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Fenix Blue premiere recording


At the end of March, saxophonist Tim Watson premiered my new work for alto and band, Fenix Blue. The piece was performed by Tim, accompanied by Lambeth Wind Orchestra (conducted by John Holland) at the BASBWE festival in London.

Here’s a recording of the premiere, and also the programme note…


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Fenix Blue is a solo work for alto saxophone and wind ensemble, commissioned by and written for British saxophonist, Tim Watson.

A wild blues inspired opening for unaccompanied saxophone gives way for a slow, dirty blues! More blues elements appear in the following slow funk section, driven by the percussion section and drum kit.

Slow reflective music follows before a return to the slow funk – this time with plenty of the original blues music interjected around the band and from the soloist, leading to a loud conclusion!

The title makes reference to the large blues influence in the piece, but the Fenix referred to in the title is a dedication to the Phoenix 2 capsule that rescued the 33 Chilean minors who were trapped underground for 69 days last year, the last of whom was brought to the surface in the capsule as I was finishing this piece.

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