NINE SKETCHES OF ENGLAND FOR
SOLO SAXOPHONE
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| 1:
Glastonbury Tor |
| A noteable landmark with an interesting history. The site of a monastery where St. Patrick was reputed to have retreated to after evangelising Ireland. An abbot of the monastery, Richard Whiting, was hanged, drawn and quartered in 1539. The Tor has also served as a focal point for Pagan beliefs since Bronze Age times to the present day, and is believed to be a major junction of 'lay lines' - lines of energy. It commands spectacular views of the Isle of Avalon from all sides. |
| 2:
Threadneedle Street, City of London |
| 'Excuse me Sir, you can't play here'. A centre of another kind of energy. The heart of the banking world in the capital city featuring the Bank of England and the Stock Exchange. |
| 3:
The Pier Head, Liverpool |
| A famous riverfront landmark, the Pier Head lies on the north western seaboard of the country and was, in the recent past, one of the great shipping/trading centres of the world. Liverpool was my birthplace and I travelled across the river most days of my school life. It was also the Western European centre of the slave trade in the 18th century. |
| 4:
King George Dock, Hull, & Rudston Monolith |
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(photo Roland Box) |
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(photo Roland Box) |
| 5: Pengreep
Wood, Stithians, Cornwall |
| A private woodland where the project was conceived as a result of daily practising there in the summer of 1995. The echo of my saxophone from the trees revealed new directions for me. |
| 6:
The Maze, Island of St Agnes, Isles of Scilly |
| 'Finding my Father'. I have spent a lot of time on this island, and during a two week stay in 1993 I wrote and rehearsed the music for 'Silence Between Waves', a project which was recorded on the CD album of the same name. St. Agnes is the most westerly inhabited island with a seafaring history stretching back to Phoenician times. Like the other islands, it was a burial ground for Bronze Age kings and has several standing stones. The Maze, which is really a labyrinth, has a centre reported to be another junction of lay lines. |
| 7: Railton
Road, Brixton, London |
| Scene of the 'front line' in the Brixton riots and a local landmark. |
| 8:
Richmond Park |
| 'Dialogue with Dog'. A piece of semi-wild countryside surrounded by the western edges of the capital city. I spend a lot of time in Richmond Park, which is near my home. |
| 9:
606 Club, Lots Road, Chelsea / Ronnie Scotts
Club, London |
'On a Saturday Night'
Two seven-nights-per-week jazz venues with audiences
on a Saturday night which I have played to many times during my career,
and which have a distinct character on a Saturday.
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'NINE
SKETCHES'
