We are thrilled to kick off our summer clinic/performance series this year with a truly innovative performer, a player who is uniquely expanding the limits of what the saxophone can do. PEDROSAXO will be here at Saxquest on Sunday, May 11, from 1-3pm.

Pedrosaxo at Saxquest!

“Pedrosaxo is the Bobby McFerrin of the saxophone!”
Jeff Coffin
Saxophonist for Dave Matthews Band and 3x Grammy-winner with Bela Fleck & the Flecktones

Pedrosaxo has revolutionized the saxophone. He has synthesized his many interests – imitation, acting, video gaming, and composition – into a breathtaking and truly unique artistic statement. Quite simply, he has obliterated all previous technical and artistic boundaries, and has achieved it in ways that are fascinatingly beautiful, haunting, appealing, and awe-inspiring. He appeared as a finalist on Spain’s nationally-televised “Spanish Got Talent?” and has performed throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Since finishing his saxophone studies with honors at the Conservatory of Granada (Spain), Pedrosaxo (Pedro Rafael Garcia Moreno) chose the path of personal research, delving into the study of the saxophone and new forms of interpretation, imitation of sounds, world music, as well as performance practice with professional actors in Madrid. As a result, Pedrosaxo is a unique artist of extreme sensitivity to the world around him, able to describe the atmosphere of faraway places through the saxophone and his body, his music combines orginality and traditional saxophone.

Please come out for a great time. As always our events are FREE and open to the public. We’ll see you there!

I would like to invite you to a very special double feature event this Saturday (Feb 8) at Saxquest from 2-4PM. We’re starting the 2014 Saxquest Concert Artist Series with what will sure to be one of the highlight events of this year. This really will be a VIP event and I sincerely encourage you to make every effort to attend this performance if at all possible. In the world of saxophones, it just doesn’t get any better than this!!!

First, you will hear from the great jazz saxophonists, Randy Hamm. Randy will be presenting a duo performance with pianist Kyle Aho. Randy’s incredible versatility and depth of artistry allows him to connect to and engage his audiences in a manner that both captivates and astonishes. I can’t wait to hear the interplay between Randy and Kyle as the jazz duo format is the perfect vehicle for unencumbered musical communication. From intricately woven together straight ahead lines to lush ballad playing to unpredictable mood changes and tempo swings, Randy’s performances are always inspiring.

Second, you will hear from the Missouri Saxophone Quartet (MSQ). Formed in 2009, the MSQ is devoted to exploring and promoting new music, particularly that of Missouri composers. The group has already inspired several commissions which they have presented at venues such as the North American Saxophone Alliance’s Biennial Conference at the University of Georgia, the United States Navy Band’s International Saxophone Symposium in Fairfax, Virginia, and the Odyssey Chamber Music Series of Columbia, Missouri. In July 2012, the quartet made its international debut at the World Saxophone Congress in St. Andrews, Scotland. The MSQ performs a wide variety of styles from baroque transcriptions, to traditional French repertoire, to jazz and tango, and the avant-garde. Members (all Selmer endorsing artists): Leo Saguiguit, Adrianne Honnold, Joel Vanderheyden, Matthew Kendrick.

As an added bonus, we’re launching this event as our signature kick-off event as an official Selmer Paris dealer. The regional Selmer rep will also be in the shop with lots of great instruments from Selmer Paris for trial. Check out the new Selmer Paris Jubilee series saxophones and Reference 54 lines.

DON’T MISS THIS ONE!!! This is the FIRST EVER performance of two of our region’s finest, Leo Saguiguit and Randy Hamm on the same stage.

Bios:

Randy Hamm, Director of Jazz Studies and Professor of Saxophone, joined the faculty of Missouri State University in 1989. While studying at the University of North Texas, Mr. Hamm was a member of the internationally acclaimed One O’clock Lab Band. He maintains an active performance schedule and his work as a composer, arranger, and featured soloist can be heard on the Arabesque, Seabreeze, and Origin/OA2 record labels. Hamm has released two solo CD’s on the Encore Music Presents (EMP) record label, “Yellow Cadenza” and “Abstract Thought.”

Leo Saguiguit, soprano saxophone, is Associate Professor of Music at the University of Missouri. He’s an in demand soloist and chamber musician throughout the United States and abroad. He currently performs with the Athens (Greece) Saxophone Quartet, Chicago Saxophone Quartet, Missouri Saxophone Quartet, Trio Chymera, and the Odyssey Chamber Music Series of Columbia. He has been soloist with various orchestras and wind ensembles and has appeared in over a dozen CD recordings. As an orchestral saxophonist, Saguiguit has performed regularly with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Milwaukee Symphony, Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Florida Orchestra, and Missouri Symphony. He earned his music degrees from Emory University and Northwestern University, where he was a student of Frederick Hemke.

Adrianne Honnold, alto saxophone, teaches saxophone at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Washington University in St. Louis. She is one of the founding members and artistic directors for Chamber Project Saint Louis and a former member of the United States Air Force Heritage of America Band and Rhythm in Blue Jazz. She appears regularly with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra and the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra, and has performed with the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and the Lyric Opera of Kansas City. She received both her Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she studied with Debra Richtmeyer and Chip McNeill.

Joel Vanderheyden, tenor saxophone, is Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Jazz at Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Missouri. He holds a D.M.A. in Saxophone Performance and Pedagogy (University of Iowa – with Kenneth Tse), a M.M. in Jazz Studies (University of Maryland – with Chris Vadala), and a B.A. in Music Education and Performance (University of Minnesota-Morris). Joel endorses Rico reeds and Selmer saxophones, and performs regularly with the electro-jazz ensemble, Koplant No. He has previously served as Director of Jazz and Woodwinds at Oakton Community College in the Chicago area, and Director of Jazz at the University of Minnesota-Morris.

Matthew Kendrick, baritone saxophone, is a professional saxophonist from Kansas City, Missouri. An active performer, he has been featured in festivals, recitals, and conferences throughout North America and Europe. He is also a founding member of the Contreras Saxophone Quartet, whose performance credits include the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall. Mr. Kendrick also serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Northland Symphony Orchestra. He earned his music and accountancy degrees from the University of Missouri where he studied with Leo Saguiguit and Tim Timmons.

We’ve got some very exciting news at Saxquest! Saxquest and Tenor Madness have teamed up to present the final performance of our 2013 Concert/Clinic series. As such, we are thrilled to welcome Doug Lawrence on Saturday, December 14, from 2pm – 4pm.

Doug Lawrence is currently lead tenor with the 17-time Grammy-winning Count Basie Orchestra, the chair previously held by such greats as Lester Young, Hershel Evans, Buddy Tate, and Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, among other legends. With the Basie band and his own groups, Lawrence has literally toured the world, playing on six continents and in virtually every major concert hall, jazz club, and jazz festival in the world.

Born in Louisiana, Doug Lawrence spent 25 years as a working musician in the New York City jazz scene. The list of artists he has performed and recorded with reads like a who’s who of current and former industry heavyweights, from Benny Goodman, Frank Sinatra, and Rosemary Clooney, to Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, and Tony Bennett. He has appeared on over 100 recordings including four critically acclaimed recordings of his own.

Joining Doug for this performance will be an all star St. Louis rhythm section.

Doug is a longtime friend of the shop and it is a joy to finally have him here. Mr. Lawrence is a TM Custom artist and we are delighted that both Randy and Shirley Jones of Tenor Madness will be here too. We will have several TM Custom tenor saxophones here in the shop for play testing and Randy will be happy to talk about what all has gone into making this saxophone!

We hosted more events this year than ever before (19!) and we’re so thrilled to be going out this year with a BIG BANG!!! Be sure to come out and see what all the hype is about with the new TM Custom saxophones and check out the amazing sounds of veteran tenor saxophonist, Doug Lawrence!!

We’d love to invite you out for another great event at Saxquest. On Saturday, November 16, we’ll be hosting a clinic/performance with Frank Catalano from 2-4pm. As always the event is free and open to the public.

Frank is a Grammy Award winning high-energy jazz musician based out of Chicago. He started playing at an early age, and incredibly had performed with Miles Davis, Randy Brecker, Elvin Jones, Stan Getz, Betty Carter, Tony Bennett, and Louie Bellson, all before graduating high school! He then went on to record with Jennifer Lopez, Destiny’s Child, and John Legend, among others. His newest album Old Skool was just released this year. Frank is a Rico Reeds, Jody Jazz, and Yamaha artist.

This will be a fantastic event, please come out for some great music!

We are excited to welcome to the shop P. Mauriat artist Josh Quinlan as part of our 2013 Saxquest Clinic/Performance series. Dr. Quinlan will be here on Saturday, October 26, from 2-4pm.

Josh Quinlan is a saxophonist, composer, and educator based out of Colorado. He received his Doctor of Musical Arts in Jazz Studies from the University of Colorado, where he is currently an instructor. Quinlan also holds degrees from DePaul University and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. He is an edorsing artist for P. Mauriat saxophones, Bari mouthpieces, and Gonzalez reeds.

Josh Quinlan is a high energy player with a very melodic approach. His latest album Open Space was released this year. Please come out for a great time! As always Saxquest events are FREE and open to the public.

We are absolutely delighted to be hosting a clarinet performance/masterclass with Steve Cohen at Saxquest on October 12. Active as both a soloist and chamber performer throughout the U.S. and around the world, this is a great opportunity to hear and work with one of today’s truly great clarinet artists.

Steve Cohen is currently professor of clarinet at Northwestern University. He is the former principal clarinetist with the New Orleans Symphony, later known as the Louisiana Philharmonic (1975-2004). He was featured as concerto soloist with that orchestra many times and has also been featured as concerto soloist at the Brevard Music Center, where he has played and continues to play principal clarinet each summer since 1979

He has performed as principal clarinet with the Texas Opera Theater, Seoul Philharmonic, Music of the Baroque orchestra, and has played with the Chicago Symphony, Chicago Lyric Opera, and as a chamber musician throughout the Chicago area. Master classes and recitals include Thailand, Korea, China, Taiwan, Europe and the U.S. He has guest taught at the Oberlin Conservatory, USC, Indiana University among others and was previously on the faculty of the Cincinnati College-Conservatory and Louisiana State University. He hosted the 2001 ICA Convention in New Orleans. New York City born, his teachers include, Loren Kitt, Larry McDonald, Karl Leister and Robert Marcellus.

Steve is also an artist/clinician for Buffet clarinets and a Legere reed artist. We’re grateful to Buffet-Group for the help in supporting this clinic. We’ll have several new Buffet clarinets on hand for trial as well.