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The Eloquent Saxophone
David Tanner saxophone
Marc Widner piano
Navona Records is proud to announce the re-release of David Tanner’s 1988 album THE ELOQUENT SAXOPHONE. Tanner is no Stranger to Navona; his compositions and arrangements can be heard on two other Navona releases: Of Birds and Lemons (2012) and Dashing (2016). This was his first album, featuring him as a performer. It includes two unaccompanied pieces and two sax quartets recorded by multi-tracking, as well as a rich variety of works with accompaniment admirably rendered by pianist Marc Widner. The music ranges from Schumann to a stylized blues by Gene DiNovi.
Tanner’s musical language is enriched by classical training and a career encompassing rock’n’roll and jazz as well as symphony. Reviewer Denis Armstrong wrote in Music Magazine, “Not long into this recording, one begins to marvel at the sheer joy David Tanner’s playing conveys… a dense and rich recording… at times elegant and elegiac, other times ribald and visceral. But the one constant is the joy and clarity of expression.”
The first track sets the tone: “Serenade comique” is a brief, frantic sax quartet composition that evokes Parisian traffic or perhaps a flock of birds. “La Blues,” the other quartet selection, evokes the melancholy of New York in the depth of night. “It is a treat for the listener to hear this feat of multi-tracking done so well,” said reviewer Joseph Viola in Saxophone Journal. Each track is in contrast to the one before it; each represents something different and interesting. To quote Music Magazine again, “The Eloquent Saxophone [is] a thoroughly eccentric, invigorating and generous treat.”
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Artist Information
David Tanner
David Tanner studied at the Berklee College of Music and the University of Toronto, where he was saxophone instructor through the 1980’s and 90’s. He toured Canada and the USA with the rock band Lighthouse in the 1970’s. He performed in orchestras including the Toronto Symphony, Hamilton Philharmonic, National Ballet, Canadian Opera Company and numerous others. He also played every genre of music from jazz to Broadway on stage or in the pit in most of the major venues in Toronto and the surrounding area. His compositions and arrangements can be heard on Navona Records: Of Birds and Lemons and Dashing!
