Inspiring young classical saxophonist Jess Gillam presents her debut album 'Rise'. It is a collection of pieces which showcase her phenomenal talent and diverse musical taste, ranging from Marcello and Shostakovich to David Bowie and Kate Bush.

Jess Gillam's new album 'Rise' reflects her own musical journey and the pieces which have inspired her in her career. She recorded it with the BBC Concert Orchestra and chamber musicians, as well as celebrated guitarist MILOŠ, who features on the track 'Flow My Tears' - a transcription of the familiar Renaissance lute song by John Dowland.

The album includes beautiful cover versions of songs by two of Jess's biggest heroes: Kate Bush's ballad 'This Woman's Work' and David Bowie's timeless 'Where Are We Now?'. There are also familiar hits from the world of film, such as 'Closing In' by John Williams (as featured in Steven Spielberg's 2002 film Catch Me If You Can), Michael Nyman's 'If' (from The Diary of Anne Frank) and the bonus track, Francis Lai's 'Theme from Love Story'.

The recording also features two of Jess' signature pieces: 'Pequeña Czarda' by Pedro Iturralde, which she played in BBC Young Musician 2016 wind category final, and Darius Milhaud's 'Brazileira' from Scaramouche, which she performed to great acclaim at the Last Night of the Proms - described by BBC News as the “indisputable highlight” of last year's spectacular event at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

Awards
Opus Klassik Awards 2020 Nominee - Instrumentalist of the Year

Composers

Bowie, David (1947-2016)
Bush, Kate (b.1958)
Dowland, John (1563-1626)
Harle, John (b.1956)
Iturralde, Pedro (b.1929)
Lai, Francis (1932-2018)
Marcello, Alessandro (1684-1750)
Milhaud, Darius (1892-1974)
Nyman, Michael (b.1944)
Shostakovich, Dmitri (1906-75)
Weill, Kurt (1900-50)
Wiedoeft, Rudy (1893-1940)
Williams, John Towner (b.1932)

Works

trad.: Dark Eyes
Bowie: Where Are We Now?
Bush, K: This Woman's Work
Dowland: Flow my teares (Lacrimæ)
Harle: RANT!
Iturralde: Pequeña Czarda
Lai, F: Theme from Love Story
Marcello, A: Adagio from Oboe Concerto in D minor
Marcello, A: Oboe Concerto in D Minor
Milhaud: Brazileira from Scaramouche
Milhaud: Scaramouche, suite for saxophone & piano (or orchestra), Op. 165c
Nyman: If
Nyman: The Diary of Anne Frank
Shostakovich: Jazz Suite No. 2 - Waltz No. 2
Shostakovich: Suite for Variety Orchestra
Weill, K: Je ne t'aime pas (text: Maurice Magre)
Wiedoeft: Valse Vanité
Williams, John: Escapades for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra (from Catch Me If You Can)

Twice Grammy-nominated AMY DICKSON made history by becoming the first saxophonist and the first Australian to win the 2013 MasterCard Breakthrough Artist of the Year Classic Brit Award. Recognised widely for her remarkable and distinctive tone and exceptional musicality, she has performed throughout the world in prestigious venues such as the Wigmore Hall, the Royal Albert Hall and the Sydney Opera House, and as a soloist with orchestras including the Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Ulster Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. Peter Sculthorpe's 'Island Songs' contains some of the most beguilingly lyrical music written by the foremost Australian composer of his generation, whose death in August 2014 was lamented throughout the world. Ross Edwards' 'Full Moon Dances' is made up of five seamless movements, creating a kaleidoscope of sound featuring fragments of birdsong, plainsong, drones and Indigenous chants from around the world. These sounds are brought together around the central figure of the solo saxophonist. 'The Siduri Dances', by composer, conductor and violist Brett Dean, celebrates another female figure: 'a wise female divinity from the Epic of Gilgamesh'. 'Island Songs and The Siduri Dances were recorded in the Eugene Goossens Hall, ABC Ultimo, with conductor Benjamin Northey and ARIA-Award-winning producer-engineer Virginia Read; Full Moon Dances was recorded live in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House with Miguel Harth-Bedoya on the podium.

Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Benjamin Northey, Miguel Harth-Bedoya

Works

Dean, B: The Siduri Dances for flute and string orchestra
Edwards, Ross: Full Moon Dances — Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Orchestra
Sculthorpe: Island Songs