“★★★★★ out of five–Performance, ★★★★★ out of five–Recording (John Adams City Noir; Saxophone Concerto; Nonesuch/St. Louis Symphony)”
“…a contrasting sense of solemnity followed…yet moving…”
[“SLSO fires on all cylinders with creative concert featuring ‘Bolero’”]
On Connesson’s ‘A Kind of Trane’: “Much of it sounded like dazzling improvisation…complete mastery of every nuance of phrase and melody”
“John Adams said he wouldn’t wish [that alto saxophone solo] on anyone, but Timothy McAllister dispatching it with wonderful grace on this world premiere evening.”
“an absolute master of the saxophone, and a composer’s dream musician!”
“a fearless musician and risk taker…a one-of-a-kind artist the way Yo-Yo Ma is”
“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.”
