Andy Scott & Group S - Ruby and All Things Purple

The Guardian 80

(Basho)

You haven’t heard what the saxophone is capable of until you’ve heard a mixed bunch of them – from tiny sopranino to monster bass – in the hands of nine virtuosi, playing compositions by Andy Scott. Jazz is just one ingredient in a style that also ranges freely through modern classical and world music. Of all wind instruments, the saxophone has the most flexible, almost human, tone of voice, and it’s Scott’s mastery of this that makes these 12 pieces so appealing. The variety of sound and mood is astonishing. Until fairly recently, the saxophone was excluded from music academies as a barbarous American novelty. It’s good to remind them of that at moments like this.