Today is the official street date for eminent saxophonist/composer David S. Ware‘s latest recording, Saturnian (solo saxophones: volume 1), on AUM Fidelity.

Recorded live in October at New York’s Abrons Arts Center, this limited edition release documents Ware’s triumphant return to the stage following a successful kidney transplant. Each of the three extended pieces is performed on a different instrument: saxello, stritch and tenor saxophone.

Here’s a sample of the media response thus far:

“There’s no wasted motion or overt histrionics here, just the expertly devised and soulful playing of a masterful musician who can create his own rhythm internally. These three pieces flow beautifully, not in the strictest angelic, pretty, or peaceful fashion, but with the clear, assured dignity and confidence Ware has always displayed.”
—Michael G. Nastos, AllMusic.com

“David S. Ware makes use of the entire harmonic range and tonal capabilities of his horns (saxello, stritch and his usual tenor sax), spraying the air with melodic patterns, intense riffs and wailing high notes in a solo tour de force…when Ware ascends into the highest plane for the last minutes of ‘Anthe,’ chomping on his mouthpiece to produce a squeal like Dizzy Gillespie battling an air-raid siren, you won’t realize you’ve been rising with him until the piece ends and you’re dropped unceremoniously back into your seat.”
—Dave Morris, Eye Weekly

“Ware uses the latitude of the setting to its fullest, aligning his imagination with the tonal character of each horn and keeping meandering detours to a minimum. These are happy, prosperous days for Ware and that renewed sense of hope and purpose plays out beautifully in the music.”
—Derek Taylor, Dusted

“It’s as if the saxophonist sees himself as a conduit for energy, with musical decisions working as points of friction that lend the sound incipient form…there are points where it feels as if he is playing in simultaneous directions, diverting fleeting fully formed phrases into contradictory arcs of time…his playing never sounded so focused and so fully energised. And with its subtitle of solo saxophones, volume 1, Saturnian looks to be the first of a series of recordings, giving birth to the next phase of his evolution through the initiatory application of ecstasy and energy.”
—David Keenan, The Wire