Dedicated to you but you weren't listening is out now. Order a copy (US import) from Amazon.com, now available in the UK too from mid April 2008.

The Delta Saxophone Quartet on Myspace.

The (new) Delta Saxophone Quartet Blog (leave your comments on-line)

Excerpt from Yumi Hara Cawkwell's 'Wrapped Box 25/4 Lid (with Ribbons)', ... performed by Delta Saxophone Quartet with Hugh Hopper (b), Simon Pearson (dr)

The Delta Saxophone Quartet was formed in 1984 by Steve Cottrell, Pete Whyman, Colin Smith and Chris Caldwell, all pupils of Stephen Trier and undergraduates at the Guildhall School Of Music and Drama, London. Its artistic policy from its formative years until the present day has been to encourage UK and International composers to enjoy/have fun in creating new works for the quartet 'line-up'. Often (like Ellington!), individual parts have been composed for the specific performers own qualities re- extended range, tonal colours and improvisational skills.

The results have been spectacular, with the composers often exploring a variety of styles including, micro-tonality (quarter tones), multiphonics, minimalism, experimental/free improvisation, electronics through to music theatre. . A sample of Deltas's repertoire may include works by Gavin Bryars, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Louis Andriessen or the jazz composer Mike Westbrook to re-workings from the 70's Jazz/Rock group The Soft Machine. The many exciting commissions now performed by the Delta Sax Quartet reach beyond any normal musical boundries. It is this vibrancy and creativity and their enjoyment of performance which has gone a long way to keep this ensemble together for nearly a quarter of a century.

The quartet has performed widely within the United Kingdom and overseas including in 2002, an inspiring tour of Uzbekistan. Workshops and performances were given in Tashkent, Ferghana (the first overseas group to perform there for 25 years) and Samarkand. This tour was filmed by Uzbek television and was broadcast as an overture to their world cup coverage in the summer of 2002! (probably a cultural first). This visit was so warmly received it led to the commissioning of three new works by Uzbek composers for the quartet and subsequently to a second visit to Tashkent, performing at the Ilkhom Music Festival in April 2005. The quartet has undertaken two tours of Taiwan, the second during 2003 and has also performed in Russia (Moscow), Germany, Austria, Slovenia and Italy.

The British Council has supported the DSQ in Taiwan, China, Italy and Uzbekistan.

UK Festival performances include, Huddersfield, Brighton, Meltdown (RFH London), London 'Oris' Jazz Festival, Brighton,Bradford, Almeida, plus workshop residencies in Aberdeen, Nottingham, Wavendon, Brandenburg,St Poelten and Catania.

In September 2005 the quartet performed in Beijing, China, as part of the EU/China trade celebrations. The quartet performed for over 1,000 people at the Europe Street venue plus an informal evening at the British Ambassador's residency.This trip was sponsored by the British Council. To end the year of 2005 with a bang, the quartet was invited to perform at Classic FM's Chiller Cabinet Christmas party at the hip Notting Hill Arts Club, London.

Over a number of years the DSQ has developed its own innovative educational and outreach programme, encouraging people of all ages and abilities to share in the experience of group improvisation and composition. The workshops have been much in demand, recent projects include a week long residency in Brandenburg, Germany and a compositional project with music conservatoire students in Catania, Sicily.

Click here for more information on DSQ's workshops 'Beating the bounds'.(pdf)

The DSQ is currently ensemble in residence at Kingston University in West London, where the professional work of the quartet is combined with creating and performing works by students, leading classes and directing workshops dealing with all aspects of musical performance and interpretation. As part of its work there the quartet has performed at The Albert Hall and the Barbican hall in London plus the Kingston Jazz Futures Festival and Autumn Festival. in the Autumn of 2006 this residency was extended to the summer of 2008.

In the Spring of 2006 the quartet presented quartets by Sir Richard Rodney Bennett and Steve Reich (see video of part of this performance here) as part of their 70th anniversary years plus the world premiere of Steve Goss's Uneasy Dreams.

January 2007 was a busy month for the quartet with its association with Etnafest in Italy continuing with a three day creative workshop (click here for video) followed by the workshop performance, two special Italian Etnafest commissions plus the new Delta Sax Qt project which features the spirit and music of the Soft Machine - Dedicated to you but you weren't listening  with Hugh Hopper as their special guest. (Click here for video taster).

Part of the quartet's work is leading 'creative/improvisation workshops', click this link to see pictures and a report from a session they gave in Amsterdam in June 2007.

Review, in Italian, of the Delta Sax/Soft Machine set with Hugh Hopper.

The quartet has recently released its fourth solo cd titled dedicated to you but your weren't listening.. Via the quartet's extensive International contacts, composers from Berlin,Tokyo and the UK (Joe Duddell, Paul Englishby, Morgan Fisher, Issie Barratt   - to name a few), have added an exciting mix to what is proving to be a watershed release from the Deltas with stunning reviews being posted by critics from the US and Europe. This cd is released on the eclectic New York label, Moonjune records.

In May of 2007 the quartet presented its first  live internet relay  (you'll need to download realplayer to view this) from its performance of new works by Stephen Goss, Mike Searby, Daniel Wilson and Tim Ewers

The quartet has recently recorded Stephen Goss's Uneasy Dreams which was released on the Cadenza Music label in December 2007. The title of the cd is Frozen Music.

As part of its commitment to British new music and in celebration of its Kingston Connection,an album featuring Mike Searby, Tim Ewers, two of the in-house composers at Kingston University plus Michael Finnissy, Gerald Barry and Richard Barnard is currently being recorded and set for a release later in 2008 on the FMR label.

The Dedicated to you album launch was held at Kingston University on 10th December2007.

Autumn of 2007 found the quartet making a small UK tour which linked into its album launch of Dedicated For You But You Weren't Listening .performances included, London, Stafford (+workshop), Bristol , and Cambridge in February 2008.

The quartet will perform in Holland and Germany in August 2008, plus a performance at the London Jazz Festival 2008 (tbc) and a new film project launch with the aptly named Big Bang project on November 5th 2008.! with UK based Spanish composer Sergio LopezFigueroa,

2008 see the start of work on a new saxophone quartet commission from Mike Westbrook for quartet and jazz vocalist (funded by Kingston University). This will be performed in the DSQ's 25th anniversary season in 2009. The quartet has recently linked up with a new Italian agent, Rosalba Di Raimondo (contact details below) who is putting together an Italian season for 2009/10, dates already have been confirmed in Milan and Rome. Currently discussions are ongoing for performances in the autumn of 2009 in Shanghai , Hong Kong and Taiwan.

For individual Delta Saxophone biographies click here.

Reviews   from the latest DSQ album, Dedicated to you....

''There is too much wonderful music found here to mention it all and at one hour, it is
consistently fascinating...The Delta Saxophone Quartet do an amazing job of illustrating the cosmic thread that runs through all of the great music that Soft Machine provided during their decade-long transformation''. - BLG' Downtown Music Gallery, New York

(The DSQ is) one of Europe's most distinguished new music ensembles...It's refreshing to hear such an intelligent reinvention...(the DSQ) gives pieces such as Mousetrap, Noisette and Floating World an emotional dimension which is quite different from the originals. John L Walters, The Guardian (****)

''May be the most revelational…and revolutionary look at a legendary British group that ran the gamut from post-Dadaist psychedelia to free jazz and fusion between 1966 and 1981''. John Kelman, All About Jazz

''Just listening to this for the third time in a row, (I'm)already quite sure this is one of the year's best albums'' Steve Lake, What's Rattlin'

To paraphrase Bob Dylan, the ensemble sounds as though “they’re knocking on Heaven’s door,” within the sum of the parts of this stunningly attractive program. (A newly-found desert island disc, indeed. Glen Astarita jazzreview.com

Dem Delta Saxophone Quartet gelingt es mit dieser intelligenten Produktion, den vielen Mutationen der sanften Maschine nachzuforschen. Eine der schönsten
Jazzplatten des Jahres 2007 Karl Lippegaus,Süddeutsche Zeitung

One of the years finest jazz albums...melodic, inventive, by no means as harsh sounding
as you might expect from the saxophone quartet format, and, sadly, not the sort of thing you'd want to hear before watching a Celine Dion DVD! Dave DiMartino, Yahoo.com

Pure saxophone ensemble plays gracefully blended English jazz-fusion impurities.

(best of 2007)Kevin Lynch

The formidable firepower of the DSQ with some remarkably imaginative arrangements, a couple of ace appearances from the head-Softy Hugh Hopper ( even a Wyatt vocal impersonation by a guesting Morgan - Minatures - Fisher), makes for a nostalgic cosiness leavened with the kind of rigour and fastidious detail that made the original music such a compelling earful.In short: out-bloody-marvellous.

Sid Smith,The Yellow Room

Their management is named Music On The Edge, and that pretty well describes the thrust of this modern sax quartet...The realizations of the 14 tunes from Soft Machine are strong and emotional, often fierce in their transformations for four saxes.  I’m sure fans of the cult progressive rock/jazz band will love the new face they put on the tunes.

John Henry,Audiophile

Charming and classy stuff, and a must hear for Soft Machine and jazz lovers alike.

Pete Pardo,Seaof tranquility.org

‘'Your Concert was a fairytale'' Radio Art- Tashkent (2005) -Live concert review

''The Delta Saxophone Quartet's rendition of Glass' string quartet is truly inspiring '' Amazon.com online reviews (Minimal Tendencies cd)

"The performances are flawless and beautiful -- the quartet is a well-oiled machine." The All Music Guide(Minimal Tendencies)

"Delta makes light of the extraordinary technical demands of this work (Bryars) ...intense and energetic..." BBC music magazine 5 star album of the month (Minimal Tendencies cd)

Bookings/Agents:

UK/Europe(not Italy)/-General enquiries :

Chris Caldwell/Music On The Edge

Italy :

Rosalba Di Raimondo
Rosalba Di Raimondo Artist Manager
Via Montenero 4
40131 - Bologna
Tel 00 39 051 199 80218
Fax 00 39 051 523815

USA/South America/Japan:

Contact: Leonardo

MOONJUNE RECORDS & MANAGEMENT
32 Union Square East #206
New York, NY 10003 • USA
Fax:
212-677-5107

China/Hong Kong

Peter Lee

Hong Kong Jazz Association

Taiwan

Terry Cheung

Total Arts

The Arts Council   and  jazz Services  have both supported the DSQ's UK tour in the autumn of 2007 and spring 2008.

The Delta Saxophone Quartet was the Ensemble in residence from autumn 2003 to the summer 2008 at Kingston University, and is now one of the Associated music groups with this university.

Outside of Delta.

                Pulse

Where are they now?

Previous holders of the soprano sax hot-seat in the DSQ.

Steve Cottrell, founder member now a doctor of music at Goldsmith's, London. (DSQ 1984-2002).

      the electric sax

     History of the sax.

Christian Forshaw,     prof. at Guildhall and   International soloist. (DSQ 2002-2006)

         Sanctuary

        Renoucement