Recording: U of T Saxophone Ensemble

Artist: University of Toronto Saxophone Ensemble

Song: Tentation d'exil [composer: Robert Lemay]

Recorded at The Music Gallery ("INTERsection: Saxopalooza"), September 1, 2013.

U of T Saxophone Ensemble - Tentation d'exil

Full review to follow. The second night of the INTERsection festival moved indoors, with a full programme from this Wallace Halladay-directed ensemble, proving that their nuthin'-but-sax mandate could lead to anything but monochromatic outcomes. They were downright happy to get loud, especially on a full-group arrangement of Jacob Ter Veldhuis' "Grab It" (which I'd previously witnessed Halladay tackling on his own). The night also included the stomping kineticism of Nicholai Korndorf's "Primitive Music" and the minimalist spacialization of John Cage's "FOUR⁵". But the most surprising and satisfying moments came in this fully-realized composition, where the saxes sounded like a full symphony, playing with the tone-colour of strings, brass and percussion.