[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n
Don’t expect the Ithaca College assistant music professor <\/a>to serve up the famous sax break from <\/span>He’s a Rebel<\/span><\/em> when he appears in Chautauqua Auditorium with Peter Oundjian and the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra<\/a> on Sunday, August 1. Banks’ appearance will serve to remind his audience that the saxophone is equally at home in the concert-hall repertoire.<\/span><\/p>\n He’ll play two works he identifies as \u201cchestnuts\u201d: Alexander Glazunov’s Concerto<\/em> and Jacques Ibert’s <\/span>Concertino da Camera<\/span><\/em>.<\/em> The two are musical twins for several reasons. They were written in France within a year of each other (the Glazunov in 1934, Ibert’s the following year), and both were commissioned by the legendary pioneer saxophonist Sigurd Rasch\u00e8r (1907-2001).<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt’s really about bringing the best of both worlds,\u201d he said of the pairing. \u201cSpontaneity is a core element (in the Glazunov). The way it’s written, you can feel like you’re improvising. That element shows how you can play what’s there.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Image 1 with Caption (text box)” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”] Steven Banks | Photo by Chris Lee<\/p><\/div>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n Ibert’s non-stop <\/span>Concertino<\/span><\/i>, however, is quite a different story. The solo part in the outer movements offers a dizzying display of virtuosity. \u201cWhile the Glazunov stays in the traditional range (of the sax) until the end, the first movement of the Ibert goes a full octave above that range,\u201d Banks points out. Then, there’s that little matter of Ibert’s seeming disinterest in giving his soloist a chance to breathe. Its non-stop river of notes allows only occasional breaks for an intake of air.<\/span><\/p>\n Is our soloist bothered by such details? Nah. He credits circular breathing as the obvious solution. \u201cI learned how to do that as an undergraduate (at Indiana University). My teacher was one of the best in the world at it. Actually, it’s becoming more common among young players these days.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”]Circular breathing involves blowing notes into the saxophone or other wind or brass instrument while simultaneously inhaling air through the nose. A number of jazz players use this technique during elaborate, extended solos. Banks should know since he minored in jazz studies at IU. \u201cI don’t claim to be a jazz saxophonist,\u201d he insists, \u201ceven though I studied it.\u201d<\/span>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Image 2 with Caption” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”RGBA(0,0,0,0)” border_color_all=”RGBA(0,0,0,0)” border_style_all=”none”] Steven Banks at Steinway Hall | Photo by Chris Lee<\/p><\/div>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n That said, he feels at home in both classical and jazz. \u201cWhether it\u2019s written notes or improvised ones, you\u2019re trying to transcend what\u2019s there in the music,\u201d he says. \u201cI encourage my students to explore all kinds of styles.\u201d<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default”]<\/p>\n Though the heyday of the sax in pop records has passed \u2013 not many hit songs from Motown of late \u2013 Banks points to the growing popularity of the instrument among the younger generation. \u201cThe level of playing is skyrocketing,\u201d he enthuses. \u201cThe future is bright, and growing exponentially. The instrument itself is improving, the way it’s constructed. There are so many possibilities now. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe repertoire is growing, too, slowly but surely,\u201d he adds. \u201cJohn Adams and Esa-Pekka Salonen have written concertos.\u201d Banks has commissioned works from composers Billy Childs and Joel Thompson.<\/p>\n The invention of Adolphe Sax actually involves seven categories of instruments, from sopranino to contrabass. When Banks walks onstage in Chautauqua Auditorium, he’ll be wearing an alto sax for both concertos. Is that his favorite?\u00a0 Banks doesn’t take a breath, circular or otherwise. \u201cI started on tenor sax, which feels like home. To be honest, I will like whichever one I’m holding,\u201d he replies.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_cta admin_label=”Outro” _builder_version=”4.9.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_level=”h4″ header_font_size=”14px” header_line_height=”1.1em” background_color=”#F58F38″]<\/p>\n![\"image](\"https:\/\/coloradomusicfestival.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/2021_CMF_0801_PPT.jpg\")
![\"image](\"https:\/\/coloradomusicfestival.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Saxophonist-Steven-Banks-Colorado-Music-Festival-1.jpg\")