SAXOPHONE CARTEL: Caught In The Act

Saxophone Cartel

Caught In The Act

© 2005 Saxophone Cartel (656605897127)

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The Saxophone Cartel is an energetic, adventurous, experimental, and unique woodwind collective whose sound ranges from jazz to classical to noise to funk to world to blues to free improv, all with humor and joie de vivre.

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Online Media:

YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Saxophone+Cartel

The Weekly Special
http://www.indiana.edu/~radiotv/wtiu/weeklyspecial/archives/2006/07/30-week/index.html

Pandora Music Genome Project
http://www.pandora.com/music/album/the+saxophone+cartel/caught+in+the+act

A Brief History:

April 2003 - The Sax Cartel was founded at the IU School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana.
January 2004 - The Sax Cartel was a Live From Bloomington 2004 winner and appears on the Live From Bloomington 2004 CD.
February 2004 - Concert opening for the ROVA Saxophone Quartet.
April 2004 - Concert at the Biennial Conference of the North American Saxophone Alliance.
July 2004 - Appearance at Jazz in July, Indiana University Art Museum
April 2005 - The Sax Cartel was accepted to play at the North Sea Jazz Festival, but was unable to attend.
June 2005 - Production of the Sax Cartel's debut CD “Caught in the Act”.
September 2005 - Performance at Fourth Street Festival of the Arts & Crafts, Bloomington, Indiana
June 2006 - Live recording of the Sax Cartel's next CD release, date TBD, with special guest Steve Baczkowski
2003-2006 - Live appearances at festivals and local radio stations WFHB and WFIU
July 2006 - Appearance on "The Weekly Special", WTIU Bloomington
September 2006 - Debut of punk/free jazz saxes plus rhythm section version of the Sax Cartel, "Carteloid"!
May 2007 - Mastering of next CD, date and label TBD.
June and July 2008 - gigs in the NYC area, check website for listings

The Saxophone Cartel members:

Matt Cashdollar - alto, tenor, baritone, C melody sax, flute, didjeridoo: Matthew Cashdollar is a multi-intrumentalist that hails from Fort Wayne, In. After graduating North Side High School in 1996 with an academic-honors diploma, he attended Indiana-Purdue University in Fort Wayne where he was part of the saxophone quartet, wind ensemble, jazz ensemble, as well as the vocal jazz ensemble and university singers. Outside of IPFW, Cashdollar also played with several groups (including jazz, funk, soul, reggae, hip-hop, and modern rock) that toured around Indiana and its surrounding states. He finished his Bachelor's in Instrumental Music Education in the Fall of 2001. Matt graduated from IU with an MM Jazz Studies in 2005. Currently, he resides in Chicago where he teaches privately, coaches jazz combo at Benet Academy (Lisle, Il), and records with international jazz-house producer Anthony Nicholson.

Cam Collins - alto, soprano sax, clarinet: Cam Collins is originally from Columbus, Indiana, and grew up around music. Upon deciding to study music at the collegiate level, Cam began studies at the Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington. There, he studied saxophone with Dr. Thomas Walsh, and clarinet with James Campbell. During his second year in college, Cam auditioned for, and was accepted into, the U.S. Naval Academy Band as lead alto in the “Next Wave” jazz ensemble. Cam has performed as a soloist with many leading ensembles, including the Columbus Philharmonic, Indiana Ambassadors of Music, Carmel Symphony Orchestra, Pat Harbison Big Band, and most recently, lead alto saxophone with the Disneyland All American College Band. Cam has received numerous awards and honors for musicianship, like the Columbus Indiana Mayor’s Arts Award (2002), Esprit de Corps Award (2002), U.S. Marine Corps’ Semper Fidelis Award for Musical Excellence(2002), and the Louis Armstrong Jazz Award. Over the course of his career, Cam has appeared with many big names of the music industry, including Fred Hersch, Bill Watrous, Tom Kubis, John Clayton, Shelley Berg, Wayne Bergeron, Bobby Rydell, Steve Allee, Bob Florence, Gregg Field, Steve Houghton, Bill Warfield, Dave Samuels and Gary Foster, to name a few. He has studied privately with Rich Perry, Mark Turner, and Ellery Eskelin. Cam currently resides in Glen Burnie, Maryland.

Michael Eaton - alto, tenor sax, clarinet: Michael Eaton is from Liberty, Missouri, a suburb of Kansas City. He attended IU-Bloomington from 1999-2004, studying with Eugene Rousseau and Tom Walsh. He was a member of David Baker's IU Jazz Band, which recorded a CD in 2001. Michael appeared with noted local and regional ensembles, including the Steve Allee Big Band, the Buselli-Wallerab Jazz Orchestra, Rob Dixon's Triology, the Bloomington Pops, Monster Zero Orchestra, eclectic rock band Blue Moon Revue, rock/funk/jam band Montezuma's Revenge, Brandon Meeks, Üt Haus, Art Deco Quartet, Kyle Quass, and others. He co-led the (x)tet for three years, and recently organized two free improv large ensembles: the 2006 BIASfest Coltrane Ascension Ensemble (an electro-acoustic "Ascension"), and the Michael Eaton Large/Large Ensemble (reminiscent of the Brötzmann Tentet) performing a cover and original material. Since moving to the NYC area, Michael has performed with Collective Pursuit, the DAM Band, and The Ideas. Michael has studied privately with James Moody, David Baker, and Gary Foster. He has performed live in concert with David Baker, The Temptations, Sylvia McNair, Matt Darriau, Ingrid Jensen, Jim Snidero, Eugene Chadbourne, and with Fred Hersch. He lives in Brooklyn, NY.

Morgan Price - soprano, alto, baritone sax, recorder: Morgan Price comes from Rockville, Maryland. He graduated with a BM Jazz Studies degree from IU. He appeared locally with Mojai, Clockwork, the (x)tet, Monster Zero Orchestra, IU Soul Revue, the Threepenny Opera, DJ Triers, the Art Deco Quartet, jazz quartet at Grazie! restaurant, and his own ensembles. Recent projects have included tributes to the music of Charles Mingus, and studio albums with the (x)tet, Clockwork, and Mojai. Morgan and saxophonist Michael Eaton also co-led a band for three years called the (x)tet, which was inspired by music of such contemporary instrumentalists and conceptualists as Steve Coleman, Greg Osby, Gary Thomas, Mark Shim, Ravi Coltrane, Steve Lehman, Dave Holland, Mark Turner, Wayne Shorter, Andrew Hill, and others. In July 2005 he served on the faculty of the Birch Creek jazz camp, and in 2006 he attended the Steanes Institute for Young Artists at the Ravinia Festival. Morgan lives near Washington, D.C.

Colin Renick - alto, tenor, baritone sax, bass sax, bass clarinet: Colin Renick is a multi-instrumentalist who performs in a variety of styles. Mr. Renick earned Masters degrees in Classical Saxophone Performance and Jazz Studies from Indiana University, where he also studied under Otis Murphy and served as an Associate Instructor. In the fall of 2006, he served on the woodwind faculty for DePauw University. Mr. Renick is involved in many creative and educational endeavors in which he is active as a composer and performer. He plays the bass and baritone saxophones, and bass clarinet with The Saxophone Cartel; soprano and tenor saxophones with the blues band Eggie and the Timers; tenor and baritone with the funk band Mojai; and alto and soprano saxophones and clarinet with The Mustard Cats Dixieland Jazz Band. In October 2004, he performed in concert with saxophonist David Sanchez and the Indiana University Latin American Popular Music Ensemble. Mr. Renick has performed across the United States and in Mexico and Italy. He currently is employed by the United States Navy in Annapolis, Maryland, and plays saxophone with The Next Wave.

More associates:

Steve Baczkowski - tenor, baritone saxes, slide didjeridoo: Steve Baczkowski is a baritone saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, improviser, music producer and educator who has been performing professionally in a variety of musical contexts for over ten years. Born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., he began studying jazz in earnest in high school at the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts and went on to study music and ethnomusicology at The University at Buffalo from 1994-99.

In 1999 Steve became the Music Director of Hallwalls Contemporary Arts Center where he has since produced and presented over 100 concerts of jazz/improvised music, new music, and multi-media performances as well as several artist residencies. This is where, as he puts it, “my real music education began.” Working closely with saxophonists such as Odean Pope, Charles Gayle, Oliver Lake, Joe McPhee, Peter Brötzmann and countless others, he has also studied with Pope, Hamiet Bluiett, David Mott, Joe Maneri, and others.

In addition to leading several ensembles, including his sextet Eulipion and the Protozoan Improvisers Collective, Steve also plays with the trio Hylozoa (with Tom Abbs and Ravi Padmanabha), The 12/8 Path Band, The Genkin Philharmonic, Protozoa (with Leland Scott Davis), Visiting Sun Ra, and others. Steve performs frequently in the Buffalo area, as well as in NYC and abroad. He has worked and/or performed with many great musicians including Odean Pope, Bobby Previte, Carlo Actis Dato, Joe McPhee, Leland Scott Davis, Dominic Duval, Ramon Lopez, Tom Abbs, Paul Flaherty, Chris Corsano, Jay Rosen, Daniel Carter, Chris Jonas, Birth, Tony Conrad, Ravi Padmanabha, John Bacon, Jonathan Golove, Rey Scott, Butch Morris, and countless others. Steve has performed numerous festivals in North America including, most recently, a two-week residency in Monterrey, Mexico for El Encuentro International, and a performance at Toronto’s Fringe Jazz Festival.

Steve has lectured on improvisation, didjeridu techniques, and overtone based music at Buffalo State College, The University at Buffalo, and The State University at Fredonia. CD reviews can be found here.

Peter Sparacino - alto, tenor sax: Peter Sparacino is from San Francisco, California and graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor's degree in Jazz Studies. Locally he performed with the IU Soul Revue, Monster Zero Orchestra, Buselli-Wallerab Jazz Orchestra, and various small groups in jazz, funk, R&B, and other genres. He currently resides in San Francisco, CA.

Quotes:

"Wonderful group. Original stuff and well played." -- David Liebman, internationally renowned master saxophonist, improviser, composer, and educator

"All-saxophone groups tend to be quartets, but the Saxophone Cartel bumps the standard format up to a sextet, adding detail rather than mere weight to the ensemble sound. They keep at a slant to Jazz orthodoxy: there are nods to classical polyphonic tradition (the gradually swelling procession of “Passacaglia”) and the punchy horn charts of James Brown’s band (“Key of J.B.”), and even the more Jazz-centric pieces feature scrimshaw-intricate arrangements rather than the usual head/solos/head structure...There are several free improvisations, which place the emphasis on spontaneous convergence, as riffs and melodies emerge and are quickly seized on: despite abrasive moments such as the squiggly opening to “Newton’s Nightmare,” the mood is playful rather than confrontational or austere...The imaginative arrangements (mostly Benjamin Himpel’s handiwork) offer a more individual voice than any of the players’ actual solo work, perhaps, but Caught in the Act is still well worth hearing, offering a few new wrinkles on the familiar sax-ensemble format." © Cadence Magazine 2006 www.cadencebuilding.com ph: 315-287-2852

"Saxophone Cartel, a diaphanous sextet brings about classic reed forms of sounds as well as an array of modern jazz stylizations and improvising passages. Caught In The Act expresses a motley and capacious inventive mastery of reed-instruments. Euphonies grade from European jazz shapes to twisted, airy and fancy soundscapes.

The free nuances, attacks and jazz accent skills of these six young artists are top rate, whiffing and huffing with a natural simplicity and zealous receptivity. Reed impulses lead and drift with every member’s breath. From “David Miller presents” to “Creation” the tracks hook you into its fashion without swamping you. The reticulation can be tonal plus assuasive in a deck of atonal twinkles.

Soprano saxophonist Ariel Alexander rips through a rather laborious mishmash of free-figures and improvised licks encouraged by frenzied Cashdollar, Eaton, Goldberg, Himpel and Renick’s soaring rhythms. Saxophone Cartel’s appeal is cored within its cooperative blend to inter-cross heterogeneous genres into a peculiar musical aura that bears a manifold amazement.

Although the band is rooted under a classical polyphonic heritage, they visit contemporary pieces with unique musical configurations. The improvs are accented with impetuous concourses as riffs and new sounds emanate fluently. Caught In The Act is well worth hearing offering a great spotlight to six talented artists with a high level of musicianship. We certainly will hear more about their craft." -- Dr. Ana Isabel Ordonez, www.jazzreview.com
(see http://www.jazzreview.com/cd/review-18363.html)

"Saxophone Cartel - "Caught in the Act"
Die Instrumentierung lässt es bereits erahnen: Hier ist eine Menge Experimentierfreude im Spiel. In der ungewöhnlichen Besetzung eines reinen Saxofon-Sextetts zeigt die amerikanisch-deutsche Formation "The Saxophone Cartel" auf ihrem Debut-Album, wie elegant es klingen kann, wenn das typischste der typischen Jazz-Instrumente einmal aus seinem Genre- und Rollen-Korsett ausbrechen darf.

Saxophone Cartel - "Caught in the Act"

Nein, gepflegt-langweiliger Cocktail-Jazz ist das beileibe nicht, was da aus der Stereoanlage tönt, legt man "Caught In The Act", den Erstling des Cartels, ein: Da kreischt das Alt schon mal, während die beiden Tenorsaxofone einen Staccato-Groove aufbauen, das Bariton brummelnd grundiert und das Sopran mit chromatischen Tonfolgen in höchste Lagen noch einen draufsetzt. War gerade ein flotter Dixie im Anmarsch, geht es urplötzlich in schleppenden Blues-Schritten weiter. Klassischer Polyphonie ("Passacaglia") folgen impulsive Kollektiv-Improvisationen ("Ring Shout").

Frisch und ideenreich lotet die Formation um den 30-jährigen Bonner Tenor- und Baritonspieler Benjamin Himpel in dessen Eigenkompositionen die Schnittmenge von Jazz, Avantgarde und freier Improvisation aus. Ein Tipp nicht nur für Saxofon-Liebhaber."

Johannes Kloth
review from jazzdimensions.com
(see http://www.jazzdimensions.de/reviews/jazz/2006/sax_cartel_caught.html)

"The Saxophone Cartel is an exciting new saxophone sextet that explores the boundaries of the saxophone repertoire, from completely composed classical pieces, to imaginatively arranged jazz compositions, to almost completely improvised pieces, that utilize all the members of the saxophone family, including the rarely heard bass saxophone. The group's extraordinary and entertaining music goes well beyond strictly classical or jazz boundaries, and the Sax Cartel performs with both precision and colorful and joyous verve, [reminiscent] of the World Saxophone Quartet and the ROVA Sax Quartet." -- David Miller, Jazz Fables

"The Saxophone Cartel is a joy to experience! Their multidimensional music weaves together sublimely tuneful original compositions, free improvisation, and humor. They even resurrect music by the Six Brown Brothers. This ensemble will make you smile." -- Tom Walsh, Assistant Professor of Saxophone and Jazz Studies, Indiana University

"Very cool, guys (and girl)! The world needs more people who are willing to break new ground in saxophone ensembles. SATB quartets are great, but the saxophone family can do even more when you bring in a few more players and a few different horns. I look forward to seeing what you do and where you go!" -- Jay C. Easton, woodwinds faculty at the University of San Diego, multi-multi-instrumentalist, recording artist

"We all enjoyed your set and yes to next year if you are all here...You guys are great and so tight it is scary." -- Lee VB, co-organizer of Fourth Street Festival of the Arts and Crafts, Bloomington, IN

"You all are one of the best things to happen to Bloomington in 30 years! The concept, execution, and musicianship were all tremendous. I was dazzled." -- Jerry Nees, Bloomington-area listener and musician

reviews

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  • caught in the act
    author: Sarah Levi

    Couldn't believe my ears; the music blew me away. Love the title - most appropiate!

  • Unique CD, excellent playing, and very enoyable compositions.
    author: Jay Easton

    The Saxophone Cartel CD "Caught in the Act" features six players on soprano through bass saxes on pieces that are often equal parts classical, jazz, and free improvisation. They combine excellent musicianship, great chops, and an ability to use extended techniques without being silly. It reminds me of all the things I like about the Kolner Saxophone Mafia, but with plenty of originality and with enough other influences that it doesn't end up sounding derivative. It's really a unique CD that shows great group collaboration, lots of excellent playing, and very enoyable compositions. I'm glad they managed to document this group- hopefully the future will see more like it. This group successfully walks the line between being unique and "out-there" and being accessible without being simplistic or trite. They have a sense of fun, of exploration, of humor, and a little bit of funk. Himpel's and Renick's compositions are gems of chamber saxophone writing, using the individual timbers of the saxes and other woodwinds very effectively to create varied and cohesive musical textures. There are also some very good group improvisations that hold up quite well to repeated inspection. Nice use of doubles with clarinet, bass clarinet, flute on several pieces, while others are pure saxophone textures. This could be an easily overlooked CD because of it's limited distribution, but for fans of the saxophone family, and good and interesting music in general, I think this is a great disc - check it out. Jay C. Easton www.jayeaston.com

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