"Thar They Blow"

Take six musicians, add seven sizes of saxophones, and garnish heavily with humor and fun, and you have The Nuclear Whale Saxophone Orchestra. The Whales have changed their pod members slightly since their spawning in 1981, but they haven't changed their creative approach to the saxophone.

The NWSO (for short) has five CD's to their credit: The Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra, Whalin', Thar They Blow, Gone Fission, and their newest, Isotopia. The pod members for Isotopia are as follows: Kelley Hart-Jenkins (Sopranino, Soprano, Alto, Tenor Saxes), Ann Stamm Merrell (Baritone Sax), Dale Mills (Alto, Tenor Saxes), Art Springs (Tenor, Baritone, Bass Saxes), Don Stevens (Alto, Baritone, Contrabass Saxes), and Kristen Strom (Soprano, Alto, Tenor Saxes).

This is one happenin' group of whales. As you can see, they combine almost (except for the subcontrabass) all of the sizes of saxophones into one ensemble. This is one thing that makes them unique. There are only a few contrabass saxophones in the world that function. And I'm sure even if there were more, there would still be only a few brave enough to play them. Don Stevens is such a saxophonist. Why brave, you ask. Just keep in mind that the contrabass saxophone is six feet, eight inches tall and has a bell that could consume almost every other saxophone. Mr. Stevens must have a diaphragm of steel! The songs "Primal Tonic" (from Isotopia) and "Tip-Toe Thru' The Tulips With Me" and "Humpback Boogie" (both from Gone Fission) are all have great contrabass features. You can hear the keys click and pound down the pads to get some of the lowest bass notes imaginable. Go to the Nuclear Whales Recordings List to sample some of these songs.

Many of there works are arrangements of classical and familiar jazz pieces, such as "Prelude from Partita No. 3" by J.S. Bach - Arr. by Andrew Charlton (from The Nuclear Whales Saxophone Orchestra) and "It Don't Mean A Thing, (so) Sing, Sing, Sing" by Duke Ellington-Louis Prima/Arr. by Ann Merrell (from Gone Fission). They also do pieces written expressly for saxophone and original pieces. Isotopia, for example, is solely comprised of original work.

Whether the sound is jazzy, classical, or new age (or anywhere in between), the NWSO knows how to have fun. Each piece exudes a life and love for the instrument. Whether it's a song about mold and slime, or a German interrogation version of "Tip-Toe Thru' The Tulips With Me," humor is blended with superior musicianship to create instant smiles on the faces of the listeners. As Raymond Scott's music was the music of the imagination (see previous article, "Penguins and Cannibals"), the NWSO's music is music of the inner child. It can act mature, it can act professional, but it always has to be amusing. And sometimes, it has to be only amusing! Listen to the sample of Buglers' Holiday. This piece goes along just fine, until the wild mind of Art Springs on Bass sax takes over. An "impromptu" solo, which alludes to such things as Beethoven, continues until the rest of whales regain his composure. After one listen, you'll swear "Buglers' Holiday" was always intended to be played on saxophones (there just more difficult to play while on a horse than a bugle).

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