Contributions to the saxophone canon by U.S.-born Black composers

Over the last few years, music composed by Black composers has seen more recognition, both for the purpose of practicing equality in a historically white-centered space, but also because their music deserves its place in the performance and pedagogical world.

This recording project features composers Kevin Day (b. 1996), Corey Dundee (b. 1988), Yusef Lateef (1920-2013), and Steven Banks (b. 1993). The selected works by these composers are, Unquiet Waters, Star Bits, Sonata No. 1 for alto saxophone and piano, and Come As You Are. The composers in this project draw influences from their varying backgrounds. Day draws inspiration from various musical styles, composers or other musical artists; Dundee has personified his temperament through the lens of a video game; Banks’ music directly addresses the human experience; and Lateef writes with a personal performance philosophy grounded in his religion. These varying influences are found within their compositions as specific passages, note patterns, quotations from other works, or as departures from Western-European classical norms.

With the completion of this project, I hope to contribute to the growing number of available resources on Black composers writing for saxophone, provide some of the earliest professional studio recordings of these works, recognize some of the many significant works composed by Black composers that I feel have a place on the forefront of our pedagogy, and most importantly, better educate myself on the rich history of African Americans and Black culture.