Breathe are an exciting six piece saxophone ensemble led by founder member, Mervin Samuels. It was formed to play his arrangements, compositions, and re imaginings of various pieces and songs that sparked his interest.
The music itself crosses musical styles and genre’s, from baroque and classical, to film music, gospel and M-BASE inspired contemporary jazz.
Samuels often considered the usual saxophone quartet format limiting and its sound, on occasion, ‘clunky’. By expanding to six instruments, greater depth and subtlety could be achieved, creating a more sonorous sound.
What started out as an experiment to try out Samuels’ sketches, has flourished into a dynamic re-invention of the saxophone ensemble.
Breathe are:
- Mervin Samuels – Soprano and Sopranino
- Nichola Pope – Soprano and Alto
- Tamás Gyurcsó – Alto
- Josh Johnson – Tenor
- Luke Pinkstone- Tenor
- Colin Izod – Baritone