“Solo!” Chamber Music Album

“Solo!” Album Notes:

Sample the whole album here. Purchase here.

The music in this album is characterized by modern jazz inflections within a contemporary/neoclassical framework. The Providence of Zorn for saxophone quartet is a tribute to the provident musical spirit of composer/saxophonist John Zorn, written with a contrapuntal texture meant to symbolize the man’s rigid discipline. The Lacework duo for alto and baritone saxophones is about the reunion of friends; you will hear the two saxophone lines closely interwoven and often crossing in voice range, which is meant to symbolize the ‘crossing of paths.’ Jasper Johns for flute, clarinet, alto sax and cello, was inspired by the paintings of the American painter of the same name, his nationalistic work had the sound of Americana in my mind, like that of Aaron Copland mixed with Charles Ives along with American folk and jazz, all thrown in the same mix. The Chicago-Lucernestring quartet was written while I was on a composition Fellowship in Lucerne Switzerland, half of it written in Lucerne and half in Chicago. The piece was originally dedicated to the Chicago Q Ensemble and premiered at a Sunday Salon Series concert at the Chicago Cultural Center early in 2013. ‘Solo!’ was written for the Chicago Bach and Beethoven Ensemble, an ensemble of period instruments (arranged for modern instruments in this recording); it stylistically mixes Latin jazz with early baroque as it describes the story of the Alvarez brothers, four brothers that managed and played with La Orchesta Sabor, a Latin jazz big band I performed with for over a decade. The title,“Solo!”, refers to how Jaime Alvarez, the band leader, would aggressively yell “Solo!” any time he wanted someone to improvise. The Spanish Speakers for chamber ensemble is a tribute to the Mexicans in my hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. I wanted to celebrate and acknowledge all the positive cultural influences they contribute to the region despite frequent racial profiling.

Artist Biographies – Summarized note

It was a privilege and honor to work with all the outstanding performers that contributed to this album. Saxophonist Taimur Sullivan plays with the highly acclaimed PRISM saxophone quartet and is the associate professor of saxophone at Northwestern University. Violinist Jeff Yang is a soloist with Mannheim Steamroller and regularly performs with the Grant Park Symphony and Chicago Philharmonic. The Kaia String Quartet recently was in residence with WFMT, Chicago’s classical music station, and in 2013 they performed with Grammy Award winning musician and composer Paquito D’Rivera. That performance was featured on NPR’s New Year’s Eve “Toast of the Nation.”  The Barkada Saxophone Quartet was the first saxophone quartet to capture the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition’s Grand Prize by winning all five rounds in 2012.

If you enjoyed this album you may also like “The Squeeze” – it’s an original musical revue I wrote and performed in 2016. The piece is about income inequality and wage raise stagnation and serves as a tribute to the middle class. More information and the professional recording is available through my website, www.amosgillespie.com. Also at my website you will find info on my other albums, individual works and other projects.

– Amos Gillespie