JAMES CARTERCARTER Caribbean Rhapsody / Concerto for Saxophones & Orchestra Composed by Roberto Sierra

“He is the complete musician, a technician with no apparent limits and a poet of deep sensibility. Indeed, Carter’s eloquent turn through the concerto’s balladlike slow movement drew an early ovation.” DETROIT NEWS “An incredible hybrid of classical, jazz and even Latin influences, Carter demonstrates the uncanny ability to be completely comfortable in what he refers to as the cross pollination of music into one dramatic effort...An epic work.” DIGITAL JAZZ REVIEWS

JAMESJAMES CARTERCARTER Caribbean Rhapsody / Concerto For Saxophones & Orchestra composed by Roberto Sierra

The Concerto for Saxophones and Orchestra was commissioned by the Detroit Symphony for saxophonist James Carter from composer Roberto Sierra, marrying classical and jazz elements and showcasing Carter’s virtuosity. It was premiered by the DSO and its music director, Neeme Järvi, in October of 2002 and reprised by them in 2003.

You read accounts of premieres 150 years ago where the audience clamored to have movements repeated. Nowadays you can almost never witness such a thing — the reprise of a new Classical work, on the spot. Though at the premiere of this work, Carter and conductor Neeme Jarvi finally gave in to a storm of applause that showed no signs of abating and recapped the last long stretch of Roberto Sierra’s brilliant Concerto for Saxophones.

TED KURLAND ASSOCIATESTED KURLAND 173 ASSOCIATES BRIGHTON AVE, 173 BOSTONBRIGHTON MA AVE, 02134 BOSTON p/617-254-0007 MA 02134 f/617-783-8947 p/617-254-0007 [email protected] [email protected] www.tedkurland.com www.tedkurland.com In a brilliant performance of music that defies standard categorization, Carter firmly establishes himself as one of the giants of the tenor saxophone.

An incredible hybrid of classical, jazz and even Latin influences, Carter demonstrates the uncanny ability to be completely comfortable in what he refers to as the cross pollination of music into one dramatic effort.

Literature for the saxophone in a classically based setting is not unusual. What is unusual is quality literature that can show case the prodigious talents of such a brilliant musician as Carter. For me, Carter has long been the Hank Mobley of my day — under rated and under appreciated.

Review by CRITICAL JAZZ ______

CONCERTO FOR SAXOPHONES AND ORCHESTRA

INSTRUMENTATION solo sop & ten sax picc,2 2 2,bs cl 2; 4330; timp, perc, drms, hp, pno; strings

DURATION: ca 20’

ABOUT JAMES CARTER After Wynton Marsalis, no one caused more of an uproar than James Carter did when he appeared on the New York jazz scene from his native Detroit. Carter’s debut recording, JC on the Set, issued in Japan when he was only 23 and in the States a year later in 1993, was universally acclaimed as the finest debut by a saxophonist in decades. Carter plays both tenor and soprano sax in this four-movement work.

ABOUT ROBERTO SIERRA For more than three decades the works of American composer Roberto Sierra have been part of the repertoire of many of the leading orchestras, ensembles and festivals in the USA and Europe.