A Tribute To Sax

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[Houben] is a thoughtful, sensitive player and gives a fine recital, but no one musician can demonstrate the full potential of the instrument. — BBC Music Magazine, October 2014, 3 out of 5 stars

Release Date: 24th Feb 2014
Catalogue No: RIC341
Label: Ricercar
Length: 2 hours 10 minutes

Usually despatched in 3 - 4 working days

Singelée: Duo concertant pour saxophones soprano, alto et piano, Op. 55

Work length14:02

$3.00

$4.50

The Sax Players

I. Risoluto

Track length5:54

$1.00

$1.50

II. Andante

Track length5:11

$1.00

$1.50

III. Allegretto

Track length2:57

$1.00

$1.50

Singelée: Fantaisie pastorale pour saxophone soprano et piano, Op. 56

Work length6:52

$1.00

$1.50

The Sax Players

Jules Demersseman: Sérénade pour saxophone alto et piano, Op. 33

Work length7:04

$1.50

$2.30

The Sax Players

Singelée: Concerto pour saxophone ténor et piano, Op. 57

Work length10:20

$1.50

$2.30

The Sax Players

Singelée: Septième solo de concert pour saxophone baryton et piano, Op. 93

Work length2:01

$1.00

$1.50

The Sax Players

Singelée: Premier quatuor pour saxophones soprano, alto, ténor et baryton, Op. 53

Work length15:42

$4.00

$6.00

The Sax Players

I. Andante - Allegro

Track length3:31

$1.00

$1.50

II. Adagio sostenuto

Track length4:55

$1.00

$1.50

III. Allegro vivace

Track length1:59

$1.00

$1.50

IV. Allegretto

Track length5:17

$1.00

$1.50

Sherwin, M: A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square

Work length3:29

$1.00

$1.50

Steve Houben
Recorded: September 1998
Recording Venue: Gent, Koninklijk Muziekconservatorium, Belgium

Green, Johnny: Out of Nowhere

Work length1:53

$1.00

$1.50

Steve Houben
Recorded: September 1998
Recording Venue: Gent, Koninklijk Muziekconservatorium, Belgium

Kern: All the things you are (from Very Warm for May)

Work length3:22

$1.00

$1.50

Steve Houben
Recorded: September 1998
Recording Venue: Gent, Koninklijk Muziekconservatorium, Belgium

Wilder, A: Moon and Sand

Work length3:55

$1.00

$1.50

Steve Houben
Recorded: September 1998
Recording Venue: Gent, Koninklijk Muziekconservatorium, Belgium

Rosolino: Blue Daniel

Work length2:18

$1.00

$1.50

Steve Houben

Mandel, J: A Time for Love

Work length3:10

$1.00

$1.50

Steve Houben

Noble, Ray: The Touch of Your Lips

Work length2:57

$1.00

$1.50

Steve Houben

Loesser: I've Never Been In Love Before

Work length2:34

$1.00

$1.50

Steve Houben

George David Weiss, Jerry Bock, Larry Holofcener: Too Close for Comfort

Work length2:52

$1.00

$1.50

Steve Houben

Styne: People

Work length3:08

$1.00

$1.50

Steve Houben

Rodgers, R: Higher and Higher: It Never Entered My Mind

Work length2:59

$1.00

$1.50

Steve Houben

Michel Legrand, Marilyn Bergman, Alan Bergman: You Must Believe in Spring

Work length4:53

$1.00

$1.50

Steve Houben

Gershwin: Embraceable You

Work length8:45

$1.50

$2.30

Steve Houben, Michel Benita

Porter, C: I Concentrate on You

Work length5:22

$1.00

$1.50

Steve Houben, Michel Benita

Hupfeld: As Time Goes By

Work length5:44

$1.00

$1.50

Steve Houben, Michel Benita

Schwartz, Arthur: You and the Night and the Music

Work length6:36

$1.00

$1.50

Steve Houben, Michel Benita

Arthur Johnson: My Old Flame

Work length4:09

$1.00

$1.50

Steve Houben, Michel Benita
Recorded: September 1998
Recording Venue: Gent, Koninklijk Muziekconservatorium, Belgium

Carmichael, H: The Nearness Of You

Work length3:33

$1.00

$1.50

Steve Houben, Michel Benita
Recorded: September 1998
Recording Venue: Gent, Koninklijk Muziekconservatorium, Belgium

Arlen: When the Sun Comes Out

Work length2:54

$1.00

$1.50

Steve Houben
Recorded: September 1998
Recording Venue: Gent, Koninklijk Muziekconservatorium, Belgium

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About

2CD + Book

Given that this year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Adolphe Sax, it is only fitting that Ricercar, with its history of familiarising the world with lesser-known musical instruments, should devote a CD to the genius who invented the saxophone. The instrument’s capabilities are demonstrated by two very different types of music, the first being exemplified by the Romantic works that were composed for the saxophone in Paris in the first years after Sax’s patent had been registered. It was jazz music, however— music which Sax could never have imagined — that gave the instrument and the saxophone family as a whole the fame it enjoys today. As is Ricercar’s custom, the CD’s accompanying booklet includes extensive liner notes. An article by Jérôme Lejeune describes the invention of the instrument and the first works that were composed for it in Paris, these dating from the time when Sax himself was touting for new works for the saxophone as well as publishing them, before his appointment as professor of saxophone at the Conservatoire de Paris. Jean-Pol Schroeder’s article is a highly interesting account of the history of the saxophone in jazz music. Saxophones made by Sax’s own atelier are used for the French Romantic pieces by Singelée and Demersseman, together with copies of the original mouthpieces.

Their sound is indeed a revelation, for they are played without any trace of the vibrato that was traditionally applied to the instrument during the 20th century. The jazz standards recorded here were played by Steve Houben on a Selmer alto saxophone from 1957. Their clear and clean lines are performed without accompaniment and reveal the quality of the musician and his instrument. Some of the pieces make use of double-tracking to create a saxophone duo, whilst others have been given a delicate double-bass counterpoint by Michel Benita.The jazz selections were originally recorded in 1992 and 1999, the Romantic works in 2002.

Reviews

October 2014

[Houben] is a thoughtful, sensitive player and gives a fine recital, but no one musician can demonstrate the full potential of the instrument.

A Tribute To Sax

2 CDs

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