The new album of John Adams's City Noir and Saxophone Concerto is out now, performed by the St. Louis Symphony led by David Robertson, featuring saxophonist Timothy McAllister. "Dense, brash and exuberant," raves the New York Times, "these two stellar works by John Adams are love letters to the confidence of the 1950s and a time when some of the greatest feats of virtuosity were often performed in smoky jazz clubs." It's "an incisive performance," says the Times; "McAllister sizzles." The Times of London gives the album four stars, calling the concerto "fun from start to finish."
The new album City Noir—comprising the title piece by composer John Adams and the debut recording of his Saxophone Concerto—was released last month in North America and is now available worldwide. Both pieces on the album are performed by the St. Louis Symphony led by Music Director David Robertson. Saxophonist Timothy McAllister is featured on both pieces. City Noir was inspired by Los Angeles "noir" films of the 1940s and '50s; Adams wrote the Saxophone Concerto for McAllister, whom the composer described as “a fearless musician and risk taker” after the musician’s performance of what Adams calls a “fiendishly difficult” alto sax solo part in City Noir.
"Dense, brash and exuberant," raves the New York Times music critic Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim, "these two stellar works by John Adams are love letters to the confidence of the 1950s and a time when some of the greatest feats of virtuosity were often performed in smoky jazz clubs." Fonseca-Wollheim calls this "an incisive performance ... McAllister sizzles." Read more at nytimes.com.
The Times of London gives the album four stars. "Stacked with swing-era allusions, moody 4am interludes and cartwheeling acrobatics," says Times reviewer Richard Morrison of the Saxophone Concerto, "it's fun from start to finish."
To pick up a copy of City Noir, head to the Nonesuch Store, where CD orders include a download of the complete album at checkout; it is also available to purchase there as MP3s and FLAC lossless files.
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