Pedrosaxo

TRACKLIST:

01) ESTRELLA ALTAIR (prelude)
02) JEUDI
03) MONGOLIAN CHANT
04) SELEKTRON
05) Buleria Alahy
06) ESTRELLA ALTAIR
07) BEATSAX
08) LA COMPANIA LIBRE
09) NOT BY SIGHT
10) ABLALIA
11) IMPROVISATION

RECORDING INFO:

All compositions by Pedro Rafael Garcia Moreno
(Pedro Rafael Garcia Moreno) PEDROSAXO (SGAE)

Except “Improvisation”
PEDROSAXO / Tenor saxophone/Vocalizations
JEFF COFFIN / Tenor saxophone/Vocalizations
(Pedro Rafael Garcia Moreno) PEDROSAXO (SGAE)
(Jeff Coffin) Otani Music (BMI)

All songs recorded November 1, 2013 & November 5, 2013
@ ITA Recording Studio, Nashville, TN

Except “Improvisation” recording November 27, 2012
@ Huckleberry Row, Nashville, TN

Recorded by Jeff Coffin

Mixed and mastered by Jon Estes
@ Blue Cypress, Nashville, TN

Produced by Jeff Coffin & Pedrosaxo

Photography by Daniel Smith

Design by Robert Hakalski @ Visual Machinery
www.visual-machinery.com

ALBUM NOTES:

This mind-blowing debut CD was recorded in November of 2013 and introduces the world to the Spanish tenor saxophone phenom, PEDROSAXO. He is the rare artist who is able to describe varying emotional and visual ‘atmospheres’ using his body, his voice and his saxophone.

This being his first CD, PEDROSAXO displays the many musical styles that he performs on stage. Playing music from the folk traditions of cultures around the world and performing some of the most contemporary and cutting edge music you will hear, PEDROSAXO will astound you with his wide ranging virtuosity and emotional power. PEDROSAXO has also studied acting to further visually connect with his audience and is his own multi-media presentation.

We guarantee you have never heard or experienced anything quite like this.

To be 100% clear – there are NO OVERDUBS on this CD. This was all recorded in 2 studio sessions totaling about 3 hours. All of these songs are composed by PEDROSAXO and have been written out in a new style of notation. There is no improvisation on any song until the last track, ‘Improvisation’, which is a duet with fellow saxophonist and co-producer Jeff Coffin. This track was recorded the afternoon Pedro and Jeff first met in November 2012!

PEDROSAXO strives to break his own limits everyday and to expand the boundaries of musical expression and imagination without any electronic aids. Jump down the rabbit hole with us and experience the awe-inspiring music of PEDROSAXO.

1. ESTRELLA ALTAIR (prelude)
This is the final part of Estrella Altair. On this opening track, PEDROSAXO mixes up what’s called ‘slap tonguing’ with a defined rhythm and melody. Sometimes it seems that we are listening to a few instruments at the same time! But remember, NO OVERDUBS!

2. JEUDI
This is a mixture of beatbox and saxophone. Drum, box, harmony with two voices and melody with the saxophone sound all mixed together.

3. MONGOLIAN CHANT
The diaphonic chant or harmonic singing, also known as throat singing, is a widespread vocal technique in the geography of traditional music, especially in the area of Central Asia (Tuva and Mongolia) as well as the Inuit tribes of Northern Canada. It consists of a reverberation (generated between the pharynx and mouth) that produces two or more simultaneous sounds with a slight variation (a harmonic).

4. SELEKTRON
This piece is based on an electronic musical style called DUBSTEP but uses no electronics. PEDROSAXO also does not use the saxophone mouthpiece during the performance of this piece. Mixing techniques from Australian didgeridoo to brass metal instruments, we are hearing a completely new technique for the saxophone.

5. BULERIA (Alahy)
This is the “Buleria” from the piece “Alahy” Using the famous Spanish Flamenco rhythm and the saxophone at the same time.

6. ESTRELLA ALTAIR
This is an Arabic piece in which PEDROSAXO uses two and three sounds for creating the harmony and the melody. It starts with a heartbeat, done with his throat, reflecting the first hours of the ancient Calipha searching for the love of his princess.

7. BEATSAX
Beatbox techniques without the saxophone mouthpiece. To produce the underlying harmonies, PEDROSAXO presses down different saxophone key combinations while beatboxing into the neck of the horn.

8. LA COMPANIA LIBRE
PEDROSAXO uses just the saxophone neck, his mouthpiece and singing skills in order to bring Middle East atmospheres and the sound of a famous double reed instrument called the Duduk, which is indigenous to Armenia.

9. NOT BY SIGHT
This is one of the most difficult techniques realized by PEDROSAXO. Very fast arpeggios (playing the notes of a chord in rapid succession) are played simulating an unbroken harmony while he simultaneously sings a melody with his voice. This is a part from his piece “Broken But Walking”.

10. ABLALIA
Traditional Mongolic (Mongolian) music. Sounds from nature, wind, rain, animal sounds, throat singing, saxophone with and without mouthpiece…everything is being done at the same time bringing to mind that fantastic culture of the Nomadic people of Eastern Europe.

11. IMPROVISATION
This piece is the first musical meeting between PEDROSAXO and 3x Grammy winning saxophonist JEFF COFFIN (Dave Matthews Band/Bela Fleck & the Flecktones/the Mu’tet). Coffin also serves as co-producer on PEDROSAXO. This was an impromptu recording done nearly a year before the rest of this project and reflects the overlapping of techniques and styles of two very different players who share a love of expanding the potential and possibilities of the saxophone. This is the only improvisation on this recording and was recorded on November 27, 2012, the afternoon that PEDROSAXO and JEFF COFFIN first met!

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