Rova Saxophone Quartet
Encyclopedia
The Rova Saxophone Quartet is a San Francisco-based saxophone quartet formed in October 1977 at the same time as their "less adventurous" but better known colleagues the World Saxophone Quartet
. The name "Rova" is an acronym
formed from the last initials of the founding members: Jon Raskin, Larry Ochs
, Andrew Voigt and Bruce Ackley. Metalanguage Records
was founded in 1978 by Henry Kaiser
and Ochs. It showcased Rova as well as many independent artists and produced the Rova Arts Festival in 1980. O-art.org
Rova has become an important leader in the movement of genre-bending music that has its roots in post-bop free jazz
, avant-rock, and 20th century new music as well as traditional and popular styles of Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States. While much of Rova's music is composed by its members, the group has also collaborated with and commissioned new works. Since its founding, Rova has released over two dozen recordings of original music.
In noting Rova's role in developing the all-saxophone ensemble as "a regular and conceptually wide-ranging unit," The Penguin Guide to Jazz calls its music "a teeming cosmos of saxophone sounds" created by "deliberately eschewing conventional notions about swing [and] prodding at the boundaries of sound and space..." Likewise Jazz: The Rough Guide notes, "Highly inventive, eclectic and willing to experiment, Rova [is] arguably the most exciting of the saxophone quartets to emerge in the format's late '70s boom." They have collaborated with many musicians and composers, including Terry Riley
(Chanting the Light of Foresight
), Fred Frith
(Freedom in Fragments
), Annie Gosfield
, John Zorn
and Alvin Curran
.
World Saxophone Quartet
The World Saxophone Quartet is a jazz ensemble founded in 1977, implementing elements of free funk and African jazz into their musical routines.-History:...
. The name "Rova" is an acronym
Acronym and initialism
Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations formed from the initial components in a phrase or a word. These components may be individual letters or parts of words . There is no universal agreement on the precise definition of the various terms , nor on written usage...
formed from the last initials of the founding members: Jon Raskin, Larry Ochs
Larry Ochs (musician)
Larry Ochs is an American jazz saxophonist and composer.Ochs studied trumpet briefly but concentrated on tenor and sopranino saxophones. He worked as a record producer and founded his own label, Metalanguage Records, in 1978, in addition to operating the Twelve Stars studio in California...
, Andrew Voigt and Bruce Ackley. Metalanguage Records
Metalanguage Records
Metalanguage Records was founded in 1978 by Henry Kaiser and Larry Ochs. It showcased Rova as well as many independent artists and produced the Rova Arts Festival in 1980.-Discography:*ML 101 Rova Saxophone Quartet - Cinema Rovaté 1978...
was founded in 1978 by Henry Kaiser
Henry Kaiser (musician)
Henry Kaiser is an American guitarist and composer.Recording and performing prolifically in many styles of music, Kaiser is a fixture on the San Francisco Bay Area music scene. He is considered a member of the "first generation" of American free improvisers.-Biography:His grandfather was the...
and Ochs. It showcased Rova as well as many independent artists and produced the Rova Arts Festival in 1980. O-art.org
Rova has become an important leader in the movement of genre-bending music that has its roots in post-bop free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
, avant-rock, and 20th century new music as well as traditional and popular styles of Africa, Asia, Europe and the United States. While much of Rova's music is composed by its members, the group has also collaborated with and commissioned new works. Since its founding, Rova has released over two dozen recordings of original music.
In noting Rova's role in developing the all-saxophone ensemble as "a regular and conceptually wide-ranging unit," The Penguin Guide to Jazz calls its music "a teeming cosmos of saxophone sounds" created by "deliberately eschewing conventional notions about swing [and] prodding at the boundaries of sound and space..." Likewise Jazz: The Rough Guide notes, "Highly inventive, eclectic and willing to experiment, Rova [is] arguably the most exciting of the saxophone quartets to emerge in the format's late '70s boom." They have collaborated with many musicians and composers, including Terry Riley
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell Riley, is an American composer intrinsically associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music and was a pioneer of the movement...
(Chanting the Light of Foresight
Chanting the Light of Foresight
Chanting the Light of Foresight is a 1987 composition by Terry Riley written for and commissioned by the Rova Saxophone Quartet, though during the course of the composition it was decided that Rova would compose "The Chord of War" and "The Pipes of Medb/Medb's Blues" contains improvisation.The...
), Fred Frith
Fred Frith
Fred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
(Freedom in Fragments
Freedom in Fragments
Freedom in Fragments is a studio album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It was composed by Frith in 1993 as "a suite of 23 pieces for saxophone quartet" , and was performed by the Rova Saxophone Quartet between February 1999 and January 2000 in San Francisco. The album was...
), Annie Gosfield
Annie Gosfield
Annie Gosfield is a New York composer who specializes in using detuned or out of tune samples and industrial noises. Her work often contains improvisation and frequently uses extended techniques and/or altered musical instruments...
, John Zorn
John Zorn
John Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, arranger, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn is a prolific artist: he has hundreds of album credits as performer, composer, or producer...
and Alvin Curran
Alvin Curran
Composer Alvin Curran , is the co-founder, with Frederic Rzewski and Richard Teitelbaum, of Musica Elettronica Viva, and a former student of Elliott Carter. Curran's music often makes use of electronics and environmental found sounds....
.
Discography
- 2002: Fred FrithFred FrithFred Frith is an English multi-instrumentalist, composer and improvisor.Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Frith was also a member of Art Bears, Massacre and Skeleton Crew...
- Freedom in FragmentsFreedom in FragmentsFreedom in Fragments is a studio album by English guitarist, composer and improvisor Fred Frith. It was composed by Frith in 1993 as "a suite of 23 pieces for saxophone quartet" , and was performed by the Rova Saxophone Quartet between February 1999 and January 2000 in San Francisco. The album was... - 2003: Rova Orkestrova - Electric Ascension
- Alvin Curran & Rova Saxophone Quartet - Electric Rags II
- Beat Kennel (Black Saint)
- From the Bureau of Both (Black Saint)
- The Works (Black Saint)
- John Coltrane's Ascension (Black Saint)
- The Works (Volume 2) (Black Saint)
- The Works (Volume 3) (Black Saint)
- Totally Spinning (Black Saint)
- Rova Plays Lacy: Favorite Street (Black Saint)
External links
- Rova.org
- Epitonic.com: Rova featuring a track from As Was