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I: "Dance"

Movement 1 revolves around a simple, insistent ostinato that alternates its stresses between two different types of 9/8: the “Balkan Bar” 2+2+2+3, and the more titular Simple Triple 3+3+3. This movement was inspired primarily by the various lively festivals and markets I attended as part of my studies.

II: "Waltz"

Movement 2, the waltz, is not really a waltz, breaking free from its lethargic three-step and gaining a mischevious mind of its own. This movement is based on a feeling: tiredness, lethargy, dizziness, and general mood stemming from the sweltering summers of Kamakura.

III: "Hocket"

Inspired by the lively night skies on Izu-Oshima island, “Hocket” centers on a single wide-ranging ostinato that’s ‘hocketed’ consistently between every member of the quartet. Layers are added to produce a number of moving lines with no home on any one instrument, illuminating the timbre of each saxophone like a cluster of stars in the night sky.

IV: "Min'yō"

I will never forget seeing the Min'yō Crusaders live in concert. This scrappy group led me onto a bit of a fascination with Japanese traditional music, both folk and court–– and this movement is its result.

At the same time, I've always had a deep admiration for the Japanese Pop legend Yumi Matsutoya, who always seemed to speak my language of strange, earnest, and idiosyncratic. "Min'yō" smashes the world of Yuming with the world of its namesake, interpreted by me, a fanatic observer through the medium of saxophones. How very eclectic!