Lunar Saxophone Quartet

Salzburg Concerts May 2010

admin — Mon, 17 May 2010 09:13:02 +0000

The LSQ’s tour to Salzburg to perform concerts and workshops in association with Live Music Now! in May 2010 was a huge success. Many thanks to everyone involved in looking after us during our time in Austria including Carol Main from Live Music Scotland. A round up of the trip can be found on Live Music Now’s website.

Arts Council Wales funding and Tour Dates

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:40:28 +0000

We are delighted to announce that the LSQ has been awarded extra funding for their 2010/2011 touring of their Signum Classics album These Visions containing an entirely new set of repertoire by Wales’ most prominent composers.

This funding will ensure the tour extends to more rural areas of Wales and England that wouldn’t normally have been possible without the help of ACW.

Dates for the project will now be gradually added to the Upcoming Concerts page of the website as and when they are confirmed. Thanks once again goes out to ACW who have been most generous in their support of the quartet and our projects over the last two years.

Reworkings CD out now

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:52:25 +0000

The new LSQ CD ‘Reworkings‘ containing much of the lighter repertoire we perform is out today! It is only available to buy from our website or at one of our concerts so please use the PayPal button to securely buy a copy online.

‘Reworkings’ is an album of carefully chosen, well known music that has been adapted for saxophone quartet. This music forms the core repertoire of our work with Live Music Now! and we took the decision to commit these pieces to disc following ongoing positive reaction from our audiences. We believe the new settings offer a fresh perspective on these varied musical styles. The album was recorded at The Forge, Camden during November 2009.

Track listing:

Bolero – Ravel
Singing In The Rain – Nacio H Brown
Too Close for Comfort - Bock, Weiss, Holofcener
Sous le Dôme épais (Flower Duet) from Lakmé - Léo Delibes
A Foggy Day – Gershwin
I Got Rhythm – Gershwin
When The Saints Go Marching In – Virgil O. Stamps
Selections from Carmen - Bizet
Adagio for Strings – Samuel Barber

LSQ join Signum Classics

admin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 22:29:10 +0000

The LSQ are delighted to announce their forthcoming albums Flux and These Visions will be released on the superb classical music label Signum Classics in November 2010. The releases will be accompanied by a nationwide tour. Concert details are available from the Upcoming Concerts page on our website.

Light Music Album

admin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:58:13 +0000

The LSQ have finished recording their new light music CD entitled Reworkings. It features music by Bartok, Samuel Barber, Bizet, Mascagni, Gershwin and Nacio Herb Brown. The recording will be available to buy directly from the LSQ website from the middle of December. If you could like to reserve a copy please get in touch via the contact page.

Young Composer of Dyfed 2009/2010

admin — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:51:42 +0000

The LSQ recently completed a week of workshops in West Wales as part of their tenure as ensemble in residence at the Young Composer of Dyfed competition 2009/2010. Working alongside composer in residence, Lynne Plowman, the LSQ visited several schools to demonstrate the capabilities of the saxophone quartet and to give advise on how best to write for the lineup. Young composers will enter their pieces for adjudication by Erollyn Wallen before the final shortlisted pieces are performed by the LSQ at the competition final in April 2010.

FLUX Sound Samples

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:47:03 +0000

Below is a selection of track clips from our latest album FLUX, which is to be released later this year.

4 Chair Legs Mov. 1 – Eric Schwartz

4 Chair Legs Mov. 3 – Eric Schwartz

Diaphanousphere – Lucy Pankhurst

Hotel De La Ville a la Concorde – Michael Nyman

LM-7: Aquarius – Gabriel Jackson

Vent - Graham Fitkin

LSQ Videos

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:46:29 +0000

Videos will be uploaded soon. Thank you for your patience.

Group Photographs

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 14:45:56 +0000

Catching Sunlight Reviews

admin — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 12:28:17 +0000

Independent on Sunday
Phil Johnson , 14 December 2008

….individual pieces rank among the best performances I’ve heard all year. Commissioned by the Lunar Saxophone Quartet, composer/ pianist Stapleton’s masterstroke was to add trumpeter Neil Yates, who is revealed as a total star. If you like the Miles Davis of ‘Lift to the Scaffold’, you’ll love what Yates does here.

Vortex Jazz Website
November 2008

….this eleven‐piece commission for the Lunar Saxophone Quartet is subtitled ‘Music to an imaginary film’ – unsurprisingly, it is suitably dramatic, evocative and many‐hued…..the resultant work is rich and colourful, the LSQ providing harmonic ‘thickening’ to the ensemble sound as well as the odd sonorous, graceful solo (Joel Garthwaite’s soprano particularly ear catching, with its almost oboe like purity and elegance), and Yates compelling, vibrant and agile throughout.

Cardiff Jazz Society
Ken Cheetham, November 2008

…I think it is, simply, brilliant. Here is some of the best new jazz around, both in conception and writing and its performance is exquisite. It really is brilliant.

The JazzMann
Ian Mann, Wednesday, November 05, 2008

The Lunar Saxophone Quartet fill an essentially textural role, adding colour to the ensemble passages and operating as a unit….Jazz soloing is not their business but their role in the overall success of the project is pivotal. Stapleton’s writing is rich and colourful and passes through many variations of mood and pace, sometimes in the course of a single piece.

JazzWise Magazine
Selwyn Harris 24th October 2008

….Contemporary ensemble recordings can sometimes get bogged down in textural detail only serving to obscure the whole. But not here; Stapleton creates a vivid canvas by setting contrasting layers of recurring rhythmic patterns against a strong melodic thrust.