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Julian Arguelles

Award-winning saxophonist and composer Julian Argüelles plays a unique mix of exciting British contemporary jazz infused with Spanish rhythms, South African grooves, brass band and classical influences. An exceptionally gifted musician, he has been compared to sax legends Wayne Shorter and Charles Lloyd, while his on-stage chemistry with the Julian Argüelles Quartet has been likened to Keith Jarett’s renowned 1970s line-up.

Argüelles’ rapidly growing audience, built over the past 30 years, has an extraordinary reach for a jazz artist. His concerts attract a wide ranging age from early 20s upwards. Always keen to diversify, Argüelles has begun to reach out to jazz and classical music fans across Europe through his work with Laginha Argüelles Norbakken Trio, with superstar Portuguese pianist Mário Laginha and the phenomenal Norwegian percussionist, Helge Andreas Norbakken.

"Whatever the format, Arguelle's music imbues depth, complexity, sonority and above all, a musical generosity of spirit which simply electrifies the bandstand." Kenneth Killeen, Improvised Music Company Ireland, 2019

Argüelles’ management is pro-active in the promotion of concerts, developing innovative press strategies, building lasting relationships with journalists, and continuous engagement with fans. Social media plays a large part of any campaign, raising awareness, growing our base, and increasing ticket sales through inventive ‘RT-to-win’ merch giveaways, artist interaction competitions and exclusive releases.

Julian is currently professor of jazz saxophone at the Institute of Jazz, Graz, Austria. More information HERE.

He was awarded a Fellowship from the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire for his services to jazz in 2017 and is a recipient of a Parliamentary Jazz Award (2016) for his CD "Let it be Told" (Basho).

Awards

Parliamentary Jazz Award best CD, Let it be Told (Basho) 2016 Jazz Composers Alliance Composition Award from the USA


Tags

6
Album Review

Martin Iaies featuring Julian Arguelles: New Beginnings

Read "New Beginnings" reviewed by Chris May


Born in Argentina but resident in Graz, Austria since 2019, Martin Iaies' aptly titled New Beginnings is the guitarist's second album, following Rewind & FF (El Club del Disco, 2018). And it is a zinger. In Graz, Iaies completed formal guitar studies in 2022, and recorded New Beginnings the same year. He leads a quartet of Austrian-based musicians: Serbian bassist Miloš Čolović, drummer Andreas Reisenhofer and British saxophonist Julian Argüelles, the eldest player in the lineup, who ...

4
Album Review

Julian Arguelles: Tonadas

Read "Tonadas" reviewed by Roger Farbey


Saxophonist supremo Julian Argüelles previously worked with the inventive pianist Ivo Neame on Escape Hatch's Roots Of Unity (Whirlwind, 2016) and with bassist Sam Lasserson and drummer James Maddren on his album Tetra (Whirlwind 2015). With over a dozen albums recorded as leader, and with his essential contribution as a member of the inimitable big band Loose Tubes, his talent is not to be ignored. If that curriculum vitae wasn't enough, he's also recorded or worked with the likes of ...

4
Live Review

Live From Old York: Julian Argüelles, Poltergeist, Dr. Feelgood & North Mississippi All-Stars

Read "Live From Old York: Julian Argüelles, Poltergeist, Dr. Feelgood & North Mississippi All-Stars" reviewed by Martin Longley


The Julian Argüelles Quartet The University Of York October 12, 2013 Saxophonist Julian Argüelles grew up in Birmingham, spent much of his career in London and can now be found stomping around the coastal village of Belhaven in Scotland. Over the years, he's developed an ongoing relationship with The University Of York, on both the teaching and performance fronts. This gig gave Argüelles the opportunity to present his current youthfully spry cohorts, nearing ...

396
Album Review

Julian Arguelles: Momenta

Read "Momenta" reviewed by Chris May


Following fast on the delicately wrought solo album Inner Voices (Tone Of A Pitch, 2008), on which Julian Arguelles played a panoply of overdubbed saxophones, clarinets and flutes, here's a more extrovert outing from the lyrical and emotionally engaged British reed player. Momenta was made with the 16-piece Frankfurt Radio Bigband, and has the added bonus of rising star Gwilym Simcock, more usually associated with the saxophonist Tim Garland, as featured pianist.

During the 1980s, Arguelles spent four ...

279
Album Review

Julian Arguelles: Inner Voices

Read "Inner Voices" reviewed by Chris May


If a solo album by a saxophonist sounds a little dry and rigorous ... wait! Julian Arguelles' Inner Voices dodges any such preconceptions, delivering instead a melodic, foot-tapping hour of gentle, feel-good music. An album it closely resembles isn't in fact a solo saxophone album at all, but fellow British reed player Finn Peters' mellifluous Butterflies (Accidental, 2008), an engaging confection of strong tunes played by close-harmonized flutes and saxophones over supple motor rhythms, in which the jazz tradition is ...

170
Album Review

Julian Arguelles: Partita

Read "Partita" reviewed by Nic Jones


Partita, the sixth CD to come out under the leadership of Julian Argüelles, consists of fifteen tracks occupying less than 48 minutes, and over half of them don't even top the two-minute mark. Argüelles concentrates more or less exclusively on his tenor sax for the longer tracks, while the snippets are literally too short to merit prolonged discussion. It all makes for frustrating listening.

The meditative air of the relatively extended “Warm Winter Coat Of Spruce features Argüelles overdubbing various ...

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1

Event

Edition Records to release saxophonist Julian Argüelles' back catalog recordings including Phaedrus

Edition Records to release saxophonist Julian Argüelles' back catalog recordings including Phaedrus

Source: Cathie Rae

Edition Records will release five sought-after Julian Argüelles back catalogue albums on July 26, 2019, including his very first album as a leader, Phaedrus, celebrating 30 years since it was recorded in 1989. Described as “...a gifted artist currently in his sophisticated prime" by renowned jazz critic John Fordham, award-winning British saxophonist & composer Julian Argüelles has, to date, recorded fifteen CDs as a leader. He's is about to make some of his back catalogue available for streaming over summer ...

General: “One is left almost speechless with admiration" THE INDEPENDENT (UK)

“...when Argüelles says something, you believe it, and that is the rarest of musical gifts." Cormak Larkin, Irish Times (Ireland)

“Argüelles is a gifted artist currently in his sophisticated prime.” John Fordham, The Guardian (UK)

Tonadas, Julian Argüelles Quartet (Edition) SELECTED REVIEWS 5 STAR review, BBC Music Magazine “The delicious opening notes…tell you something good is going to happen...one of Europe’s finest, most in demand, jazz men…this programme of sparkling, original tunes explores that Latin heritage”

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John Coltrane
saxophone
Charlie Parker
saxophone, alto
Evan Parker
saxophone, soprano
Kenny Wheeler
flugelhorn

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

New Beginnings

Ears And Eyes Records
2023

buy

Atlântico

Edition Records
2020

buy

Tonadas

Edition Records
2018

buy

Setembro

Edition Records
2017

buy

Momenta

Basho Records
2009

buy

Inner Voices

Tone of a Pitch Music
2008

buy

Castelar

From: New Beginnings
By Julian Arguelles

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