Tenor Saxophone Solos

No borders of any kind The creation of a solo album like “Tenor Saxophone Solos” is not only a proposal of a great bravery. It´s something else. The listener can also feel not only a great control of the instrument, but the sensation of hearing someone who has played with many people. This interaction with other musicians, as present in Chamber Music, is much more important and difficult in free improvised music than in music already written and therefore ruled in advance. Let´s think about musicians like Bach, one of the greatest musical improvisers of all time. Even with the obvious absence of any records of their performances, these improvisations are well known after what has been written about them and, much more significant, what has been reflected in their pieces. They show us that the synergy between a great instrumental technique and an immense knowledge of the instrument lets the musician to create a music that, even if made with a monodic instrument (in Bach´s pieces for solo cello, violin or flute, for instance), can offer to us a very rich and interesting texture, as in Chamber Music. Several lines sounding simultaneously, which create the sonic illusion of listening to more than one person at once. Josep Lluís Galiana achieves this in “Tenor Saxophone Solos”, his first solo album. His music knows no borders of any kind. Galiana´s rich musical expression combines disparate aesthetics without persisting in a limited orthodox thinking. He keeps a constant interest of listeners by a continuous updating of their expectations. This demonstrates a great technique and an intense control of sonorous materials, with an infinite palette that includes almost all: from the noisiest and amorphous sounds to a great formal complexity. Fragments interacting with different sonic materials (that shameless tonguing!) mixed with melodious and concrete tones. This enormous variety and some other interesting characteristics make this record a noble and audacious project. Worthy of being heard, without any doubt! Joan Gómez Alemany