Oleg Ledeniov writes:

“The voices of the different types of saxophone are as diverse as those of the violin family. The idea of a saxophone orchestra should therefore be as natural as that of the string orchestra, to which we are quite accustomed. Another thing that aligns the saxophone with string instruments is the nature of its sound which is not absolutely even. This adds a certain vulnerability. Its voice is naturally curvaceous: this is surface of a natural rock, not the side of a factory-hewn brick. When many saxophones play together, each creates its own ripple on the water. Together they build a sea-like picture – a living, moving fabric.”

The Apollo Saxophone Orchestra was practically born for this recording, during a special event – the 2012 World Saxophone Congress. Rob Buckland and Andy Scott of the more established Apollo Saxophone Quartet were the kernel. They hand-picked the team from their ex-students. It is sad to think that this was a one-time thing. I hope very much that this ensemble will continue to live. The group is not big – one sopranino, two sopranos, three altos, three tenors, two baritones and a bass – but it sounds like a lot more!

Barbara Thompson has had a long and successful career as a sax player – she was the leader of her own group Paraphernalia, as well as participated in many other projects. In parallel, she is a prolific composer, and one will notice the unusually big role that works for saxophone occupy in her output. If I say that the music she wrote for this disc is between classical and jazz, you’ll probably imagine a point between two other points, something not belonging to either one of them. In fact this music is more like a superimposition or intersection of jazz and classical, which incites, in turns or simultaneously, those receptors in our brain that are responsible for pleasure when we hear jazz, and those stimulated by classical music – as in Gershwin’s more serious works. The tracks do not form a coherent suite with development logic and overall structure. Rather we hear a sequence of scenes – even though three movements, BLACK, RED and GREEN, come from another Thompson work.

“The only melodies the average person immediately associates with the saxophone are Take Five, Baker Street and Barbara’s own haunting TV theme tune for A Touch of Frost. She is a leading pioneer of composing for the saxophone, and the remarkable Perpetual Motion is a major contribution to the ever expanding saxophone repertoire.”

Says Barbara about Perpetual Motion:

“A new ensemble was born and its unique voice was apparent with everything falling into place, right from the start. The musicians came from far and wide and loved having music that was specifically written for saxophones. The power of the twelve saxes was awesome in the concert hall at the Royal Northern College of Music truly orchestral beyond its size. Andy Scott and Rob Buckland suggested I write and arrange enough pieces to make a CD for a large saxophone ensemble back in July 2011 and I was immediately enthusiastic without really realising the magnitude of the project. I came up with the idea of calling the 12-piece ensemble the Apollo Saxophone Orchestra, as both Andy and Rob were founder members of the original Apollo Saxophone Quartet, one of the finest and most adventurous saxophone quartets in the world. We met around the year 2000, when the ASQ commissioned me to write a saxophone quartet for the Brighton Festival and since then we have worked together on several other projects including another commission for the ASQ and the Goldberg String Ensemble. Andy Scott and I have written an album of music featuring the virtuosi tuba players Jim Gourlay and Les Neish with the Foden’s Brass Band. We have built up a friendship over the years and this latest project is a natural progression from our first collaboration.”

2013. Norwich Festival Commission of 3 pieces based on poems about birds for 100 voices community choir which was  performed in Norwich Cathedral in May as part of the festival
2013. Trifarious Trio led by virtuoso Tim Redpath premiering  Russian Roulette, a concerto in 4 movements.  Search below for ‘Spin’, the 2nd movement

https://www.temple-music.com/