JAZZ-TINGED: Joseph Lulloff Plays Charles Ruggiero

NIGHT SONGS AND FLIGHTS OF FANCY
FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND PIANO
Joseph Lulloff, alto saxophone, Jun Okada, piano

1.    I. Under Sun and Moon, Come Dance with Me, Before the Dusk or Dawn’s Eternity 7:59
2.    II. Late-Nite Romp, On and Off the Tracks 3:15
3.    III. Shaw’s Mare 4:11
4.    IV. Stars and Moon Aglow, Illuminating Exotic Nights 5:41

    BOPPISH BLUE TINGED
FOR ALTO SAXOPHONE AND LARGE CHAMBER ENSEMBLE
Joseph Lulloff, alto saxophone, Raphael Jiménez, conductor, Musique 21 Ensemble
5.    I. Tinged 7:06
6.    II. Blue    6:17
7.    III. Boppish 6:47

CHOBIM
SIX JAZZ COMPOSITIONS IN HONOR OF FRÉDÉRIC CHOPIN AND ANTONIO
CARLOS JOBIM FOR SOPRANO SAXOPHONE, BASSOON, AND PIANO
Joseph Lulloff, soprano saxophone, Michael Kroth, bassoon, Deborah Moriarty, piano
8.    I. Dark Samba 3:55
9.    II. Nocturne-Etude - One Blue Note, Quietly (more or less) 2:56
10.    III. Bossa Nova Sentimental 3:18
11.    IV. Nocturne - Changing Topics: Jazz Conversations After Hours 6:28
12.    V. Bossa à la Brubeck 2:40
13.    VI. Waltz - Three Souls in Perfect Time 6:25

The ongoing artistic association of saxophonist Joseph Lulloff and composer Charles Ruggiero began more than 30 years ago and has resulted in 11 compositions whose premieres were given by Lulloff. From Interplay, composed in 1988 for Lulloff and pianist Jun Okada, to Chobim, a trio written in 2011 for this CD, the creation of each of these 11 unique works was significantly influenced by the special collaborative relationship that Lulloff and Ruggiero have cultivated over the decades.
For much of the time that Ruggiero and Lulloff have been exploring new musical territories of saxophone art music, they also have worked together frequently as gigging jazz musicians in Michigan, and their continuing mutual interest in jazz has shaped and strengthened their composer-performer collaborations.
Some of Ruggiero’s saxophone compositions, particularly Interplay and Three Blues for Saxophone Quartet (the tenor saxophone part of which was inspired by Lulloff’s jazz tenor playing), have been performed widely throughout North America. Lulloff’s definitive performances of these and other Ruggiero saxophone compositions currently are available on eight compact discs. This, the 14th CD containing Ruggiero’s saxophone music, is devoted entirely to the three most recent works Ruggiero has composed for Lulloff: Night Songs and Flights of Fancy for alto saxophone and piano; Chobim - Six Jazz Compositions in Honor of Frédéric Chopin and Antonio Carlos Jobim, for soprano saxophone, bassoon, and piano; and, Boppish Blue Tinged, a three-movement concerto for alto saxophone, 17 instrumentalists, and conductor. Boppish Blue Tinged, Ruggiero’s third concerto for saxophone, is the culmination of a long-term project to transform and bring into fully notated concert music some of the rhythmic, melodic, and harmonic language of jazz in fresh, subtle, and richly expressive ways.

REVIEWS

Fanfare (Jan/Feb 2015)

“…this disc is a breath of fresh air to listen to.”

“Recommended”

“Crazy, man!”

“Ruggerio is an interesting composer and Lulloff a fine sax player…”

“…the music is excellent and the technical execution flawless.”