Antipodean Riffs - Essays on Australasian Jazz - Bruce Johnson
13. Expressive Identity in the Voices of Three Australian Saxophonists: McGann, Sanders and Gorman
Antipodean Riffs - Essays on Australasian Jazz - Bruce Johnson
Sandy Janette Evans
Sydney Conservatorium of Music, Sydney University and University of New South Wales
Description
Bernie McGann, Kim Sanders and Tony Gorman1 are three Australian saxophonists with distinctive sounds. I will analyse and discuss a composition and improvisation from a seminal recording by each saxophonist: McGann’s ‘Playground’, Sanders’s ‘Gnome Chomsky’s Deep Focus Boogie-Woogie’ and Gorman’s ‘Spice Island’, supported by material from interviews with the saxophonists where available. My objective is not to compare the relative merits of each saxophonist, but to identify some of the key factors in the conception, development and realization of their expressive identity.