Category Archives: Saxophone Alto

Lokked In (8 pieces)

RM253e Lokked In (8 pieces) Davidson ALTO SAX/PNO
RM253e Lokked In (8 pieces) Davidson ALTO SAX/PNO
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Composer: Lachlan Davidson
Composed: 1994-2004 Duration: 15 mins.
Instrumentation: Sax Alto & Piano Level A, Sax Alto & Piano Level B, Sax Alto & Piano Level C
Exam Grade: AMEB Saxophone Alto Grade 2,
AMEB Saxophone Alto Grade 3,
AMEB Saxophone Alto Grade 4,
HSC Saxophone Alto
ISMN: M-720067-02-5 Catalogue: RM253
Level: A - Easy, C Country: Australia

Contents: Swing Thing , Jewell in a Stone, Cathy's Dream , A Lane in Wales , One Step at a Time, A Good Time Was Had By All , Duddles Chuckles, Heritage

Swing Thing: This piece began life as an easy saxophone quartet but translates well to sax and piano. Be sure to play the longs and shorts accurately as it really helps it swing. Accent beat 2 and 4 for the same reason. When there is a quaver on the second half of a beat followed by a rest, it should always be short (staccato as marked) it is good to imagine that there is a note on the following beat to help place the last quaver.

Jewel in a Stone: Written for Julia, this is the most recently written of the tunes in Lokked in. Julia decided that she didn't feel like playing the C naturals that I had written so she played C sharps instead. I liked them so much that I changed the tune. There is much potential for some rubato and a very emotional performance of this piece. Some music turns out that way. Don't play it too slowly but don't hurry from one phrase to the next.

Cathy's Dream: Cathy had Chronic Fatigue syndrome at school and bravely fought through it. Her dream was to be healthy. I played this at her wedding recently where she seemed extremely well. The feel is Latin American influenced and the syncopations can be tricky. Very slow practice with the metronome, thinking in quavers and leaving the ties out can help gain an understanding of the rhythms. This is a good one to practise with the piano part slowly from the early stages of its preparation.

A Lane in Wales: In 1993, on a “round the world walkabout,” I visited my relatives in Wales and went on some long, solitary walks. This tune seems to capture the spirit of some of the lanes I walked along. I enjoy playing this tune and love the more classical feel of it. It suits a more classical sound and a softer dynamic. I love the sound of this piece at a slower tempo too. Be gentle but firm with it. Be aware of when the phrases are one, two or four bars long and be careful not to break it up too much.

One Step at a Time: Named for Steph, to motivate her to practise. Well it didn't work for her but it is a really fun piece to play with elements of rock in the eighties and a touch of David Sanborn. Thanks Dave.

Dig hard into the groove, the accents and the staccatos to really make it rock. A brighter sound and a generally stronger dynamic will suit this piece. The metronome is your best friend on this one.

A Good Time was Had by All: After a tour to Queensland with the school Stage Band, Yuki, a trombonist, asked me to write a piece for her VCE. I was honoured to do so and this was named as a celebration of the good time everyone had on the trip. It suits the saxophone just as well as the trombone and should be approached with a simple, not over-jazzy (or too cool) swing feel, emphasising the off-beat quavers and enjoying the fun in the music. The piano part really adds to the party so check it out as soon as you can.

Duddles Chuckles: I conceived this tune on the way home from a gig, named it after the unique laugh of one of my students, “Duddles” and arranged it for sax quartet before converting it to sax and piano. Play it with a bouncy swing feel in two, but emphasise (accent) the off-beats where quavers are slurred across the beat. There are some unusual staccatos which add to the character of the tune and make it less groovy or jazzy but more fun.

Heritage: I first took this tune (then un-named) to a gig at Bennetts Lane with unLokked (my jazz quartet) and subsequently recorded it on “A hot night in Burwood” released through Newmarket music. I consider it one of my best tunes. It has an obvious celtic influence but I know that Jan Garbarek and the Disney song, “Colours of the wind” were in the mix here too. This version is a simplified version of the original with far fewer ornaments than I would normally play but it still maintains its integrity and emotion. Play it with strength, commitment and honesty.

Steppin’ Up (8 pieces)

RM251e Steppin Up Barrett
RM251e Steppin Up Barrett
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Composer: John Barrett
Composed: 2006 Duration: 12 mins.
Instrumentation: Sax Alto & Piano Level A, Sax Alto & Piano Level B
Exam Grade: AMEB Saxophone Alto Grade 2,
AMEB Saxophone Alto Grade 3,
AMEB Saxophone Alto Grade 4,
AMEB Saxophone Alto Grade 5,
HSC Saxophone Alto
ISMN: M-720067-00-1 Catalogue: RM251
Level: A - Easy, B Country: Australia

Contents: Herbie's Journey, Heaven's Steps, Dracula's New Shorts, Cha Cha Boom, I Wonder Why, Eat My Shorts Dance, My Neighbour's Pool, Half a Dozen

Crazy Logic

RM224 Crazy Logic Orlovich ALTO SAX/PNO
RM224 Crazy Logic Orlovich ALTO SAX/PNO
Printed Book
RM224e Crazy Logic Orlovich ALTO SAX/PNO
RM224e Crazy Logic Orlovich ALTO SAX/PNO
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Composer: Matthew Orlovich
Composed: 2006 Duration: 13 mins.
Instrumentation: Featured, Sax Alto & Piano Level E
Exam Grade: AMEB Saxophone Alto Grade LMusA
ISMN: M-720067-31-5 Catalogue: RM224
Level: E Country: Australia

Performed by Rompduo

Crazy Logic (for alto saxophone and piano, 2006) was composed at the invitation of saxophonist Barry Cockcroft and pianist Adam Pinto (RompDuo) for premiere performance at the 2006 Port Fairy Spring Music Festival, VIC, Australia.

Subsequent performances of the work include:
• Gerard McChrystal (saxophone) & Mary Dullea (pianist) @ Wigmore Hall, London, UK;
• Barry Cockcroft (saxophone) & Darrell Partin (piano) @ the 34th International Saxophone Symposium, Fairfax, VA, USA;
• Anhinga PianoSAX Duo @ 2011 North American Saxophone Alliance Region 4 Conference, Huntsville, Texas, USA;
• Jabra Latham (saxophone) & Karen Smithies (pianist) at The Ballroom, Epsom House, Pontville, Tasmania, Australia;
• RompDuo @ 2011 Australian Clarinet and Saxophone Symposium, Melbourne, Australia;
• Tim Roberts (sax) & Renate Rohlfing (piano) @ Selmer Paris Dragon Bird Event, Steinway Hall, NYC, NY, USA.

In composing the work, I have chosen to use musical ideas of a mostly intense and driving nature. My melodic lines comprise semiquavers which twist, scurry, and traverse up, down and around the musical staves at a great pace.

Furthermore, the two instrumentalists often play in unison or at the octave, lending added urgency and directness to the music.

While a softer, more reflective mood is revealed at the heart of the work, it is the energetic music with its chromatic kinks, jagged contours and wide leaps that elicits, for me, the ‘crazy’ mood alluded to in the work’s title.

In stitching my ‘crazy’ music together, I have aimed to afford the work a certain logic by virtue of balanced phrasing and fluent transitions between sections of the work.

I thank Barry and Adam for inviting me to compose this work and for giving the work its premiere performance. M.O.

Heaven

RM217e Heaven Goldstein ALTO SAX/PNO
RM217e Heaven Goldstein ALTO SAX/PNO
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Composer: Perry Goldstein
Composed: 2005 Duration: 12 mins.
Instrumentation: Sax Alto & Piano Level E
Exam Grade: AMEB Saxophone Alto Grade Certificate of Performance
ISMN: M-720059-85-3 Catalogue: RM217
Level: E Country: United States

Performed by Rompduo

Drive

RM214 Drive Peterson ALTO SAX/PNO
RM214 Drive Peterson ALTO SAX/PNO
Printed Book
RM214e Drive Peterson ALTO SAX/PNO
RM214e Drive Peterson ALTO SAX/PNO
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Composer: John Peterson
Composed: 1998 Duration: 4 mins.
Instrumentation: Sax Alto & Piano Level C
Exam Grade: AMEB Saxophone Alto Grade 6,
HSC Saxophone Alto,
VCE Saxophone Alto
ISMN: M-720059-83-9 Catalogue: RM214
Level: C Country: Australia

Performed by Rompduo

Perdy Perdy

RM112e Perdy Perdy Davidson Eb SAX/PNO
RM112e Perdy Perdy Davidson Eb SAX/PNO
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Composer: Lachlan Davidson
Composed: 2001 Duration: 4 mins.
Instrumentation: Sax Alto & Piano Level C, Sax Baritone & Piano
Exam Grade: HSC Saxophone Alto,
VCE Saxophone Baritone
ISMN: M-720019-75-8 Catalogue: RM112
Level: C Country: Australia

Performed live by Lachlan Davidson (baritone sax)

I wrote this for Perdita, during her lessons, 12 bars per week, to give her an idea on how the blues works. She played the tenor but it sounds fine on all saxes. My bari (Horace) likes playing it, but not too slowly as it can drag. The articulations add to the rhythmic interest and putting a little accent on tongued notes adds to this effect. Otherwise you should lean on the the beat to keep the Boogie Woogie idea going. The piano part is mostly a bass part and gives you strong fundamental pitch to tune to and make the thirds hum.