Nexas Quartet | Gershwin Album Launch
9 August, 2025, Utzon Room, Sydney, NSW
Four saxophones sound a bit excessive, but not when you hear them played by Nexas, a quartet which has performed with few changes for over twenty years. Indeed, the sounds were so intertwined and complementary that it sounded just like a classical wind quartet but more engaging. The saxophone has such an attractive mellow and versatile sound that I’m surprised that it is not included in more modern orchestral works. On Friday in the beautifully situated Utzon Room, we heard three founder members namely Michael Duke (soprano), Nathan Henshaw (tenor), Jay Byrnes (bass); while Nick Russoniello (alto) has joined more recently.
The programme was a tribute to George Gershwin who is considered to be an important link between Jazz and classical music, another being his friend and mentor Maurice Ravel. Well known for his catchy songs, his work progressed in leaps and bounds including a Piano Concerto and a Jazz opera until his life was tragically cut short by a brain tumour. Who knows what boundaries would have been crossed were it not for this untimely event.
We first heard a lullaby which was far from sending us to sleep, followed by three preludes the last of which is well-known and deeply jazz-bluesy. Then followed Summertime from Porgy and Bess and a spritely arrangement of American in Paris – did they have that many taxi horns in the French capital!? Certainly, it seemed that the piece was written with this group in mind!
No Gershwin concert would be complete without a performance of Rhapsody in Blue. The composer was initially reluctant to write a concerto with jazz themes as proposed by band leader Paul Whiteman but rhythms he perceived on a train journey from New York to Boston inspired him to complete the work in only five weeks. It has undergone numerous revisions and interpretations and in its initial form, the orchestra included three saxophones.
Pianist Vatche Jambazian joined Nexas in an adaptation by himself, the group and friends and the result was captivating. I actually preferred this version to the usual orchestral arrangement. The melding of the four saxophones with the piano produced a supremely jazzy effect – obviously the piano was dominant but never intrusive. Vatche is well-known to many as a member of the Omega Ensemble and he played with flair and accuracy.
The audience demanded encores and three was not nearly enough, but one could forgive the group for being exhausted after the rigours of the Concerto.
For info and to purchase the album – go here >>
