GREAT BARRINGTON — Critics have compared his tone to glowing mahogany. But what the devil does that mean? He plays saxophone, not guitar! This question must have been on everyone’s mind at Saint James Place the evening of October 23, when Steven Banks, with pianist Xak Bjerken, performed works by Paul Creston, Fernande Decruck, Johannes Brahms, and Banks himself. Some pieces were written for saxophone, some for clarinet, and some for viola, which is, tone-wise, not exactly a close cousin to the saxophone. But regardless of the repertoire, Banks sells the music using the sheer persuasive power of the timbre he coaxes out of his instruments.
The sonatas by Creston and Decruck, we learned Saturday evening, are standard repertoire for saxophonists. They put sax players of all levels through their paces, no doubt, but Banks seemed to coast through them easily. Both pieces are of the type that allow you to hear what key the music is in. Apparently, Paul Creston was unfond of the tone-row crowd. John Bevan writes in the program notes, “He considered serialism a terrible mistake. Accordingly, Creston’s music is always distinctly tonal in the modern American idiom and possessed of a strong rhythmic sense.” It would seem that Mr. Banks, like W.A. Mozart, wants his audiences to enjoy themselves with music that gives pleasure. Decruck, too, is unafraid of the occasional dalliance with diatonicity.
It was on the Brahms that things got really interesting Saturday. His Op. 120 sonatas for piano and clarinet, transcribed for viola and bassoon by the composer, aren’t quite a shoe-in for alto sax. But Steven Banks plays them with seeming ease, pulling off articulations and fingerings Paul Creston likely wouldn’t have called for. This requires of a sax player no small measure of virtuosity, even ingenuity, because — remember — the piece was written originally for clarinet. Banks proved to have all the chops necessary to getting the job done, and the overall effect was like something you’d expect from a high-wire act — a sense that someone had just survived an improbable and dangerous act.
Banks closed the show with his own four-movement composition, “Come as You Are,” a family-inspired piece for piano and tenor saxophone. On his website, Banks provides commentary on the work: “For several years, I have wanted to write a piece that was dedicated to my immediate family (my mother and three sisters) and the influence of my upbringing on my understanding of music and life in general…
“It seemed obvious to me that this piece needed to take influence from African-American church music in some way … In an effort to honor both my family and the church, I decided to write a four-movement work in which each movement would be dedicated to a different family member and take inspiration from their favorite Negro spiritual or sacred song.”
Playing a saxophone very softly is as difficult as playing air guitar loudly. (Try it at home sometime when you need to clear the room.) Steven Banks can play the saxophone whisper quiet — at the top of the instrument’s register. And his tone? Banks’ tone is difficult to describe, easy to enjoy, and at all times pleasing — unusually mellifluous for the saxophone, which, when handled carelessly, tends to sound like an enraged goose. But, with the tone he extracts so consistently from this instrument, Banks could play “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star,” and people would be rapt.
The concert with Steven Banks and Xak Bjerken was presented by Clarion Concerts, who will present Decca Classics artist, violinist Randall Goodsby in concert December 5 at Saint James Place.
