Search - Leslie Bassett, John Anthony Lennon, William Bolcom :: Brillance

Top-notch musicians making beautiful music

khyrand | Decatur, GA | 08/20/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Pianist Derek Parsons (Furman University) and saxophonist Cliff Leaman (University of SC) team up to form the Ambassador Duo on this CD, which showcases some of the repertoire available to advanced saxophonists and their pianist friends. Leaman and Parsons work well together, and their synergy expresses itself through their playing. Every single work recorded here deserves to be praised for its legitimacy and musical value, but I will only point out in particular the Kilstofte Sonata, presented here for the first time. Mark Kilstofte is a young rising star in the composition world, having received more awards (including a Goddard Lieberson Fellowship, the Aaron Copland Award, the Charles Ives Scholarship, and the Frances and William Schuman Fellowship from the MacDowell Colony) than I can list or even shake a stick at. The Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano exemplifies Kilstofte's masterful control of compositional styles and techniques, including extended saxophone techniques (extreme altissimo, slap tongue), prepared piano, and external effects (one movement uses a Dr. Beat metronome for rhymthic obligato). For music theorists, this window dressing takes second place to the composer's emphasis on form and structore, which is quite classical in its rigid constructionism. Parsons and Leaman perform it (and all the pieces on the CD) with equanimity, technical facility, and most importantly a great deal of spirit and heart. Highly recommended!"

Bravo!

khyrand | 10/03/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording has some difficult pieces played beautifully. Leaman's tone is amazing and his command over the saxophone is astonishing. I recommend this CD to others!"