Andy Findon


	what's new	Yamamoto Perpetuo for Solo Flute by Michael Nyman (AMF02) Click below for reviews: Review by Carla Rees for MusicWeb-International Review by Eileen Yarrison for The Greater Boston Flute Assocation Review by Jim Langaber for Flute Focus When The Boat Comes In (AMFOI) SAXOPHONE JOURNAL SEPT/OCT 2007 Folking.com FLUIT Magazine of the Netherlands Flute Association Clarinet & Saxophone Magazine (CASS) PAN Magazine The Horn Player The Gazette of the Greater Boston Flute Association MUSICIAN The Journal of the Musician’s Union Radioindy
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		SAXOPHONE JOURNAL sept/oct 2007 Review by Paul Wagner Saxophonists have always been thought of as playing more than one instrument. First was the clarinet, then came the flute and eventually all of the woodwind instruments. This is not really surprising since the first saxophone players were clarinetists. This was a good marketing tool rather than waiting for the instrument to develop a strong following. This probably created the myth that one should learn to play the clarinet before the saxophone which can though rarely still be heard today. The standards for the doublers have increased sharply over the years from merely playing long tones for background lines to nearly virtuoso standards on all the players instruments. Commercial freelance musicians face this all the time. The competition is fierce and performance criteria are constantly getting more difficult. This sets the stage for Andy Findon and his latest CD When The Boat Comes In. Andy’s background of mixed musical experience has led him to an incredibly diverse career. He was trained as a classical flute and became in the early 1970’s Principal flute of the National Youth Orchestra . He also spent three years at the Royal College of Music. He then entered the London music scene from dance band dates with Nat Temple, Joe Loss, Eric Delaney and many others. He then got involved with the Ballet Rambert, The National Theatre and the formation of Myhra Saxophone Quartet with John Harle. He soon found work in the busy session world of London. He established himself as a classical flautist as well as a commercial woodwind doubler. He has played with an enormous list of renowned artists including Phillip Glass, Don Sebesky, Hans Zimmer, Phil Ramone , Danny Elfman, John Williams, Michel LeGrande, and Elmer Bernstein just to mention a few. In the early 80’s he started to work with the Michael Nyman Band with whom he still works to this day. He is principal flute with the National Symphony and works with many chamber groups. He has worked on many Andrew Lloyd Webber shows. He is truly the consummate woodwind player and has earned the right to be called artist on any instrument he plays. Andy Findon opens the CD with the title song, When the Boat Comes In. Andy Findon plays the penny whistle, piccolo, flute, Contrabass Flute and soprano saxophone. The recording is seamless and beautifully overdubbed. His tone production and technique is impeccable. Molly on the Shore follows with an instrumentation for woodwinds with Penny Whistle, Flute, soprano, alto and baritone saxophones. Both pieces are a delight for the ear and thought provoking. The next selection is Prospero’s Curse by Michael Nyman from the film Prospero’s Books. This piece is scored for Piccolo, flute, alto flute, bass flute, bamboo flute, membrane flute, pan-pipes bass clarinet and baritone saxophone. This is an exciting piece with an equally exciting instrumentation. The composition tends toward a perpetual motion type of piece with little or no time for the performers, oops! I mean player to breathe. We move on to a beautiful rendition of the Gounod/Bach Ave Maria for Panpipes, flute, alto, bass flute, contrabass flute and bass clarinet. Now we are given the Andy Findon Saxophone quartet playing the theme from Poirot The Belgian Dectective. The quartet is arranged by Christopher Gunning. Andy Findon plays each of the saxophones with the authority of a master and the blend of the four timbres is incredible. This is one very nice quartet that would be as much fun to play as it is to hear. Another clever piece is Dueling Bamboos which is a take off of Dueling Banjos with the unique instrumentation of Bamboo flute, membrane flute, flute contrabass flute and tambourine. Next is a lovely arrangement of Debussy’s string quartet for a beautiful flute quartet consisting of flute, alto flute, bass flute and contrabass flute. The well known Sabre Dance is next but scored for flute, piccolo, soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones. Black Lights is an excellent composition by Marc Findon, scored for 4 french horns, 4 Wagner tubas, 2 piccolos and 2 soprano saxophones. I is a mood shifting piece that swirls the imagination. Andy gives us the ever wistful Syrinx by Debussy. The performance is breath taking and the flute is lovely. The final selection is Stairway to Heaven by Page and Plant and our master doubler pulls out the stops playing; piccolo, flute, pan-pipes, ocarina, recorder , clarinet, soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones. The arrangement by Marc Findon excellent and exciting. Andy Findon has again proved himself an exceptional artist regardless of the instrument or the style of music. He is truly the consummate musician and doubler of the times. No matter what instrument he is playing the sound is simply beautiful. His technical skills are excellent as are his interpretive skills. He is the living example that music abounds in all instruments. The boat has come in and don’t miss it. top ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................
		www.folking.com Review by Pete Fyfe I’ve rarely bought an album on the strength of one track but Andy Findon’s title track does it for me every time. If you loved the evocative mini version of When The Boat Comes In as used for the Young’s Sea Food advert then you’ll doubtless enjoy this extended version. But, I’m pleased to report this is no one-hit wonder as there are many tracks for the ‘folk’ musician to enjoy including a jaunty Percy Grainger interpretation of the traditional “Molly On The Shore” (evoking memories of arrangements by Andy’s old band The Home Service) and casting his net further he manages to include everything from “Ave Maria”, “Theme From Poirot”, “Sabre Dance” and even “Stairway To Heaven”. This album proves nothing if eclectic and the proverbial breath of fresh air…whistle and flute induced of course! top ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
		FLUIT Magazine of the Netherlands Flute Association Review by Wieke Karsten We met the omnimusicus Andy Findon on his last CD, Tracked. Not only is his career an example of versatility, his ability on countless instruments is remarkable. Findon plays all parts (bar one) himself once again on this CD; the c.d. is build up out of 'layered' parts. The sound quality of this cd is better than the last: the instruments sound nicer and the musical phrases are more interesting. Think of a musical style and you'll find it on this c.d. From Irish folk to Gounod and Bach, from minimal electronic music to Debussy, it's all here. I suspect that this is not to every listener's taste, but I enjoy it a lot. Take Prospero's Curse by Michael Nyman. It starts with a riff, a swinging rhythmical line, on top of which more and more repetitive lines are added. It is a nice example of how you could 'build' a composition with a group of students. The next work is a pan-flute version of Ave Maria, with a seductive flute orchestra in the background. A gutsy move! A c.d. like this cannot exist without current computer technology. It is amazing what kind of new sounds emerge when you have so many different parts on so many different flutes and other instruments. Sometimes it sounds like a synthesizer, sometimes like a church organ and then like a carillon, You can hear that everything has been played by a single person because of the speed of the vibrato. Interesting enough, this stays pretty much the same irrespective of the register. When that happens the layered flutes take on a pulsating vibrato, like a Hammond. Of course it's easy enough to criticize a c.d. like this. Due to the layering you miss some interaction, direction and freedom of timing. Especially in the longer melodic compositions, like Tallis' motet, this sometimes sounds a bit odd. But for the rest I think that this c.d. offers enough humor (sometimes bordering on the simple and bolsterous) and inspiration. You can get a taste with some samples on Findon's website. top ...........................................................................................................................................................................................................
		Clarinet & Saxophone Magazine (CASS) Summer 2007 Review by Alison Owen-Morley “When The Boat Comes In” is Andy Findon's second CD and a showcase for his considerable talents as a multi- instrumentalist. Playing anything from one instrument (the atmospheric solo flute in Debussy's Syrinx) to ten (in a particularly effective arrangement of Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven), Andy demonstrates his technical skill and versatility throughout. He plays a total of 17 wind instruments from penny whistle to Baritone saxophone, and including no fewer than seven different flutes. The programme of music is equally varied, ranging from traditional tunes and Tallis to reinvented classics and contemporary compositions including one by Marc Findon, Andy's son. Several of the pieces were originally composed or subsequently used for film or television, providing a strong visual and emotional element. Fellow members of the Michael Nyman Band, Simon Haram and Dave Lee feature as producer / arranger and brass player respectively. The CD starts simply, with arrangements of two traditional folk tunes, the title track When the Boat Comes In and Molly On The Shore, both featuring Andy on penny whistle, amongst other things. These are both highly original interpretations with sensitive treatment of the material, which conjure up images of a bygone era. The third track, 'Prospero's Curse' by Michael Nyman from the film Prospero's Books, transports us to the present day in a flash with its insistent ostinato bass and exciting, rhythmic drive. There follow many changes of mood from pastoral, reflective and haunting to upbeat, regimented and quirky as we are taken on a journey through time and place. The most successful arrangements of classical works are perhaps the movements from the Debussy string quartet and Mahler symphony, (theme from the film Death in Venice). which lend themselves particularly well to the sound of the flute quartet. Khachaturian's Sabre Dance recieves a contemporary treatment that gives an appropriate cutting edge. Less convincing is the interpretation of the 40 part Tallis motet, Spem in Alium in which the layered voices of the four members of the flute family produce a homogeneous sound that loses the focus and individuality of the original human voices. The arrangement of music from the film We Were Soldiers, by Nick Glennie-Smith stands out as a particularly strong arrangement, well suited to the blended sound of the combined flute instrumentation. Christopher Gunning's arrangement of his theme from Poirot, The Belgian Detective, also works well for saxophone quartet, again with Andy playing all parts. Marc Findon's Black lights deserves special mention as one of only two pieces originally written for the instrumentation used here. Featuring four each of French horns and Wagner tubas (also all played by one performer) in addition to Andy's two piccolos and two soprano saxophones, the work is based on a number row taken from the date of the London terrorist attacks in 2005. This is thoughtful, powerful stuff and the piece deserves further exposure in concert, obviously with several more performers drafted in. The music is both well played and well produced, making this recording a dual feat of technical ability by performer and producer. Many of the tracks benefit from the consistency and accuracy achieved by being played by one person, but sometimes feel rather mechanical, lacking the extra spark that comes from the interaction between individual performers. If I had one criticism of the album, it would be that the programme of music is perhaps too varied with the changes of mood too frequent. However, there will certainly be something for everyone in this CD and it should appeal to anyone with wide ranging musical tastes or an interest in wind instruments. top ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
		PAN Magazine June 2007 Review by Julian Coward Andy Findon: Tracked (Quartz QTZ2O29) When The Boat Comes In (AMFOI) These discs are a showcase for the remarkable versatility of Andy Findon, a long-standing member of the Michael Nyman Band and one of our busiest and most respected session players. He is unusual among 'doublers'-a woefully inadequate term in his case- being first and foremost a flute-player, which makes these discs of special interest to student readers of this magazine who might hope one day to emulate his success, always assuming there are enough sessions left to go round. One track on each disc features Andy playing the flute either alone or with piano. The rest of the time he multi-tracks himself, with a little help from members of his family and a few friends. And when I say multi-tracks, he doesn't stop at two or three: one of the numbers on the later disc is a version of a Tallis Motet, all forty parts of which you can hear him play on flutes from C concert to contrabass. Together with the saxes, clarinets and assorted ethnic pipes, there is enormous variety of colour and style. You can take for granted a high level of professionalism in the playing on both discs. Although all the arrangements are interesting, there seem to me to be some notable successes and the occasional disappointment. On Tracked I was particularly struck by Gabrieli's Sonata Pian'e Forte on recorders and pan pipes, a Malcolm Arnold Scottish Dance with its chewy baritone sax, a Gershwin Prelude where the sinuous accompaniment is dominated by three contrabass flutes, the Rachmaninov Vocalise with some sensuous playing on a wooden Yamaha flute (also heard to advantage in Angela Morley's delightful Valse Bleue ), and Marc Findon's Serpent Dance with its sure sense of instrumental colour. But I was in two minds about Debussy's Clair De Lune arranged for five baritone and two alto saxes, which, though intriguing, failed to conjure up much of the moonlight suggested by its title. A slightly tremulous performance of the Barber Adagio for flute choir conveyed only some of the restrained, noble passion of the original. The clear, rather forward sound is a touch less effective than on the later disc in disguising its studio roots. The second disc begins with several samples of Andy's film, television and commercial work in some deft arrangements. Here the sound profits from an extra warmth and clarity. The title track, When The Boat Comes in, an expanded version of a TV jingle, has real atmosphere, while Chris Gunning's Poirot Theme catches the period feeling perfectly. I was amazed how well the first movement of Debussy's String Quartet worked on four pitches of flutes: although it lacked the expressive range of the string original, it was surprisingly convincing in this format. There is another interesting piece by his son Marc for the startling combination of multi- tracked horns and Wagner tubas with piccolos and saxes. I wasn't wholly convinced by the realization (it's much more than a straight arrangement) of Mahler's Adagietto from the Fifth Symphony, but a cool, straight rendering of Syrinx in its original form (not a wooden flute this time?) provided exactly the aural respite needed at this stage of the disc. In fact, the whole production is slicker and more adventurous, a definite advance over the already good earlier disc. Andy has, however, failed to convert me to the sound of the ocarina, which features prominently in the Nyman-Mozart track which opens Tracked. Don't be put off though. It’s impossible not to be impressed, stimulated and entertained by the range of these discs. top ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
		“The Horn Player” April 2007 John Humphries review Andy Findon is a musician who is at the top of the tree both as a classical flautist and as a jazz saxophone player. That this CD is going to reflect his eclectic background starts to become apparent when one reads the slightly surprising statement on the cover ''Featuring the music from Young's 'Sea to Plate' advert'' Ideas that this might be some dreadful middle-of-the road, easy- listening crossover CD are quickly banished by a look at the track-list however: the Adagietto from Mahler 5, Percy Grainger's Molly on the shore, the theme from Poirot, and Stairway to Heaven - via Tallis's Spem in album all rub shoulders, arranged for saxes and flutes and multi-tracked by Findon. There's also a spectacular Michael Nyman piece called Prospero's Curse which sounds as if it was written with the express intention of scaring livestock. Dave Lee guests on a piece by Findon's son Marc called Black Lights, adding 4 horn parts and 4 Wagner tuba parts to Findon Senior's piccolos and soprano saxophones. Its ever- shifting textures, its interlocking rhythms and its generally hypnotic qualities suggest the influence of the American west-coast minimalist composers, though the brief programme notes suggest it was written as a response to the London bombings of 2005. If you want to buy a present for a favorite flautist or saxophonist, you won't go wrong with this brilliantly performed and slightly wacky CD and if you want a piece for horns written in an accessible, contemporary styles hunt down Black Lights. top ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
		The Gazette – Greater Boston Flute Society March 2007 Reviewed by Elizabeth Watson Andy Findon's new CD, When the Boat Comes In, is packed with fourteen tracks as eclectic as his career as a multiwoodwind player. Featuring traditional tunes, pop songs, classical pieces, and an original composition by his son Marc, most of the tracks are arranged by Andy (when does this man sleep?), with a few co‑arranged by producer Simon Haram. Listening to the CD, I found myself reaching for the accompanying notes to read what combination of flutes, whistles, saxes, etc. could possibly be making these sound‑textures. Findon is certainly a master of his instruments, but more than that, he creates amazing color and texture through his arrangements. The opening to the Bach/Gounod Ave Maria made me smile - anyone who grew up listening to the Beatles, as I did (hint: Sgt. Pepper's...), will smile too. There is beauty and humor in this collection, but also anguish: We Were Soldiers is not an easy piece to listen to nor is it easy for us to think about what soldiers throughout history have been asked to do. It is not clear to me whether or not the piece was written for Mel Gibson's 2005 movie of the same title, but it may as well have been. The use of the membrane flutes is very effective in elegiac melody lines. It is difficult to review a CD like this without merely listing and describing each piece. Findon, having mastered the technical aspects of many wind instruments, and a wizard at arranging music, is showing us much more than "how it's done". The sublime first movement from the Debussy String Quartet is here, arranged for flutes. Haven't you always wanted to play this music? I could have done without the frantic, jokey, Sabre Dance which directly follows the Debussy. it was a bit like having a beautiful dream, then wakening abruptly to find yourself in the front row at the circus, watching a dozen clowns tumble out of a mini‑Cooper! But if you know Andy's earlier release, Tracked, you know to expect sudden shifts like that. The gorgeous Adagietto movement from Mahler's Symphony No. 5 is lovely and tastefully engineered with a few electronic effects. The original work, Black Lights, by Marc Findon was composed, according to the notes, "using material derived from the number row 7‑7‑5, taken from the date of the London terror attacks in 2005". The piece employs French horns ' Wagner tubas, piccolos and saxophones, and a somewhat minimalist approach. Debussy's Syrinx for solo flute is here, a lovely rendition played simply and feelingly on what 1 think is his wooden Rudall Carte flute‑with just a little reverb, as it should be. The finale to the CD: Stairway to Heaven; yes, the Led Zeppelin song by Jimmy n Page and Robert Plant. [I'll have the reader know that this reviewer has played Stairway to Heaven (for flute and harp) not once, but at two different wedding receptions. Quite a nice tune, actually.] Maybe the next time a wedding music client asks for this tune, I will simply play this track from the CD. I don't see how they could object. When the Boat Comes In is available through andyfindon.com and edbaby.com. top ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
		Musician (The Journal of The Musicians’ Union ) Spring 2007 This, his second solo CD, sees him gather together an incredibly broad range of material including Ave Maria, Sabre Dance and Stairway To Heaven. Andy’s accomplished control shines on a lovely sax quartet take of The Belgian Detective ( the theme from Poirot). This composition contrasts wonderfully with the ethnic tones of the following We Were Soldiers. Superlative. top ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
		Radioindy “When the Boat Comes In” is an eclectic compilation of songs that feature the very talented wind instrument musician Andy Findon. Andy’s virtuoso level of musicianship is evident throughout the CD. His arrangements are rich and multi-layered with an amazing number of different sounds blended together. The production and recording quality are very good. The songs vary greatly in style and genre, and include many songs/melodies that you will recognize, including the rock standard, Stairway to Heaven. The tracks are ordered in a manner that keeps your attention by taking you from one genre/tempo to an extremely different genre/tempo on the next track. We enjoy the fast-moving tracks the most, such as Molly on the Shore, Duelling Bamboos and Sabre Dance, which also includes some very creative style changes within the track. Whether you enjoy listening to the creative work of a musical master of his craft, or are particularly a fan of wind instruments such as flute and clarinet, you will enjoy this CD. Pick up a copy today! top ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................

FLUIT Magazine of the Netherlands Flute Association

The Gazette – Greater Boston Flute Society March 2007

Reviewed by Elizabeth Watson