I’ve just finished another saxophone quartet arrangement for the Lenoir Saxophone Ensemble, one of a series I’ve been writing for them. This arrangement is a tune from The King and I, Hello Young Lovers. If you’re curious to hear how it came out you can use your imagination and listen to this MIDI realization I put together of it.
For this arrangement the members of the Lenoir Saxophone Ensemble requested the dedication be “For Morrie Crawford & the Hollywood Saxophone Quartet.” The Hollywood Saxophone Quartet was one of the inspirations for this project I’m collaborating with the Lenoir Saxophone Ensemble on.
I have to admit that prior to beginning work on these arrangements I was not familiar with the Hollywood Saxophone Quartet. The HSQ was active around Los Angeles from about 1950 to 1970 and made up of four studio woodwind musicians, including Morrie Crawford, who played tenor sax with the group. One of the composers/arrangers who wrote exclusively for the HSQ, Warren Barker, retired to nearby Greenville, SC before passing away in 2006. The Lenoir Saxophone Ensemble has recorded some of the HSQ’s music.
If you want to hear one of my arrangements for the Lenoir Saxophone Ensemble actually performed by live saxophonists, go here and look in their media player for the recently added musical selections. My arrangement of Body and Soul is up there now.
