Altoizm: New Album Release with Saxophone Supergroup

Transcription

David Gould: What was it like to collaborate with two other alto saxophone players on this project?

Sharel Cassity: I thought it was great! I thought it was amazing to play next to such accomplished players and hear how each of our sounds and approaches were different.

Greg Ward: I'd have to agree! It was really wonderful to play with people who are so confident, have such clear voices, and alto the ability to blend and create a really nice ensemble; almost instantly. It was a pleasure.

Rajiv Halim: I thought it was unique as well because you don't get to play along your fellow altoists too much outside of a big band. That was another great advantage to this group.

With 3 alto players, did you try to do anything different in terms of sound or vocabulary/language?

RH: I think Greg alluded to this before about our ability to blend together as a trio of alto players. I think that's something that the audience also notices quite a bit. I think Sharel said it before that we all have a unique sound and approaches to the instrument and the fact that we're able to come together and blend cohesively is really cool.

Did you guys write or arrange any differently for this group?

SC: I thought that it did. For me, writing for 3 altos is a different kind of sextet and it allowed me to hear different timbres and registers of the horns. It was nice when it all came to fruition to hear it played so well and so musically. And I feel what Rajiv was saying about blending timbres - everyone in this group approaches each situation musically. I know that myself, Greg, and Rajiv all approach every situation we are in from a musical standpoint first. And so to hear these three arrangements written for 3 altos and then played by 3 altos that have great music sensibility, was really fun.

Is there a specific Chicago influence?

GW: I don't know if there's something you can see a clear line to Chicago, but, us all playing there on the scene and dialoguing with other musicians, and playing with the greats who have been in Chicago, that has had to have an affect on our sound in the way that we play together. You can hear some of what's going on in the scene currently and maybe what's happened in the scene in the past in the way that we play together. Maybe something like that.

Did any of the Phil Woods multi-alto albums have any influence on this?

SC: As far as I know, it didn't at first. After it was recorded, we started thinking of all the albums we knew with Phil Woods that were multi-alto projects, and it was pretty inspiring.

RH: I don't think I personally was thinking about those types of projects, but, more-so thinking about Greg and Sharel and how much I enjoyed their playing. I'm sure there was some Chicago influence seeping in indirectly.

Rajiv and Sharel: I've seen you play all sorts of instruments but you keep coming back to the alto - is this your voice?

SC: It's my first voice so it's my most natural voice right now. It's also what people are used to hearing, although I'm playing a lot more tenor now. For me, a saxophonist is a saxophone player. I think everyone's a little different but I feel like if you can play the alto well, you can play all the saxophones well. Then it's just a rabbit hole in how much time you spend on it.

RH: I don't know if I agree with that 100% because I know for me there was definitely a learning curve going to bari. Now, I'm personally venturing into other woodwinds, particularly clarinets and now I'm taking oboe lessons. No matter what instrument I'm playing - flute, clarinet, oboe, all the other saxophones - I just have this natural connection with the alto saxophone. I've definitely played a lot more tenor over the years and it's gotten to the point where I'm playing tenor for two straight weeks. Then I pick up the alto and the immediate connection is still there. I think my alto playing is heavily influenced by tenor players as well. For me to go back and fourth from alto and tenor is pretty seamless, but definitely alto is still my number one for myself.

GW: I prefer to focus on my composition and to try to be a better alto player every day.