Salt of the Earth Reviews!!

Well, after the first performance of Andy Scott's Tuba Concerto, the reviews have now come out in a few of the brass banding magazines and websites. I thoroughly enjoyed playing Andy's piece and I am very much looking forward to performing the piece again and there are also plans to record the piece very soon too!!

"In the world premiere of saxophonist Andy Scott's work for solo tuba and band, Salt of the Earth, the soloist was the band's Leslie Neish, who yet again astonished the audience with some awe-inspiring playing. Beginning with a cadenza, tinged with references to Eastern European folk music, built up a fabulous head of steam - it was difficult for band and soloist, but executed with apparent ease.
The second movement, in a slow 9/8, is reminiscent of an Ella Fitzgerald song. A seven-bar tune was passed around the band, while the soloist wove an improvised line between them. The last movement was a Latin affair and was enjoyed by band, soloist and audience. Full of flair and style, Les Neish was rightly given a standing ovation following a breathtaking performance of a fantastic new piece." Peter Meechan




"As a much sought after saxophonist Andy Scott has spent much of his life in the big band world. As a composer however he is largely self taught. His double concerto for two saxophones and wind band, Dark Rain, earned him a British Composer Award in 2006 whilst his new 'Tuba Concerto' - 'Salt of the Earth', represents his foray into the brass band repertoire.
The concerto’s title is a double-entendre, partly derived from the salt mines near the composer’s Cheshire home and partly, as he mentioned in his introduction prior to the performance, from the “down to earth nature” of the bands people he had so far encountered.
Scott’s trade mark language is a driving fusion of big band sounds, funk rock rhythms and cutting edge cross-over harmonies. On the evidence here it’s a hugely involving and exciting mix and Les Neish and the band simply revelled in it all.
Launching with a daunting unaccompanied cadenza, the opening movement soon gathered momentum, combining the big band influence with rhythms and time signatures derived from Bulgarian folk music and giving the soloist ample opportunity for multiphonic pyrotechnics. Charles Mingus was the inspiration for the laid back slow movement, played with a great feel for the lyrical melodic line by Neish whilst the final movement tested both band and soloist, the band responding in magnificent style with tremendous work from the cornets and trombones in particular. This was one of those pieces that left the feeling of immediately wanting to hear it again; fortunately the forthcoming Radio Three broadcast should give an opportunity for just that." Christopher Thomas