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Andrew Rathbun

Toronto native Andrew Rathbun is widely esteemed as one of the most creative and accomplished saxophonists, composers and bandleaders of his generation. On tenor and soprano saxophones he has achieved a rare depth of lyricism, authoritative swing and compositional intelligence. Recording steadily as a leader since the late 1990s, he has documented his stirring original music with an array of extraordinary lineups, featuring the talents of such greats as Kenny Wheeler, Billy Hart, George Garzone, Phil Markowitz and Bill Stewart. “Rathbun’s lines dance and glide,” writes David Whiteis of JazzTimes, “reflecting both childlike wonder and well-honed artistry.”

Rooted in the fiery improvisatory legacy of post-bop jazz, Rathbun’s music is also deeply informed by classical composition. His works include song cycles, suites, and chamber and orchestral pieces for a wide range of ensembles. His 2005 duo release with pianist George Colligan, Renderings, features adaptations of Maurice Ravel and Federico Mompou, as well as an original seven-movement “Suite for Soprano Saxophone and Piano” inspired by the great Wayne Shorter. His 2010 release The Idea of North, inspired by the radio documentaries of Glenn Gould, includes a sextet arrangement of Christoph Glück’s “Minuet and Dance of the Blessed Spirits.” Rathbun has also written big band commissions for the Danish Radio Jazz Orchestra, the Brussels Jazz Orchestra, the Metropole Orkest and other ensembles, and performed and composed commercial music for roughly 10 years as well.

Another of Rathbun’s inspirations is poetry: his 1998 recording Jade set to music the verse of Cathy Song, while his 2000 follow-up True Stories focused on the work of fellow Canadian Margaret Atwood. On both these recordings, acclaimed Brazilian vocalist Luciana Souza captured the imagery and deep emotion of the poems while meeting every technical challenge posed by Rathbun’s involved orchestrations. Trumpeter Taylor Haskins played a major role on these early releases, not to mention Rathbun’s debut, Scatter Some Stones; he would later appear on Affairs of State, The Idea of North and two tracks from Numbers & Letters, Rathbun’s exploratory 2014 quartet session.

Rathbun’s 2002 release Sculptures (co-produced by Haskins) found him leading a quintet with trumpet legend and Toronto native Kenny Wheeler. JazzTimes declared of Sculptures: “[The music] cloaks subtle avant-garde proclivities in soft light and open air.” After the album release, Rathbun collaborated with Wheeler in a live large-ensemble setting at Birdland in New York, performing classic Wheeler compositions as well as new Rathbun works including the “Power Politics Suite.” After Wheeler’s death in 2014 at age 84, Rathbun led his own large ensemble at the Jazz Gallery for a performance in the trumpeter’s honor. Andrew Rathbun | Photo by Dominic Gladstone 123

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11
Album Review

Andrew Rathbun: The Speed Of Time

Read "The Speed Of Time" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Not one to avoid concepts and ambitious outings, Andrew Rathbun's to-date masterpiece, The Atwood Suites (Origin Records, 2018), explored the poetry of his countrywoman, writer Margaret Atwood. In 2023, he tackles time. Time is a funny thing. Its perceived speed is malleable. It tends toward an increasing velocity as one moves into middle age and beyond. It can crawl at a snail's pace (during a root canal treatment, for example) and it can race ahead with wild abandon--that ...

Album Review

Andrew Rathbun: Atwood Suites

Read "Atwood Suites" reviewed by Angelo Leonardi


Sassofonista e orchestratore canadese, Andrew Rathbun ha 47 anni e una ricca carriera alle spalle, svolta negli Stati Uniti con studi al New England Conservatory sotto la guida di Ran Blake e dal 1997 professionalmente a New York in vari contesti. A partire dal debutto del 1999 con Scatter Some Stones, ha inciso alcuni dischi da leader, il più noto dei quali è Sculpture (Fresh Sound 2002) inciso in quintetto col suo mentore Kenny Wheeler. Con quest'ultimo Rathbun ha collaborato ...

1
Album Review

Andrew Rathbun: Character Study

Read "Character Study" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


The political and social landscape of the last couple of years has inspired music that expresses anger, sorrow, solidarity and other strong feelings. For saxophonist Andrew Rathbun, the times have brought up reflections on what “character" means and what is the place of integrity, honesty and conviction in the modern world. Some of this was addressed in his recent large ensemble recording, Atwood Suites, (Origin, 2018) and it's also the focus of this quintet disc. Without pointing fingers ...

4
Album Review

Andrew Rathbun Large Ensemble: Atwood Suites

Read "Atwood Suites" reviewed by Jerome Wilson


Andrew Rathbun is a Canadian saxophonist who has made a major musical statement here with this collection of suites, two of which are based on the poetry of author Margaret Atwood. Rathbun's writing shows the influence of another Canadian, Kenny Wheeler, in its lush sonority, the frequent gorgeous flugelhorn solos by Tim Hagans and the role of Luciana Souza, who both sings Atwood's poetry with gentle forcefulness and moans wordlessly within the orchestral ensembles, the same way Wheeler often utilized ...

4
Album Review

Andrew Rathbun: Atwood Suites

Read "Atwood Suites" reviewed by Paul Rauch


The mingling of jazz music and poetry is not a new concept. It has always been an amiable, yet at times, uncomfortable fit. From a verse standpoint, it is in many ways liberating. While most vocalized lyrics and spoken word forms rely on rhyme to speak to cadence and rhythm, free verse poetry liberates the narrative from the confinements of structure, and much like an improvising instrumentalist, takes spoken language into a intertwining duality with the melody within harmonic dimension. ...

2
Album Review

Andrew Rathbun: Atwood Suites

Read "Atwood Suites" reviewed by Friedrich Kunzmann


In a way, the Atwood Suites have been in the works for almost two decades. When Kenny Wheeler approached Toronto native Andrew Rathbun in search for a band in 2001, the former furthermore inquired if the latter would like a composition of his own penning to be performed beside Wheeler's “Suite Time Suite." Consequently, the “Power Politics Suite," which makes for the second half of the first CD, was born, with Wheeler's and vocalist Luciana Souza's sound specifically in mind. ...

8
Album Review

Andrew Rathbun Large Ensemble: Atwood Suites

Read "Atwood Suites" reviewed by Dan Bilawsky


The marriage between jazz and poetry is having a true moment in the present artistic sphere. The two have long mixed and mingled, oft proving sympathetic and symbiotic in their multidirectional moves, unique cadences, and improvisational capacities. But never before has the connection been so strong and centralized. With drummer Matt Wilson's triumphant encounter with the work of Carl Sandburg, soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom's exploration of Emily Dickinson's writing, saxophonist Benjamin Boone's collaboration with Philip Levine, and a handful ...

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Recording

Andrew Rathbun | New Album Out On Steeplechase Records

Andrew Rathbun | New Album Out On Steeplechase Records

Source: Jazzfuel

Saxophonist, composer & Toronto native Andrew Rathbun has achieved a rare depth of lyricism, authoritative swing and compositional intelligence in nearly 20 years as a recording artist. Voted as a ‘rising star’ in this year’s Downbeat Critics Poll, he adds to his portfolio of stirring original albums this winter, with the release of Character Study on Steeplechase Records. Joined by Tim Hagan (trumpet), Gary Versace (piano), Jay Anderson (bass) & Bill Stewart (drums), the album showcases a sound rooted in ...

Recording

Andrew Rathbun: Atwood Suites

Andrew Rathbun: Atwood Suites

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

Setting poetry to music is nothing new. Setting Margaret Atwood's poetry to music is a different matter. Most people probably aren't even aware that novelist Atwood wrote poetry. She has. Toronto saxophonist and composer Andrew Rathbun has taken We Are Hard on Each Other and Two Islands: Excerpt From Circle/Mud Poem and set the prose to music on Atwood Suites (Origin). But this isn't ordinary music. First, it's richly orchestral. Second, it's original and expansive. And third, Rathbun invited Luciana ...

1

Recording

Andrew Rathbun Releases New Jazz Orchestra Recording on Origin Records Composer-Arranger Sets Margaret Atwood Poems to music on 2-CD set

Andrew Rathbun Releases New Jazz Orchestra Recording on Origin Records Composer-Arranger Sets Margaret Atwood Poems to music on 2-CD set

Source: Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity

Continuing a prolific streak over the past two decades, saxophonist-composer-arranger Andrew Rathbun premieres three new suites of moving, meaningful music on his triumphant large ensemble debut for Origin Records. Two of the suites, “Two Islands” and “Power Politics,” are set to the evocative poetry of Margaret Atwood, who has enjoyed a rediscovery in the wake of the popularity of the Golden Globe-winning original series on Hulu, The Handmaid’s Tale, based on the Toronto native’s darkly dystopian and some would say ...

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Performance / Tour

Firehouse 12 to Present the Andrew Rathbun Quartet November 16th

Firehouse 12 to Present the Andrew Rathbun Quartet November 16th

Source: Improvised Communications

On Friday, November 16th, New Haven's Firehouse 12 will present a two set performance by the Andrew Rathbun Quartet. The group augments New York-based saxophonist/composer Andrew Rathbun's trio, featuring longtime collaborators bassist Scott Lee and drummer Jeff Hirschfield, with noted tenor saxophonist George Garzone. This configuration will be touring the Northeast in mid- November performing selections from its 2006 release, Shadow Forms (SteepleChase).

“There is a lot to like about Shadow Forms," wrote All About Jazz reviewer Ken Dryden, “as ...

118

Performance / Tour

Andrew Rathbun Trio + Mystery Guest@ Cornelia Street Cafe Wed. June 29th @ 8:30 and 10:00pm

Andrew Rathbun Trio + Mystery Guest@ Cornelia Street Cafe Wed. June 29th @ 8:30 and 10:00pm

Source: All About Jazz

Andrew Rathbun Trio + MYSTERY GUEST @ Cornelia Street Cafe Wed. June 29th @ 8:30 and 10:00pm 29 Cornelia St btwn Bleecker & West 4th Info: 212-989-9318 www.corneliastreetcafe.com andrew.rathbun. saxophone scott lee. bass owen howard. drums SPECIAL MYSTERY GUEST John McNeil-trumpet Canadian born reedist Andrew Rathbun initially attracted attention with the complex, ambitious charts he documented on a string of fine records under his name. But the tunes Rathbun (and Scott Lee) penned for his forthcoming release THIS FALL afford ...

81

Performance / Tour

Andrew Rathbun/Owen Howard Quintet @ Top of the Senator, Toronto

Andrew Rathbun/Owen Howard Quintet @ Top of the Senator, Toronto

Source: All About Jazz

Andrew Rathbun and Owen Howard bring their New York based ensemble to Toronto for a stint at the Top of the Senator from February 24 to 29. The first set is at 9.30 pm except for Sunday when it is at 8.30 pm.

The ensemble plays music that has a wide palette of textures and moods. In playing original music composed by Rathbun and Howard, the group will broaden your ideas of what jazz is and what jazz can be. ...

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Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

The Speed Of Time

SteepleChase Records
2023

buy

Planets

Independent
2021

buy

Northern Noir

SteepleChase Records
2020

buy

Atwood Suites

Origin Records
2018

buy

Character Study

SteepleChase Records
2018

buy

Two Islands III

From: Atwood Suites
By Andrew Rathbun

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