ANDY MIDDLETON “THE EUROPEAN QUARTET LIVE” CD LINER NOTES For this CD I am honored to have recorded 6 of my pieces with my new quartet, featuring German pianist Tino Derado, now living in Berlin, American bassist Paul Imm, living in Hamburg, and American drummer Alan Jones, who has lived various places in Europe for years before moving back to his hometown of Portland, Oregon. I have now moved to Europe myself (Vienna), and I feel that this music reflects many of the new transformations in my life. Reiner Damisch recorded us during our performances in a small hall in Hannover, Germany and at the Jazzclub Birdland, in Hamburg, Germany on April 11 and 12, 2005, and Rick Savage mixed and mastered it in the US. With this band I feel more free, inspired, and absolutely lost in music than with any other group of musicians I have ever had the pleasure of playing. Individually and as a rhythm section these 3 men, Tino, Paul and Alan, are unfailingly energized and energizing, spontaneous, sympathetic, challenging, creative, unpredictable, grounded in the tradition and seeking new expression. From the first note to the last in any performance we are a unit, and now that I live in Europe I look forward with great enthusiasm to much creative music making with these 3. And the hang is great, too! This CD is dedicated to Christoph Eidens, a dearly departed friend who was a wonderful vibraphone player and a most beautiful human being. http://www.eidens.de/christoph/gaestebuch_set.htm The Andy Middleton Quartet performs original compositions that combine world music and European influences with the authentic feel of hard-swinging contemporary New York City jazz. Each composition takes the listener on a melodic journey through a landscape of deep harmonic colors and vibrant rhythms. Andy Middleton has long been considered by critics and his peers to be one of the world's top-tier jazz saxophonists. While a technically masterful player, Middleton's solos have been noted for their power of inspired imagination, rhythmic drive, lyricism and adventurous energy. Likewise, his compositions are both harmonically modern and lyrical with a clear sense of the tradition. Middleton’s unique voice as both a player and a composer/arranger has led jazz icons such as Dave Holland, Kenny Wheeler and Ralph Towner to record and perform with him. He has also performed/recorded with Maria Schneider, Renee Rosnes, Randy Brecker, Bill Evans, Lionel Hampton, Bob Mintzer, Joey Calderazzo, John Abercrombie, Steve Rodby and Adam Nussbaum. Middleton is a composer of trio, quartet, quintet, octet and big band jazz, a winner of numerous grants for composition and performance who, after living in New York City for 19 years now lives in Vienna, Austria, performing, composing and teaching at the Konservatorium Wien as the professor of Jazz Composition, Jazz Theory and Saxophone. Born in Harrisburg, PA, Andy received his masters degree in composition at the University of Miami. “Here is improvising and writing in its best form - really pretty amazing!” Michael Brecker “Andy Middleton represents the best of a new generation of jazz musicians.” David Liebman “There is one soloist who truly stands apart from the rest of the crowd, and that is Andy Middleton …, a wonderful, ingenious, melodic musician….” Saxophone Journal, USA “Andy Middleton affirms himself not only as a saxophone player but as a first class composer/ arranger.” JAZZ Magazine, France “… an accomplished composer as well as a smart post-bop tenor saxophonist.” The New York Times ! “A saxophonist with patient poise on the slow ones and fierce resolve on the fast ones.” The Village Voice (New York) ! “… solos that demonstrate the absolute mastery of his saxophones, in emotional and technical terms. Every note hits the mark, but also reveals the notable feature of leadership, that nothing is done halfway.” All About Jazz Italy ! “A musician’s musician, just like it says in books. The American living in Vienna spins fascinating webs of improvisation with long, drawn-out and intense melodies on the tenor saxophone that place him at the top of the international saxophone scene. Great music.” Jazzthing (Germany) “The European Quartet Live is an excellent album. The simplicity of that statement matches the music on the recording. What makes all of the numbers stand out is the wonderful work of Middleton, who is virtuosic in his tone, speed and concepts. His standmates are nearly as good, but he is the real star.” Pittsburgh Tribune-Review “Serendipitous, how a musician continues to grow. The European Quartet Live presents an Andy Middleton in top form, playing with his superb accompanists through a brilliant set balanced between lyrical melodic serenity and exciting freestyle excursions that is a true joy for a jazz fan. Excellent.” Amazon.de (Germany)