Saxophonist and composer Rob Yockney is a member of The Big Noise Street Band based in Taunton, and attends the Bristol Jazz Workshop, and has composed music featuring saxophone, for the projects Impressions of … and Que Pasa? a spoken word and music show with poets Chris Waters and Chris Fogg.
(Photo by Justin Yockney)
Throughout long periods during 2020 and 2021, live performance was restricted and Rob took this opportunity to focus on composition, creating a series of pieces relating to his feelings of the coronavirus pandemic and its impact, and a suite of music around his experiences kayaking. It was a kayaking experience which led to his discovery of a beach on the Jurassic Coast and the composition Ammonite Beach.
Ammonite Beach features and extended instrumentation with: bass clarinet, marimba, cello, viola and violin added to a conventional sax, piano, bass and drums quartet.
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During 2020, Rob reworked the introduction to the first piece written for the Impressions of … project, Machu Picchu. The introduction to the piece is a haunting melody played on the bass clarinet, and this was augmented with a tenor saxophone harmony line to create Machu Picchu Part 1. This and the original were both inspired by a visit to Machu Picchu in 2003 and conjure up the atmosphere and magic of this amazing place.
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Rob Yockney 