TIMOTHY McALLISTER

PROJECT ENCORE, VOL. 2.

Neuma Records

Timothy McAllister, alto & soprano saxophones: Liz Ames, piano.

This world premiere recording is a duet by saxophone master, Timothy McAllister and pianist Liz Ames. McAllister is a member of the renowned PRISM Quartet. He has appeared with more than forty orchestras and ensembles worldwide, playing and/or recording in over twenty countries.  He is a Professor of Saxophone at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance.

Liz Ames and Timothy McAllister are committed to expanding the concert repertoire for saxophone and piano, using dynamic works by living composers. Although this presentation leans heavily towards their classical and chamber roots, they also reflect a commitment to bridging genres, from jazz-inflected rhythms and harmonies to lyrical introspection of each composition. They begin their album with a suite of songs by Wynton Marsalis “Book Book Nova” that wraps the piano and saxophone, like lover’s arms, to express “In Thy Guiding Light.” This is followed by “Skips, Trips and Double Dips (Pas de Deux),” and they close with  “Breaks for Branford,” a rare chamber work by Pulitzer and Grammy-winning icon, Wynton Marsalis.

Liz Ames is globally celebrated as a pianist specializing in the most innovative wind and chamber repertoire in today’s music market. On a tune called, “McAllister’s Ceilidh,” she dances playfully around the piano keys, playing ‘tag’ with Timothy’s soprano saxophone. This tune sounds like it’s rooted in Irish or Scottish culture.

A composition called “Encore” was written by Chihchun Chi-sun Lee, a Taiwanese-American composer. It reflects this composer’s unusual techniques. Lee is praised by the Boston Globe as being a “complex” composer. McAllister and Ames enjoy an instrumental conversation, with each instrument sometimes bumping contrapuntal against the other.

Songs like “Dreams of a Better Tomorrow,” by Justin H. Bush, are plush with beauty and a feeling of peace, while Iman Habibi’s “Sulfuric Rivers” is more earthy and Timothy McAllister uses his alto saxophone to interpret this piece. Catherine Likhuta’s “Moment of Impact” is full of spunk and energy.

This is a celebration, not only of piano and saxophone, but of the new and vibrant composers who are flooding the music arena with challenging and creative works of art. Ames and McAllister introduce them grandly.

Reviewed by Dee Dee McNeil

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