Hailed by the New York Times as ‘brilliantly stylish,’ Pat Posey (he/him) is a versatile saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. He performs with the San Francisco Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic, is a founding member of the Los Angeles Reed Quintet, and has appeared at Carnegie Hall with composers John Adams, Thomas Adés, Peter Eötvos, and Michael Tilson Thomas conducting their own works.

He can also be heard as principal saxophonist on releases of the San Francisco Symphony (Ives Symphony 4), Lake Forest Symphony (Stephenson Symphony 3) and Michael Torke Orchestra (Time and Psalms and Canticles). And now, Saxophonist Pat Posey goes to extremes for his solo debut album, they/beast.

Introducing the tubax - a German-invented, modified version of the contrabass saxophone - Pat plays deep, dark renditions of J.S. Bach’s Cello Suite No. 3, Melodies for Saxophone by Philip Glass, Bach-inspired Mo’ingus by Brooklyn-based composer-saxophonist Shelley Washington, and Pat’s own Hymn.

1. Washington, S: MO’INGUS (Arr. for Tubax by Pat Posey)
2-14. Glass, P: Melodies for Saxophone (Arr. for Tubax by Pat Posey)
15-20. Bach, J S: Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009 (Arr. for Tubax by Pat Posey)
21. Pat Posey: Hymn

The recording opens on the organically sculpted MO’INGUS (Shelley Washington) and then comes a 13 sectioned run from the great Philip Glass entitled Melodies for Saxophone (beginning with the low slung No.1, the perky No.2, with other components including the yearn within No.6, the rhythmical movements within No.11 and the melodious No.13 closer).

Along next is the Johan Sebastian Bach work Suite No. 3 in C Major, BWV 1009, which features a septet of tracks, including the deeply-hued opener Prélude, the dutifully heartfelt Sarabande, closing on the upbeat and perky piece Gigue, the album, as a whole, closing on Pat Posey’s very own 12-minute, eclectic opus Hymn.

www.patposey.com

Pat Posey @ Facebook