve is touring the UK, in her
trusty Toyota, persuading our readers to
tell all:
John Davenport is a picture framer and
saxophonist in St neots, cambridgeshire,
where he lives with his partner claire
Harris, who is also a framer.
got the joke. i see what’s going on here!
Playing pieces, i find, gives you a different
appreciation than just listening. it’s nice to
do something, so that you feel that you’ve
got some discipline, and that you do every
day. i’m very lucky in the band. i do feel it’s
a privilege to play some of the things that
we play, just to be there and i hear these
sounds going on and think “wow, this is
lovely, super”.
Who in the single reed world do you
admire?
i like John Harle; i’ve been to a masterclass
of his. Branford Marsalis, that he can do
both classical and jazz. i’ve heard some
stuff from him which just unbelievable. i
think there are flashier players around but
at least just the way he grabs it all together.
if there was just one piece it was when amy
Dickson did the Philip Glass (violin)
concerto. i thought that was absolutely
brilliant.
Any memorable performances?
What was the last recording that you
bought?
The Jazz Age by the Brian ferry orchestra.
normally when we’re cooking in the
evening there is some music on. it’s
normally what we’ve bought recently and
after a couple of weeks we’ve done it to
death and it doesn’t come out again, or it
will then go onto shuffle. The Jazz Age has
longevity though i was never a Brian ferry
fan in the first place!
What’s your favourite TV or radio
programme?
The Archers. We know two or three people
who will say quite seriously ‘what do you
think about...’ and we’ll have this very
serious conversation as if it were real life!
We don’t actually get to see much television
at all.
Any other hobbies?
there’s an allotment. i fish when i can, but i
suppose music gets everything, particularly
when i’ve got band on. i’ve got things from
Julian to practise and i’ve then got things
for band to practise as well as i can.
Instruments owned:
alto: Selmer Sa80
Baritone: bronze yanigasawa
Soprano: Selmer Mark Vi
www.stneotspicturegallery.co.uk ■

What Is It About The Selmer Mark VI? Musician`s Dystonia: A Silent

Transcription

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