When John Adams decided to write a saxophone concerto, he first listened to some that previous composers had written, but he found that they didn't speak to him. Instead, he decided he'd get out his favorite jazz records for inspiration - from Charlie Parker and Eric Dophy to Wayne Shorter. The result was a concerto that was influenced more by jazz than classical music. Steve plays Adams' work and some others that have prominent rhythmic elements or "dance" themes in this week's episode (beginning the program with a piece by Andre Previn, who died this week at the age of 89).
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