Fair & Balanced?

a political saxophone quartet in 1/4 tones (2004), c.7’

Since 1998, “Fair and Balanced” has been a slogan for the conservative-leaning FOX News Network who have even sued liberal-leaning political commentator Al Franken for using their patented phrase in the subtitle of a book he published last year.  (Perhaps I should be afraid of a lawsuit here as well.)  But with Fair and Balanced?, I have attempted to create music that is just that. Scored for saxophone quartet, an ensemble as equally matched as a string quartet, the four movements of Fair and Balanced? treat the four members of the saxophone quartet equally (for the most part, hence the question mark) and present musical material in which the 24 tones of the quartertone system carry equal weight.  The departure point for each of the movements is an interval that cycles the entire gamut of the 24 tones of the quartertone scale.

Available on PRISM Quartet: Dedication Innova Recordings)