stephen angus

boulder, CO USA

October 24, 2007

825 plays
7,425 views

hey, thanks for stopping by.

ask me anything.  even in a canned interview there are no silly questions.

Band/artist history

well, golly.  it's cliché, but i was classically trained on alto sax.  i played for years; through grade school, high school and into university to major in music performance.  played in many symphonic bands and jazz orchestras playing lead and first chair alto and baritone saxes.  dropped the major,  picked up the tenor sax and joined a regionally touring rock 'n roll band.  cut an album (yes, vinyl).  the band moved to l.a.... and i went to grad school for acting.  did i mention i'm an actor?

sold my horns.  i didn't play a note for... twenty years.

came to my senses a little while ago, aquired some nice vintage horns, and i'm getting more enjoyment than i remember having before...

Have you performed in front of an audience?

i do. currently i'm performing with two groups - the afronauts, a 9-piece afrobeat, ethiojazz, etc. band based in boulder, co.; and i'm one half of the duo 'beckwith angus', with jim beckwith- we play improvisational music to world fusion loops composed by jim for events and small venues. both groups play in the boulder/metro denver area. i'm also periodically involved with various experimental improvisational projects.

Your musical influences

as a sax player, all of the greats, of course.  gordon, coltrane, hawkins, young, rollins, getz, adderly, parker et. al., and anybody else who pours their heart out through the incredible soul-funnel we call the saxophone.

actually i try not to be "influenced" consciously, yet you are what you listen to (so don't listen to crap, people).

as a creative musician and open-hearted human being, i'm inspired by anything valid.  i'm moved by gypsy music, african musics, sufi, ragas, celtic, classic country western, reggae, ska, latin, '50's and '60's american jazz and rock and roll and soul and blues and jump; older jazz/swing/dixie, gamelan, 20th century classical- stravinsky in particular- and on and on.  thank god tastes change.

What equipment do you use?

'65 Buffet-Crampon Super Dyn-Action Alto Saxophone; Phil Barone, Dukoff d8 mouthpieces

'72 Selmer Mark VI Tenor Saxophone; '57 Dukoff stainless steel mouthpiece

'45 King Zephyr Baritone Saxophone; Otto link Super Tone Master 6✩ mouthpiece

Basho the Dog

MacBook Pro; Saffire LE firewire interface; Mackie mixer; DPA clip-on mic (live); Saffire ISA One mic pre; Rode NT1A condenser microphone; GarageBand recording software;

Anything else?

Thank you for Listening! More music to come...