Urban Sax, Gilbert Artman – Urban Sax

A SAXOPHONE ORCHESTRA?
Apart from Lard Free, there was also another project that Gilbert Artman had been working on since as early as 1973. The name of this project? Urban Sax. Yes, believe it or not, Gilbert had the notion of creating a huge saxophone orchestra. With his background in jazz, he had access to a great number of musicians only too willing to aid him on this grandiose plan. Yet, what Urban Sax were to create was certainly not jazz! It seems that the media became quite confused by this, with perplexing reports from jazz magazines by people who just didn't understand what Gilbert Artman was up to. An amusing note is that Virgin Records in-store newspaper announced their debut as URBAN SEX! I think it took a while for the music to get to the right audience. But, despite this, even those who shuddered at the idea of a massed ensemble of saxophones were in for a most pleasant surprise.
Urban Sax unleashed their debut on the newly founded Cobra Records, one of the finest labels around during the latter part of the 70's (curiously a division of the folk music based company Cezame), it also presented classics by Heldon, Hydravion and Weidorje. This initial morsel was said to be the first of a four album work lasting three hours, a work which would progress onto new levels with each subsequent side-long suite.
The sonic effect of sixteen saxophones, when directed in the unique manner that Gilbert had been developing over the previous four years, is quite extraordinary. Quoted by some as being like a mass of electronic keyboards, reed organs and breathy sounds, the sound textures are quite deceiving. Yet, this debut is just saxophones and nothing else, almost like sixteen Terry Riley's developing a theme from A RAINBOW IN CURVED AIR!
From my Gilbert Artman "The Eternal Spiral" article in Audion magazine #24 (Feb. 1993)