A Conductor’s and Performer’s Guide to Steven Bryant’s Concerto for Alto Saxophone - Chester Jenkins

63 Chapter 7. Performer’s Considerations As with any substantial solo work, there will be a number of challenging technical considerations to attend to. The purpose of this chapter is to identify those challenges that are unique to this work, and will require the consideration of the soloist. Performance considerations for this work include performing jazz improvisation, an altissimo range up to D#, and a very extensive dynamic range. Extended techniques are limited, and include growling/humming, flutter tonguing, smack tonguing, and the “freak out” at the very end of the third movement, which will be discussed in more detail at the end of this chapter. The most important fact for many performers to consider at the beginning is that this work, while undeniably “classical” in its conception and form, makes great use of jazz feel and language, including improvisation. This is most true of the second and third movement. There are moments where jazz phrasing (including the accenting and ghosting 53 of notes) is preferable. This would include the “bop-ish” sections in the second movement (beginning at measures 18, 36 and 68). While there is written material in all of these sections, it is important to note that in his performances of the work, Lulloff has improvised over all of these sections. At the section beginning in measure 68 of the 53 “Ghosting” is the technique of playing a note, generally a lower pitch in a line, at a highly reduced volume. This is generally accomplished in two different manners: a sudden drastic slowing of the air stream on that note, or the use of “doodle tonguing.” This technique requires dampening a portion of the reed with the tongue, but allowing enough of the reed to continue to vibrate to produce pitch.