New Third Stream Quartet Performance

Website(s) : http://www.newthirdstream.com / http://www.rickvanmatre.com

Biography

The New Third Stream Quartet was formed in the interest of combining the rhythmic and improvisatory language of contemporary jazz with elements of modern chamber composition. The saxophonists in the quartet, are all accomplished jazz and classical saxophonists, and performances focus on achieving the same level of precision and communication that can be found in traditional saxophone quartets. The energy and flexibility of jazz improvisation is balanced with the rich harmonic and timbral colors of 21st century chamber music. The quartet’s repertoire consists entirely of commissioned works and the ensemble is dedicated to encouraging composers to unite jazz and classical styles. The NTSQ’s CD recording One For Four was recently released on Teal Creek Records.

More information

The New Third Stream Quartet gave its inaugural performance at the World Saxophone Congress in Bangkok and since then has performed at the WSC in St. Andrews, at every NASA conference, and at numerous guest recitals across the US. The NTSQ would be honored to again perform at the WSC and has commissioned two world premieres for its proposed performance in Strasbourg,

Michael Patterson: Scenes from Alphaville

1. Entering Alphaville: Profile – Lemy Caution
2. Natacha
3. Alpha 60
4. Nueva York
5 “Je vous aime“

Peter Sommer: Ataraxia

Scenes from Alphaville by internationally recognized composer Michael Patterson is a five-movement work based on the composer’s musical impressions of the French 1965 science fiction film noir directed by Jean-Luc Godard. The music follows the events of the film. The “scenes” are characterizations, musical snapshots, and at times short essays, on the elaborate and multi-layered ideas and philosophies presented in the film. The composition will utilize virtuosic ensemble technique, colorful contemporary classical and jazz harmonic vocabulary, and interactive improvisation.

Michael Patterson is a Grammy and Emmy Award winning composer whose creative output includes commissions and concert work for the London Symphony Orchestra, New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony, Eastman Trombone Choir, Novus Quartet, Ernest Bloch Chamber Ensemble, New York Repertory Orchestra, Judy Kang, Eddie Daniels, and the Debussy Trio. His film and television work has been heard on The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones, over fifty episodes of J.A.G. (CBS-TV), Tiny Toon Adventures with Steven Spielberg, and the Lucasfilms’ feature, Radioland Murders. Recent jazz recordings featuring Patterson as producer, arranger, and composer on the IPO record label with artists like Hank Jones, James Moody, Gene Bertoncini, Marc Copland, and Calabria Foti. Mr. Patterson is a resident artist in composition and film scoring at New York University.

For its second premiere, NTSQ will perform Ataraxia, a composition by Peter Sommer. “Ataraxia” is a Greek term coined by Epicurus for a state of mind free from stress and anxiety induced through an avoidance of politics and religion while enjoying the immediate company of friends. The mood created through the composition is one of tranquility with an underlying darkness or dissonance, characterizing the encroaching realities of the suffering in our greater global community. It features facile melodic improvisation over an ambiguous but constant harmonic form, hinting at bi-tonality while maintaining simple, heartfelt intention. Peter Sommer is Associate Professor of Jazz Studies and Saxophone at Colorado State University and the tenor saxophonist in the NTSQ.

The total time for both works is 18 minutes.