Latest news with #saxophonists
The Guardian
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Letter: Bill Ashton obituary
Bill Ashton, the founder of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, was pivotal in my life – and in the lives of so many musicians. At the age of 18, I used to get up at 6am every Saturday and catch the train from Leicester to London, just to attend his rehearsals at the Cockpit theatre. You never knew who would be there: one week, you might find yourself learning from a dozen of the country's best saxophonists; the next, you could be leading the sax section yourself. To an outsider, it may have looked chaotic. But to those of us hungry to learn and desperate to play alongside the greatest musicians of our generation, Bill created a kind of paradise. No course, book or curriculum could have come close to the living, breathing education he offered. He was devoted to the orchestra, to music, and to young people.
New York Times
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
5 Minutes That Will Make You Love Sonny Rollins
For Rollins, bebop's emphasis on physical tenacity and fast-paced intellect became a personal religion. Many of the tunes he wrote have become jazz standards — including some on the list below, like 'St. Thomas,' 'Oleo' and 'Airegin' — but as soon as he composed them, he invariably set about tearing them apart, recasting them, allowing the substance to push against the limits of its own form until it burst, and then to see how that bursting could be multiplied. Sonny Rollins's sound is as uncapturable as it is memorable, so you're left with nothing to do except to keep on listening. In the same way that, over his seven-decade career and across more than 60 albums, Rollins wanted nothing more than to simply keep playing. Rollins, who will turn 95 this summer, has not performed publicly since 2012, for health reasons. But he remains indefatigable as a listener. Interviews with him are still liable to veer toward his favorite contemporary saxophonists — some of whom weigh in on the list below. Read on for a ride through Rollins's catalog, guided by a team of musicians, scholars and critics. Find playlists embedded below, and don't forget to leave your own favorites in the comments.
