reFRAME by Jeffrey Heisler: Reimagined Works for Saxophone and Piano

reFRAME is the new album from saxophonist Jeffrey Heisler and pianist I-Chen Yeh, out now on AMP Recordings. The 17 tracks feature music by Katahj Copley, Cait Nishimura, Avner Dorman, Astor Piazzolla, John Williams, and Marc Mellits. Many of these works were never written for saxophone. Heisler reshapes them into fresh pieces for saxophone and piano.

Composers are continually reframing musical conventions, musical messages, and their own compositional identities as they experience new music, people, places, and ideas. Musical traditions are being updated and re-envisioned through transcultural exchange, interaction with other art forms, and technological advancements. The pieces on this album illustrate the depth and stylistic variety of a diverse group of composers, who have reframed structural frameworks and genres, and concocted a vast array of instrumental colors and timbres.

Repertoire for the saxophone has increased substantially in the 21st century, largely due to commissions and transcriptions by prominent saxophonists. Throughout his career, in consultation and collaboration with many acclaimed composers, Jeffrey Heisler has reframed the instrumentation of musical compositions that were not originally intended to be performed on the saxophone.

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Track List:
reFRAME
Katahj Copley

1. I. reFRACTED
2. II. reFLECTIONS
3. Ill. reAFFIRMED

4. she danced in the rain
Cait Nishimura

5. Vocalise 
Avner Dorman

6. Oblivion 
Astor Piazzolla I arr. Anderson

7. The Days Between 
John Williams I trans. Heisler

Discrete Structures
Marc Mellits

8.     I. Circular Structure
9.    II. Red Structure
10.   Ill. Survival Structure
11.   IV. Gold Structure
12.    V. Blue Structure
13.   VI. Tight Structure
14.  VII. Clock Structure
15. VIII. Liquid Structure
16.   IX. Shiny Structure
17.   X. Square Structure