The saxophone came into existence as a classical instrument, but it was jazz music that has insured its place in history. Crossover features works by four composers that fuse these two worlds together.

Commissioned by The Apollo Saxophone Quartet of Manchester, England, Bob Mintzer's Quartet #1 includes several short, exposed solos for all, a full-length alto cadenza near the end of the slow second movement, and a fast-paced finale for an unforgettable finish. Drawing from his vast experience as a performing artist, Mintzer's writing for saxophones is truly idiomatic and wonderfully adventurous.

Graham Jesse's career as a prolific performer, composer, arranger, producer, and major contributor to Australian music, spans more than 30 years. For 18 years, Graham played in the Channel 9 Midday Show Studio Orchestra and as one of the staff arrangers for Channel 9 during this period, he also wrote numerous arrangements and orchestrations for a wide range of notable performers. This is a world premiere of his new Saxophone Quartet written for Nexas during the covid lockdown.

Carlos Azevedo defines himself above all as a composer. He moves with equal ease in the worlds of classical music and jazz, writing for the most varied formations, from the solo instrument to the orchestra – symphonic or jazz. This work was written for the Portuguese Quad Quartet and this performance is the Australian Premiere.

Saxophonist-composer Jeremy Rose leads a multi-dimensional career spanning a dozen releases of original music with collaborative and solo projects across the world, including The Earshift Orchestra, Jeremy Rose Quartet, and The Vampires. Nexas and Rose have been working on this project for a number of years now and are extremely excited to bring this new work to life.