By Lucy Caplan
Lucy Caplan is Assistant Professor of Music at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. She is the author of Dreaming in Ensemble: How Black Artists Transformed American Opera, published by Harvard University Press.
In a 1920 review of a saxophone-playing vaudeville troupe, a critic for Life magazine wrote that nobody “can listen to the Six Brown Brothers and not feel consumed with a desire to throw over whatever work he may be doing in the world and take up the saxophone.” If this assessment conveys the immense popularity of the instrument during the so-called “saxophone craze” of the early twentieth century, it might also speak to the instrument’s irrepressible appeal. Invented by the Belgian-born Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and initially popular with French military bands, the saxophone was repurposed to comic effect in American vaudeville, where it was used to imitate chicken squawks. Its zenith came, perhaps, in jazz, when it became the instrument of choice for greats from Sidney Bechet to Coleman Hawkins, Charlie Parker, and Cannonball Adderley. Women have been less often acknowledged in standard chronicles of the instrument’s history, yet—as is often the case—they have been consistently present: on vaudeville circuits in the 1910s, as performers in all-woman swing bands during the 1940s, and in more recent years as soloists and ensemble members across a multitude of settings.
Jess Gillam takes an expansive approach to the instrument and its expressive possibilities. This evening’s program, which features Gillam alongside pianist Thomas Weaver, foregrounds versatility, traversing eras from the Renaissance and Baroque to the present and selections from the overlapping realms of jazz and classical composition. Equally notable is its inclusion of several sonatas: three in total, ranging from a Baroque selection by Georg Philipp Telemann to a twentieth-century composition by Phil Woods. One of the more generously defined terms in musical language—sonata means simply “sounded,” as opposed to sung, and refers to instrumental music for soloists or small ensembles—it seems an appropriate anchor for a program that offers a unique window into the immense creative capacities of a single instrument.
John Dowland, “Flow my tears” (1596) / Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, “Shine You No More” (2017), arr. Jess Gillam
The English Renaissance composer John Dowland’s mournful “Flow my tears” originated as a pavane for lute; lyrics were added only later, once its popularity had been established. It has since been adapted for a multitude of instruments and voice types. Here, it is paired with “Shine You No More,” by the contemporary Danish violinist Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen. Inspired directly by Dowland’s harmonies, yet folksier and more high-energy in style, Sørensen’s work testifies to the enduring appeal of Dowland’s plaintive composition.
Francis Poulenc, Oboe Sonata, FP 185 (1962), arr. John Harle
Poulenc composed several sonatas for woodwind instruments over the course of his career, including works for clarinet and piano; flute and piano; two clarinets; and clarinet and bassoon. This sonata—his final composition in any genre—comprises three elegant movements. The opening “Élégie” is wonderfully lyrical, while the second movement, a Scherzo, centers on an angular, arpeggiated motif. The final movement, “Déploration,” is atypically slow-paced. Its shifting meter, chordal harmonies, and tragic mood imbue it with a sacred, chant-like feel.
Benjamin Britten, Temporal Variations (1936), trans. Jess Gillam
Early critics were not kind to Britten’s Temporal Variations: one dismissed it as “the kind of music that is commonly called ‘clever.’” But subsequent listeners have come to appreciate the work’s emotional range in addition to its design. The theme, which returns time and again to the interval of a half-step, feels agitated yet unstructured. The variations which follow are immensely different from one another: some fantastical, some insistently march-like, others bitingly ironic.
Claude Debussy, “Beau Soir” (1891)
Debussy first composed his much-loved art song “Beau Soir” while still a teenager, then returned to the work more than a decade later. Set to an idyllic poem by Paul Bourget, it paints a picture of a beautiful (yet melancholy) evening by way of a rippling accompaniment set against a languorous melody.
Nadia Boulanger, “Cantique” (1909), arr. Alistair Vennart
Although best-known today as a teacher and mentor, Nadia Boulanger also worked prolifically as a composer and conductor. This song, which dates from early in her career, is set to evocative lyrics by the Symbolist playwright Maurice Maeterlinck. It features a simple, almost ecstatic melody set atop repeated piano chords.
Georg Philipp Telemann, Sonata in F Minor TWV 41:f1 (1728), arr. Simon Parkin
Telemann was not shy about his musical achievements: he wrote in a 1729 autobiography that “What I have accomplished with respect to musical style is well known. First came the Polish style, followed by the French, church, chamber and operatic styles, and the Italian style, which currently occupies me more than the others do.’” As publisher of the first German music periodical, Der getreue Music-Meister, he also had ample opportunity to share his own compositions with a broad public. This sonata first appeared in its pages. The movements follow a slow-fast-slow-fast structure. The first movement is somber, while the second is speedy and virtuosic. The third movement is an Andante featuring lovely suspensions and deceptive cadences, and the final movement takes the form of a fast-paced but elegant dance.
Pedro Iturralde, Pequeña Czarda (1997), arr. John Harle/Jess Gillam
In the landscape of twentieth-century Spanish jazz, the saxophonist-composer Pedro Iturralde (1929–2020) stood out for his hybridized approach, which borrowed freely from flamenco, classical, and folk idioms. These elements infuse Pequeña Czarda, a virtuoso piece based on a Hungarian couples dance. After a slow, moody start, the piece ups the ante with a freewheeling cadenza.
Stan Getz / Jimmy Rowles, The Peacocks (1977), arr. Iain Farrington
Recorded in 1975 in New York and released on the Columbia label in 1977, The Peacocks represented a reunion of sorts for pianist Jimmy Rowles and saxophonist Stan Getz, who had first worked together in the mid-1950s. This track, which shares a name with the album as a whole, is laid-back but sincere, with a beautifully intimate atmosphere.
Extracts from Phil Woods, Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano (1962; rev. 1974, 1994)
At its Carnegie Hall premiere, in 1962, Woods’s Sonata bore the evocative title Four Moods. While it has since been revised several times, losing that title in the process, its central focus on the creation of a particular ambience remains. The piece blends classical and jazz styles, requiring the performers to demonstrate fluency in both. Precisely notated melodies share space with improvised elements, inviting the musicians to make the piece their own.
Rudy Wiedoeft, Valse Marilyn (1927)
The Detroit-born saxophonist Rudy Wiedoeft (1893–1940) was a pioneer in the instrument’s history, creating more than 300 recordings and gaining a reputation as the “Kreisler of the Saxophone.” Valse Marilyn, an original piece, showcases his talents as a composer: it combines an instantly hummable melody with technically impressive flights of fancy.
Barbara Thompson, “The Unseen Way” (2002)
“The Unseen Way” has a layered history. It began as part of virtuoso saxophonist-composer Barbara Thompson’s choral setting of poetry by Rabindranath Tagore. Later, Thompson introduced an instrumental rendition; her daughter, songwriter Ana Gracey, added her voice in a subsequent version, which was released on the first anniversary of Thompson’s passing. Lush and intense, the piece eventually reaches a peaceful conclusion.
Sidney Bechet, Petite Fleur (1952), arr. Iain Farrington
The legendary New Orleans soloist Sidney Bechet began recording jazz selections in 1923 (months before his frequent collaborator Louis Armstrong first appeared in the recording studio). His career continued for decades. The delicate, elegiac Petite Fleur, which dates from 1952, was recorded after he emigrated to France.
George Gershwin / Al Gallodoro, “Liza” (1929 / 1948), trans. Peter Riley
The celebrated saxophonist and clarinetist Al Gallodoro joined the Paul Whiteman Orchestra in 1936, quickly becoming one of the group’s most in-demand soloists. In 1948, they embarked on a tour featuring Gallodoro’s renditions of three popular Gershwin tunes. “Liza,” which originated as part of the musical Show Girl, features a chromatic bass line against a leap-filled melody.
John Harle, RANT! (2018)
Composed with Gillam in mind, John Harle’s RANT! is brilliantly festive. It is built around folk tunes from Cumberland and Westmorland, reflecting the locales of Gillam’s upbringing. In the words of the composer, “A ‘rant’ in the tradition of English Folk music is an energetic dance, and means ‘to make merry’, which is exactly what Jess does.”
