“…breathtaking and spectacular…a revolution displayed in the hands of an artist…”

Donald Sinta Earl V. Moore Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Saxophone, The University of Michigan

“Adams, a long-standing jazz fan, writes expertly for the instrument. And the soloist Timothy McAllister makes an excellent advocate…we hear plenty of seductive sounds, with subtle echoes of composers including Debussy and Holst. The effect is atmospheric, and it’s hard not to be carried along by the work’s vigour, fearlessly embraced by McAllister and the BBC Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop.”

Hannah Nepil Financial Times (UK) (9/7/14)

“The star of the show was the saxophonist Timothy McAllister, all pep and bounce and loose-limbed lyricism in John Adams’s 2013 Saxophone Concerto. It reads like a love letter to the giants of be-bop and swing, with orchestration as plush as a velvet banquette, honeyed harmonies from a choir of flutes and clarinets, and mirror-ball figures for celesta. At ease and alert, McAllister dazzled and crooned…an American dream of neon signage and slick city streets.”

Anna Picard The Times (UK) (9/7/14)

“Timothy McAllister flew through complicated passagework, produced high notes of arresting intensity and intoned lyrical lines with soul and playfulness”

Daniel Hathaway ClevelandClassical.Com (10/18/14)

“Intriguing conversant duets are delivered by Timothy McAllister on alto or soprano sax alongside pianist Liz Ames. The two create a wide spectrum of moods and colors, forming a graceful unison trail on “Painting With Knives”…The two jab like middleweights on the punchy “Get Up!” and are most jazzy on the bright “Obstacle Illusion”, but throughout the two work well with volleys, relays and responses. Modern sonatas.”

George W. Harris Jazz Weekly (October 2022)

“a fearless musician and risk taker…a one-of-a-kind artist the way Yo-Yo Ma is”

John Adams Pulitzer Prize Laureate and Grammy-winning composer

“a highly engaging venture into the spirit of the riff, so to speak, without ever explicitly acknowledging the roots of that spirit in Bird’s solos…This recording is particularly satisfying, not only for the facility with which McAllister jumps through all of the hoops that Adams has created but also for the informed rhetorical context that Robertson establishes as conductor.”

Stephen Smoliar Stephen Smoliar, The Examiner (5/8/14)

Adolphus Hailstork

Saxophone Concerto (2024) for alto saxophone and string orchestra

Dedicated to Timothy McAllister and commissioned by Gail Straith and the Michigan Orchestra Repertoire for Equity (MORE) Fund, this new concerto by acclaimed composer Adolphus Hailstork receives its World Premiere in Ann Arbor on February 2, 2025 with the University Symphony Orchestra under Kenneth Kiesler and its co-premiere and recording for NAXOS under JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra on May 30, 2025.

AVAILABLE NOW FOR BOOKING! MORE DETAILS SOON!

Booking Information

Martha Woods
President
Jonathan Wentworth Associates Ltd.
6118 40th Avenue
Hyattsville, Maryland 20782-3012