New Focus Duo: The Classical Connection

Award-winning piano-saxophone team Euan Stevenson and Konrad Wiszniewski’s New Focus: The Classical Connection gives fascinating insights into the relationship between classical music and jazz.

In this superb, informal presentation two of the UK’s leading jazz musicians improvise a Bach-style reinvention of a well-known standard and an arrangement of the Duke Ellington Orchestra’s theme tune, Take the A Train in the style of a Mozart sonata, among other delights.

As well as being a superb pianist, Stevenson is a composer who has premiered works on both sides of the Atlantic and whose recent commissions include an arrangement of the Ukrainian national anthem for renowned violin virtuoso Pinchas Zukerman and the English Chamber Orchestra. He is also the co-composer, arranger and pianist with the multi-award-winning singer, Georgia Cecile.

Saxophonist Wiszniewski is one of the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra’s star soloists and twice winner of the Best Instrumentalist title at the Scottish Jazz Awards. His improvisations are always potent, soulful and exciting and have led to him being in-demand as a session player across a range of styles including pop, soul, folk and jazz. Away from New Focus and the Scottish National Jazz Orchestra he features with the current Jazz FM favourites Mama Terra.

In The Classical Connection, Stevenson and Wiszniewski move between styles with consummate ease. You’ll discover why romantic composers like Chopin, Rachmaninov and Duke Ellington all loved the same key. Learn why Miles Davis and Eric Satie were kindred spirits and hear brilliantly performed jazz standards and original compositions from Stevenson and Wiszniewski’s acclaimed New Focus albums for the Whirlwind label.

“They are both musicians with an instinctive desire to communicate. Not only was the verbal explanation kept short and pithy, but the musical points were always very succinctly made. The audience went home royally entertained, and probably a little better educated as well.” – Keith Bruce, The Herald