I’ve always loved Stravinsky’s no-nonsense insights into creating music.  Like any freelance musician I find myself working in different stylistic idioms.  I’ve come to embrace the constraints imposed by having to stay within stylistic boundaries while striving to make a personal statement.  The compositions on this recording are conceived in that spirit, and are offered as tributes to the great saxophonists who have influenced me, along with a healthy dose of nostalgia for a bygone musical era.

ANDY BALLANTYNE