for Tenor Saxophone, Jazz trio and Chamber Orchestra
Instrumentation:
Jazz trio (tenor saxophone, upright bass, drum set)
2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), oboe, 2 clarinets B-flat (2nd doubling bass clarinet), bassoon (doubling contrabassoon), trumpet in B-flat, 2 horns in F, trombone, percussion, strings (min. 44421)
Written in one movement, the piece presents and combines diverse atmospheres of the contemporary classical orchestral texture and free improvising jazz trio as soloist, alongside the main soloist, the tenor saxophone. The piece, has sections that are fully composed and orchestrated for the both, orchestra and the trio (ts/bass/drs), and on the other far end, sections where the soloist or trio itself presents free improv. mainly with a mixture of free jazz & contemporary new music elements accompanied by the orchestra. Variations of aforementioned setups between the orch. and the soloist are also presented widely, and various instrument groupings in the orchestra also get to play texture improvisations in an aleatoric way. The bass player and the drummer also get their solo spots. The drum setup includes additional hand percussions (free of choice) and a set of small gongs (tuned). The main cadenza of the concerto is left free for the saxophone soloist to improv. (ask for the written cadenza from the composer exclusively – it´s available).
First performance:
Commissioned by Avanti! Chamber orchestra, premiered in October, 2014 by Avanti! Chamber orchestra and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen.
Subsequent performances by conductor Ville Matvejeff, Kuopio Symphony Orchestra (Finland)