Urban Sax
Encyclopedia
Urban Sax is an ensemble founded by the French
composer Gilbert Artman made up of massive numbers of saxophones, accompanied by percussion and sometimes voices. The group is directed by Artman and performs his compositions, which are generally repetitive and minimalist
, often sounding somewhat mechanistic rather than conventionally expressive.
The group was formed in 1973, when Artman organized a concert by a group of eight saxophonists he had produced at a classical music festival in Menton
, in the south of France
. In subsequent years, the number of players grew to 12, 16, 20, 24, and 30, and by the early 21st century, the group consisted of 52 musicians (with saxophones ranging from the soprano to bass registers). Artman frequently integrates local musicians and dancers into his performances, and thus the ensemble can encompass as many as 200 performers.
Urban Sax has performed throughout Europe, in Asia and at Expo 86 in Vancouver. The group's performances are performance art
happenings; players wear metallic space suit
-like costumes together with gas mask
s, and each performance is a unique ritualistic event that is planned for the particular architectural or natural space where it is to take place.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
composer Gilbert Artman made up of massive numbers of saxophones, accompanied by percussion and sometimes voices. The group is directed by Artman and performs his compositions, which are generally repetitive and minimalist
Minimalist music
Minimal music is a style of music associated with the work of American composers La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. It originated in the New York Downtown scene of the 1960s and was initially viewed as a form of experimental music called the New York Hypnotic School....
, often sounding somewhat mechanistic rather than conventionally expressive.
The group was formed in 1973, when Artman organized a concert by a group of eight saxophonists he had produced at a classical music festival in Menton
Menton
Menton is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.Situated on the French Riviera, along the Franco-Italian border, it is nicknamed la perle de la France ....
, in the south of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. In subsequent years, the number of players grew to 12, 16, 20, 24, and 30, and by the early 21st century, the group consisted of 52 musicians (with saxophones ranging from the soprano to bass registers). Artman frequently integrates local musicians and dancers into his performances, and thus the ensemble can encompass as many as 200 performers.
Urban Sax has performed throughout Europe, in Asia and at Expo 86 in Vancouver. The group's performances are performance art
Performance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
happenings; players wear metallic space suit
Space suit
A space suit is a garment worn to keep an astronaut alive in the harsh environment of outer space. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, and are necessary for extra-vehicular activity , work done outside spacecraft...
-like costumes together with gas mask
Gas mask
A gas mask is a mask put on over the face to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Some gas masks are also respirators, though the word...
s, and each performance is a unique ritualistic event that is planned for the particular architectural or natural space where it is to take place.