Track List
SONATA FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE and PIANO - Phil Woods
- I. Slowly - Faster 9:04
- II. Slowly 3:35
- III. Moderator-Freely 3:33
- IV. Freely 5:01
Victor Morosco - Alto Saxophone
Michael Lang - Piano
SONORITIES - Joseph Roccisano - I 9:16
- II 7:34
Victor Morosco - Soprano and Alto Saxophone
Fred Seykora - Cello
Joseph Porcaro - Percussion - BLUE CAPRICE - Victor Morosco 7:14
Victor Morosco - Solo Alto Saxophone
THE MUSIC
SONATA FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND PIANO by Phil Woods originally titled Four Moods for Alto and Piano, was written for and dedicated to Victor Morosco who first performed it in Carnegie Hall, New York. As an example of the blending of the elements of traditional and jazz music, the Sonata is more than just the juxtaposition of two kinds of music. The composer requires the performers to embellish the written music as well as improvise at given sections, much in the spirit of jazz and in the true tradition of Baroque music. It is performed here in such a manner that the listener is often unsure where the written music stops and the improvisations take over.
SONORITIES for Saxophones, Cello and Percussion was written for and dedicated to Victor Morosco and was conceived as chamber music with the saxophone as a dominant voice blending with the other instruments to form a unified whole. The composer states, "My objective was to create colors, i.e. sonorities, through the use of these instruments in varying combinations, and at the same time produce music having form, continuity and balance. The percussionist plays the role of a catalyst in combination with one or both of the other instruments and his total absence of ambiance."
The piece is divided into two parts using soprano saxophone in the first, and alto saxophone in the second.
BLUE CAPRICE for Solo Saxophone by Victor Morosco was written for this album. The concept of Blue Caprice evolved from the composer's conclusion that the proper companion to Sonorities should be a virtuosic solo similar to a Paganini Caprice but based on the Blues, hence Blue Caprice. The intent was "to capture the improvisation and jazz quality I wanted this album to portray, and what form of American music could be more endemic to jazz than the Blues?"
As such, the work is an anthology of historical jazz was references to Bebop, Gospel, Kansas City, and Chicago styles.
THE ARTIST
VICTOR MOROSCO (1936 - ) received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from the Juilliard School in New York. His world premiere as a soloist with the Orchestra of America of Harold Faberman's Concerto for Saxophone and String Orchestra at Town Hall in New York City, and with the Contemporary Chamber Ensemble in Joseph Schwantner's Diaphonia Intervallum at Carnegie Hall, establish him as one of the foremost exponents of contemporary music for the saxophone. As a member of the Los Angeles Saxophone Quartet, Mr. Morosco adapted the entire Art of the Fugue of J.S. Bach for the Quartet who subsequently recorded it (Protone Records PR143/44).
THE COMPOSERS
The three composers represented are Americans, all saxophonists, who have known each other since their student years and managed to continue their musical relationship. The compositions presented in this album are a direct result of their mutual esteem and are welcome additions to the concert saxophone literature.