Arts & Culture

UK Musicians Score Rave from Saxophone Today

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 11, 2014) — The musical talents of University of Kentucky students in the UK Mega-Sax, UK Saxophone Quartet and UK Wind Symphony, as well as Miles Osland, UK School of Music saxophone professor and director of UK Jazz Studies, were recently praised in a review by Saxophone Today. Performances critiqued by the magazine were part of the new CD, "Mega Mega Saxophone at the University of Kentucky."

"Mega Mega" is a collection of new recordings by UK student ensembles and faculty groups, the Osland/Dailey Duo and the Osland Saxophone Quartet, produced by Osland. The CD first features a UK Wind Symphony and Osland Quartet piece commissioned by UK. Billy Kerr of Saxophone Today describes the piece as, “The wonderful sound of the Wind Symphony belies the fact that the musicians are students. The quartet’s performance is flawless, exhibiting a great ability to pass the musical line from one voice to the other, with a lovely ensemble sound.”

The CD also includes UK Mega-Sax performing Thelonious Monk’s great ballad, “Crepuscule with Nellie,” arranged by saxophonist and arranger Greg Yaskinitsky, as well as an adaptation of band leader/arranger Gordon Goodwin’s piece, “Gordon’s Goodies.” “Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano” composed by Raleigh Dailey, UK associate professor of jazz studies and piano, and Osland follows.

The UK Saxophone Quartet, under the direction of Lisa Osland, adjunct saxophone professor at UK, is showcased in two pieces, “Saxophone Quartet #1,” by John Carisi, and “Escape to the Center,” by Dana Wilson.

The closing piece “…Who Needs Enemies?,” by Russell Peterson, features members of UK Mega-Sax and the UK Wind Symphony, which is directed by John Cody Birdwell, director of UK Bands. The composition is described by Kerr as “a frenetic romp, showcasing the quartet as a traditional sax section, with all the members improvising as well. A fitting high-energy conclusion to this action packed CD.”

"Mega Mega" isn’t the first artistic work by Miles Osland, who has been a major force in saxophone and saxophone education for two decades. He is the author of a two-volume "Scale Anthology" and several analytical transcription books. Noting his success, Saxophone Today called him “the organizer of one of the best saxophone studios in North America.”

"Mega Mega" CD is available from Amazon, CD Universe, allmusic.com and classicalarchibes.com.

The UK School of Music at the UK College of Fine Arts has garnered a national reputation for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, composition, and theory and music history.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu