Andy Scott

18th October 2008
SaxAssault Charts Available for Download
Lots of saxophone teachers and players ask me if they can buy the charts that we play and have recorded with SaxAssault. Finally I’m getting myself organised & they will be available at the click of a button!

Astute Music has started a download section where you can buy sheet music.

17th October 2008
New Astute Music Publications
Look out for some new books for saxophone that are due to be released by Astute Music at the RNCM Saxophone Day!

Rob Buckland has written an advanced duet book called ‘Soundscapes’, a direct result of the growing number of grade 8+ players that he meets on Summer Schools & courses, whilst I’ve written a sister book of easier duets! Aimed at the grade 4-7 players.

For about ten years I’ve wanted to release a playalong book. Finally it’s going to happen. Working in collaboration with Mark White, we’ve got a book of 13 original compositions, all specially arranged for the playalong book. Entitled ‘Access All Areas’ the concept is to have a book that features compositions written in a jazz, funk, latin, pop style, without having pages of chord symbols to negotiate. I know that there are plenty of musicians out there that can play their instrument well but who might be fazed or uncertain about improvising…. Well this book is 80% written & 20% improvised, the improvised sections only using one or two scales or key centres! So, very approachable if you are an intermediate to advance player, and good for inexperienced and experienced improvisers. Not just for saxophonists, ‘Access All Areas’ will contain Bb, Eb, C (treble & bass clef parts), plus a playalong CD, featuring the SaxAssault rhythm section. The icing on the cake? From November 17th you can visit the Astute Music web site & listen to none other than Bob Mintzer play the lead lines with the rhythm section!!

www.astute-music.com

16th October 2008
8th RNCM Saxophone Day
Exactly one month to go to the annual saxophone extravaganza that Rob Buckland & I organise. Special guests this year are Chris Potter, Otis Murphy & Snake Davis. Rob & I perform a lunchtime concert in which I’ll be playing four new pieces for Tenor Saxophone & Piano that includes three World Premieres; ‘And Everything Is Still’ & ‘MHP’ by myself and ‘Ballad in Memory of Shirley Horn’ composed by Sir Richard Rodney Bennett and edited for Saxophone by myself and Richard. Playing piano is the amazing Adam Caird, we’ll also be playing his piece ‘Out of Line’ that will be released on CD in December this year. Rob is joined by his regular partners in the Equivox Trio, Peter Lawson & Simone Rebello. Check out the latest Equivox CD via www.robbuckland.com.

Booking details on the RNCM web site. www.rncm.ac.uk

14th October 2008
SaxFest
Sound Festival in Aberdeen has commissioned me to write a ten-minute work for Massed Saxophones, to be premiered on Sunday 2nd November. I’m delighted to be a part of this weekend of saxophonic events, please check the Sound Festival web site for full details about ‘SaxFest’. ‘Beach Ballroom’ is written for saxes, bass guitar and drums and is written in one continuous movement. I’ve tried to write something that as well as having shape and form, uses lots of different colours, dynamics, tempi and voicings. Hopefully ‘Beach Ballroom’ will prove to be a useful work for developing ensemble, that is specifically designed for saxophone workshop rehearsals and performance.

www.sound-scotland.com

10th October 2008
SaxAssault Gigs!
Two gigs coming up over the next few weeks; Thursday 30th

October at DeBees in Winsford, followed by a performance at the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen as part of Sound Festival. I’m delighted to have Andy Schofield, Ben Waghorn & Dave Stapleton on both these gigs, and we’ll be featuring the latest SaxAssault charts that have been written in 2008!!

www.saxassault.com

www.astute-music.com

6th October 2008
New Look Fodens!
Fodens Brass Band have a great new web site. www.fodensband.co.uk

There you will find lots of information about the Band, plus if you go to the Composer-in-Residence page you can hear sound clips of works that I’ve written for them!

Fodens is currently looking for sponsorship, they deserve it as they have just been announced as No.1 in the World brass Band Rankings, after recently winning the coveted British Open at Symphony hall, Birmingham.

2nd October 2008
Scales for Obsessives
An amazing new book written by Iain Dixon. Iain is one of the UK’s most respected musicians, take a look at who he has played with on his myspace. In ‘Scales for Obsessives’ he explains how to connect scales with chord symbols, so an invaluable companion for anyone who improvises or wants to know where to start with improvisation.

Published by Astute Music. www.astute-music.com

19th August 2008
Flute Week!
This week the British Flute Society holds its annual convention at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester. Amongst the performances from many fantastic players is a recital by the Corallia Duo. Fiona Slominska (flute) and Louise Thomson (harp) are both wonderful young players who graduated from the RNCM & formed the Duo in 2003. They have played my ‘Sonata for Flute & Harp’ in many concerts and competitions around the UK, and on Friday 22nd July include it in their BFS recital programme!

Also, being performed at the RNCM on Sunday 24th is ‘Nemesis’, a piece that I originally wrote for Soprano Saxophone & Vibraphone (for Rob Buckland & Simone Rebello), this time played in its flute version by Helen Wilson (flute) & Dave Elliott (vibes).

Finally, next Tuesday at Wesley Chapel, Harrogate, the incredible Paul Edmund-Davies plays my most recent piece written for flute, ‘And Everything Is Still’. PED will be accompanied by LSO pianist John Alley.

It goes without saying that all pieces are published and available from Astute Music!
www.astute-music.com

17th August 2008
Harrogate here we go!!
It’s nearly time for the Harrogate Summer Schools (saxophone, clarinet & flute). Numbers are good again this year, looking forward to seeing everyone there next week! I’ve handed over the baton to Rob Buckland this year, but am delighted to be involved on the Tuesday & Wednesday, rehearsing and performing SaxAssault charts, looking at what great players such as Bob Mintzer do when improvising on some of my charts! And then taking fragments of improvisatory musical ideas and developing them in different ways.

9th August 2008
NYBBGB, Bram, Les & Salt of the Earth….
Les Neish called me last week….. Bram Tovey has programmed ‘Salt of the Earth’ in two concerts with the National Youth Brass Band of Great Britain. Panic stations, in that Astute Music worked tirelessly for the following three days updating, editing and proofing the score and parts, following the World Premiere by Les with Foden’s Band at the RNCM Festival of Brass in January. Les astounded me when I was at the rehearsal before the first of the two concerts…. He played the (difficult) piece from memory on virtually no notice (and he got it right! Words don’t fail me, but I can’t write them here!). Equally brilliant were the NYBBGB, under the baton of the great Bramwell Tovey, who a week or two previous had conducted the New York Philharmonic premiering a new work that they had commissioned from him. It was great working with Bram, Les, NYBBGB and the Summer Course Tutors (all top players including Glyn, Alan, Helen & John from Foden’s). The energy, enthusiasm, musicianship and attitude of all 60+ young musicians was great! If, on the off-chance, any of you read this….. ‘Thank You!’.

3rd August 2008
Ole!
My friend Giles Rimmer has booked me on a few gigs with his band Bluejuice this Summer. Great players and singers. We played for the Manchester United player Ole Gunnar Solskjaer yesterday. He had his testimonial match at Old Trafford & was then joined by family and friends for an evening celebration at a top Manchester hotel. The impressive part of it all is that he has been involved with Unicef for a number of years and was donating all ticket receipts which estimated £2 million to build ten new schools in Africa.

27 July 2008
Apitos ‘Made in Manchester’ at MJF
Dave Hassell’s group Apitos performed the closing concert at the 2008 Manchester Jazz Festival. I’ve been playing with Apitos since the mid-1990’s & it’s a privilege to work with these musicians and to have an opportunity to play this style of music. Dave has a new project with the band, called ‘Made in Manchester’ – new arrangements of pop hits by Manchester bands such as 10cc, Oasis, Happy Mondays…. Written and performed in a ‘Latin/Jazz’ idiom. Along with Mike Hamnett & Nick Smart, I took on the challenge of arranging a few charts – the Oasis tune ‘The Importance of Being Idle’ ended up as a fast and furious ‘Frevo’! It was great seeing and working with Paul Clarvis again, one of the many fine musicians in Apitos. Big thanks to Steve & Mick at Manchester Jazz Festival for another amazing week of gigs!!

11 July 2008
Out of Line
Off to London to record ‘Out of Line’, written by pianist/composer Adam Caird. Adam has contributed some fine works to the saxophone repertoire & he was commissioned to write ‘Out of Line’ by Aberdeen’s Sound Festival. Written for Tenor Saxophone & Piano, we premiered the piece in November last year in Aberdeen. Look out for Adam’s new CD of his works for Saxophone later this year, and also the new arts venue, restaurant/café that he and Charlotte are opening in December, ‘The Forge’ in Camden.

06 July 2008
Llandudno Festival
In addition to the SaxFest concerts in Warrington & Llandudno, Bill Connor invited Richard Ellis, Dave Hassell & myself to the Festival to perform our ‘A Summer with Monica’ multimedia project.

We’ve been experimenting in rehearsals for the last nine months (courtesy of an RNCM Research Grant), developing the interplay between words and music. Richard is a fantastic actor/narrator/performer who is totally at home on stage. The soundscapes that Dave & I improvise around the words of poems by Roger McGough & Lemn Sissay can be at times minimal, dense, colourful, dark, playful, moody……

Digital photgrapher Gary Abbott has created some thought-provoking abstract images that are projected during our performances, the words of Roger McGough’s poem ‘A Summer with Monica’ are amazing! I’m hoping that Festival Directors will pick up on this project in 2009/10 – we’ve done enough research, now we want to get on with the real thing & gig it!

03 July 2008
Hats off to Damon…..
Damon Horrill owns DeBees in Winsford. For the last five years he’s been promoting the DB5+Laura in a monthly residency at his club. He’s a creative, generous and clever man, juggling the business side of work with his artistic imagination! He supports & encourages numerous musicians, including singer-songwriter Paul Wilkes. DeBees, a small club in Winsford, mid-Cheshire, seems to be a magnet for artistically minded people….. musicians, actors, poets, photographers all hang out there and swap ideas! We’ve had some great nights with the DB5+Laura at DeBees. Thanks Damon.

15th June 2008
North Cheshire Wind Orchestra directed by Mark Heron are busy rehearsing a work that they have commissioned from me, 'Sin Bin' for performance on Saturday 28th June at Pyramid Arts Centre in Warrington & the following Saturday at Llandudno Festival. Both concerts feature the Royal Northern College of Music Saxophones playing the first set (directed by Rob Buckland & myself), with the NCWO including in the second set Bill Connor's 'Oodunnit?!' with the Apollo Saxophone Quartet, 'Dark Rain' with Rob & myself, and the World Premiere of 'Sin Bin'. There are also workshops both in Warrington & Llandudno where participants rehearse one piece for inclusion in the evening concert with the RNCM Saxes. For more details about SaxFest! please visit the diary page on this web site.
 

Photo: Conductor Mark Heron shows Andy the yellow card for his new work for Wind Orchestra, 'Sin Bin'!

13th June 2008
A few weeks ago I finished writing a short piece for Flute & Piano. It's called 'And Everything Is Still' and takes its title from one of Lemn Sissay's wonderful poems. I had a chat with Lemn last night, he is Poet-in-Residence at the South Bank Centre and an incredible person. Please take a look at his web site: www.lemnsissay.com

12th June 2008
This Saturday sees the Sandbach School Summer Concert, special to me for several reasons; it will be the first time that Stanley (my son) & I have appeared in the same gig! He's playing bass guitar with the Junior Big Band & the Funk Group (they're playing my piece 'Don't Shoot The Duck'), and I'm helping out in a new Sandbach School Staff/ ex-student Big Band. The School Big Band plays 'La Conchita', the double Big Band chart that I composed for the Sandbach & RNCM Big Bands, and the School Brass Group gives the World Premiere of 'PDS 4 Zero', a new work that I wrote in April. Huge credit must go to all the music teachers everywhere in schools, they inspire the young musicians of tomorrow and put in an incredible amount of hard work. My wife Lauren has a gig with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra that night, so she'll miss this school concert, but there will plenty more!!

27th April 2008
It gave me great pleasure to take SaxAssault to the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester a couple of days ago, sharing the concert with Julian Arguelles. The concert sponsor was Mawdsleys, who commissioned me to write a new work for the occasion. I called the piece 'Group S' and it was premiered alongside arrangements that I completed of 'Fujiko' (originally written for the British Clarinet Ensemble) and 'Salt of the Earth' (originally the third movement of the Tuba Concerto, Les Neish & Fodens). Two new works were written, 'Sabretooth' by Mike Hall & 'What Might Have Been' by Rob Buckland, both fine pieces! SaxAssault rehearsed the day before the RNCM gig & the band presented nearly 40 minutes worth of new music, all in a 60- minute programme! What great players!!

Below is a photo from the rehearsal in the RNCM Concert Hall (saxes only, apologies to our fine rhythm section). Plans are already underway for a third SaxAssault CD in 2009.

26th March 2008
I heard from saxophonist Roy Hovens, who along with Jos Dobbeistein are soloists in the Dutch Premiere of 'Dark Rain'. See the diary page for details!

Dave Hassell & I have been rehearsing with Richard Ellis (actor) and Matt George (visuals) since October, exploring interaction between music, visuals and voice. Using some fantastic poetry by Roger McGough and Lemn Sissay this project is an opportunity to explore musical improvisation in a way that is true to your musical upbringing (i.e. being yourself!). The three performance strands; 'Sporting Relations', 'The Emperor's Watchmaker' & 'A Summer with Monica' will be ready to be gigged by Autumn '08. Thanks to the RNCM Research Department for enabling this project to be developed! You can see video clips of the very first experimental performance of 'A Summer with Monica' from April 2005 on this web site - Paul Clarvis standing in on percussion for an unwell Dave Hassell - and sound clips and research that is updated week by week at ucan.tv (search for ucantv, when on site then go to the 'moodle'). Finally, a real achievement.... my daughter Ruby trained for a month and ran the Manchester Mile, raising £420 for Sports Relief!

12th March 2008

(l-r: Rob Buckland, Andy Scott, Mike Hall & Carl Raven)

29th February 2008
It is a great honour and privilege to be asked by the famous Foden's Richardson Brass Band to be their Composer in Residence. Some of you will know that I worked with the band in January when they rehearsed and gave the premiere performance of 'Salt of the Earth', the Tuba Concerto that I wrote for Les Neish & Foden's. I'm delighted that following on from the RNCM Festival of Brass premiere that the band has approached me for the Composer in residence role. It will be a challenge, but what an opportunity! It's especially pleasing because the band is based in Elworth, very near Sandbach (which is where I moved to last August) which gives me an opportunity to drop into rehearsals and talk with the players, try out ideas, ask their advice, all of which is better than any book about composing! Keep an eye out on the BBC Radio 3 schedule as part of the Foden's Band concert from the RNCM Festival of Brass will be broadcast soon. I'd like to thank everyone in Foden's Band for creating this musical opportunity, and I'll do my best to write you some decent pieces!!

Read reviews of Foden's performance at the RNCM by going to Les Neish's blog (www.lesneishtuba.blogspot.com).

23rd February 2008
I've just finished writing a solo saxophone piece called KBM. It was written for Kyran Matthews who is studying with Ruth Darby at the Royal Northern College of Music Junior School. His mother approached me saying that it was Kyran's 18th birthday on 23rd February and could she commission a piece from me as a birthday present to Kyran! Well it's worked out, today is the big day for Kyran & the piece is finished! It has two main sections/ideas that recur - a rhythmically freely played cadenza, and a 6/8 swing idea. It's great knowing who you are writing for..... in this case I know that Kyran loves his jazz and improvising as well as his 'classical' saxophone playing. KBM incorporates influences from both these musical areas, unlike 'Eighteen' which was written in similar circumstances for Spencer Moran and is less jazz influenced. All of KBM is notated and I've left the option of improvising over a two-bar vamp at the end of the piece to the discretion of the performer! Eighteen and KBM will both be published by Astute Music later this year.

20th February 2008
Mark Heron will direct the North Cheshire Concert Band in performances of 'Dark Rain', as well as premiering a new Wind Band piece from me in late June in Warrington, followed by a second performance at Llandudno Festival in early July. I'm pleased to say that also included in the programme is an Apollo Saxophone Quartet commission - Bill Connor's 'Oodunnit?!'. The ASQ has been on the back burner for the last year or so, just surfacing to play the occasional gig as we pursue our individual projects. We're (Tim Redpath, Rob Buckland, Carl Raven & myself) delighted to come out of hibernation to perform Bill's piece! Rob & I will lead a Saxophone Workshop on the day of the concert in Warrington, and both concerts will also feature our Saxophone students of the Royal Northern College of Music. More information to follow on the Diary page.......

7th February 2008
The new British Clarinet Ensemble CD 'Looping the Loop' includes 'Fujiko' & 'Paquito' by Andy, whilst the National Saxophone Choir of Great Britain's CD 'Sax to the Max' includes Andy's work 'Big Red'. Composer/arranger/saxophonist Mark White has produced a Saxophone Quartet version of 'Big Red' (with CD) which has been recorded on the forthcoming Veya Saxophone Quartet CD. Mark and Matt Dunn are in the middle of producing some spectacular SaxAssault remixes, due for release later this year!

• www.britishclarinetensemble.co.uk
• www.saxchoir.com
• www.markwhitemedia.com

 
23rd January 2008
Watch and listen to tuba star Jim Gourlay play 'Going Down' by Andy, in a concert in Italy from last summer.

Also, Jim's web site: web.mac.com/jamesgourlay1956/iWeb/Site/Home.html

 
16th January 2008
Saxophonist Christoph Enzel will give only the second ever performance, and a German Premiere! of a new piece that I've written for solo saxophone, 'Eighteen'. The performance is at the Hans Eisler Conservatory in Berlin, on Sunday 27th January. The piece was written for Spencer Moran, and was a surprise for his 18th birthday. I was approached by his music teacher & family who commissioned me to write it. I gave the World Premiere of 'Eighteen' in November last year at the Sound Festival in Aberdeen. 'Eighteen' along with other new works, plus SaxAssault & Big Band charts that I've composed, will all be published by Astute Music in 2008.

 
11th January 2008
With Astute Music & North West JazzWorks I've just finished editing Eb, Bb and C versions of the NW Real Book! One hundred tunes by North West jazz composers, the Real Book is a fantastic musical statement, or document, that everyone involved should be proud of. It's needed an incredible amount of hours by all concerned to reach this point where the books are finished and available, so please encourage musicians & students to go and buy copies!

• www.astute-music.com
• www.nwjazzworks.org

 
8th January 2008
I'm going to the first rehearsal tonight of my latest commission, 'Salt of the Earth' for Les Neish (tuba) and Fodens Brass Band, conducted by Garry Cutt. Les won an award from the BBC Fame Academy which has enabled this commission to happen, whilst Fodens are based in Sandbach, their bandroom being about one mile from my home! Both Les & Fodens are exceptional musicians, it's going to be daunting going through the piece with them for the first time! All the hard work writing a piece coming back at you in it's entirity for the first time I normally find a pretty heavy experience. The World Premiere is at the Royal Northern College Festival of Brass on Sunday 27th January, 3pm. The BBC are recording the concert, but as yet I don't know how much or little of the concert they will broadcast...... More details about Les, Fodens and the RNCM Festival of Brass can be found at:

• www.rncm.ac.uk
• www.fodensband.co.uk
• www.lesneishtuba.blogspot.com

 
6th January 2008
I had the honour of being a part of the saxophone section (with RNCM colleagues Carl Raven, Mike Hall & Rob Buckland) with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in concert with the Wayne Shorter Quartet! One of the legends of jazz, from being headhunted to fill the chair vacated by John Coltrane with Miles Davis' band to co- forming Weather Report, Wayne Shorter is now in his mid-seventies & still going strong! All the compositions and orchestrations were by the great man, whilst his quartet, comprising Danilo Perez, John Pattitucci & Brian Blade was just ridiculously good. Conducted by my friend Clark Rundell, this concert was part of a mini Festival in Liverpool that announced the start of 'Liverpool 08' European City of Culture. If you haven't experienced Liverpool first hand then this is the year to go there!!

 
1st January 2008
Happy New Year!

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