Julian Arguelles

"It’s good to find a record that does justice to British saxophonist Julian Argüelles extraordinary talents. Julian plays to his lyrical, passionate and highly individual best on soprano and tenor."
Time Out

‘This was a performance to take Arguelles into the highest ranks of today’s jazz masters’Birmingham Post

Prior to their national tour, we take some time out to talk to Julian Arguelles, saxophonist from the UK and Sean Foran from Trichotomy.

JK: How did this collaboration come about?
SF: I'd always been aware of Julian and his music…. probably mostly through his work with John Taylor (a former teacher of mine in the UK). I had thought that he'd be a fantastic collaborator for the trio….. and then I was able to meet up with his manager in Brisbane last year. Luckily the timing was right and we were able to program shows in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.

JK: What can audiences expect to hear?
SF: It's going to be quite cool…. there are some new pieces, plus interesting reworkings of existing Trichotomy material. Julian has also sent some of his tunes…. which we love… .and actually (I think), sound a lot like the kind of music we make in the trio…. It's quite a natural collaboration!

JK: Audiences in Australia haven’t heard your work live before. You seem to draw on many influences from around the world and I know that you have recently been doing a reunion of Loose Tubes.  Would you like to describe your style and influences?

JA: Its always hard talking about your own playing, because its often not an accurate portrayal. But i would like to think that my style originally grew out of the great jazz tradition. My early influences were Bird, Coltrane, Rollins and Jarrett, later I got into Ornette too. Then I guess i got into the whole ECM thing, with its emphasis on individuality and fusing other sorts of music with improvised music. And this led me into thinking about my own identity, British/Spanish, certainly European. Of course apart from the great American tradition I've been influenced by older musicians in Europe: the early music of Jan Garbarek, Kenny Wheeler, John Taylor and John Surman etc. I've also been influenced by my contemporaries such as Django Bates and Mario Laginha.

JK: What is inspiring you at the moment?
JA: There is so much great music out there, its impossible not to be inspired. I can still listen to all the musicians listed above and love their music now as much as I ever did. I'm also inspired by the young musicians I hear all over Europe and of course there is always some great music coming from the US.

JK: What are you working on? Current and future projects.
JA: Well, I've just released a quartet CD with John Taylor, Dave Holland and Martin France called 'Circularity'. I have a regular quartet with Kit Downes, Sam Lasserson, and James Maddren, young musicians from London. I still have my octet which is Ensemble In Residence at University Of York. I'm travelling a lot in mainland Europe, playing with musicians from various countries, and often doing projects featuring my own arrangements with various big bands. Loose Tubes has just finished a two week tour. There is always lots of nice things to look forward. I'm also trying hard to study and practice more, there is still a lot to learn.

Tour dates

30 May, Melbourne Jazz Festival, Australia, with Trichotomy

31 May, SIMA, The Sound Lounge, Sydney, Australia, with Trichotomy

4 June, Brisbane Jazz Festival,QLD Composers World Premiere Event

7 June, Brisbane Jazz Festival, Australia, with Trichotomy

For more information and to hear Julian's music www.julianarguelles.com

For more information on Trichotomy www.trichotomymusic.com/

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