Jonathan Hulting-Cohen & Jennifer R. Ellis - Launch (2018) [Hi-Res]

Embracing the unlikely combination of saxophone and harp, the Admiral Launch Duo (Jonathan Hulting-Cohen, saxophone and Jennifer R. Ellis, harp) performs groundbreaking commissions, unexpected transcriptions, and improvisations on this their debut recording. Named for the Admiral butterfly and launched at the Fresh Inc Festival in 2013, the duo has since appeared at new music venues coast-to-coast. Hulting-Cohen is on the faculty at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Ellis is credited with more than 80 world premieres. The Duo has spent several years researching and commissioning repertoire for saxophone and harp and this recording will certainly gain recognition for this unusual but beautiful ensemble.

"The Admiral Launch Duo is an exciting new chamber ensemble featuring the extremely potential-filled but little-heard combination of saxophone and harp. Jonathan Hulting-Cohen, co-founder of the lauded Moanin' Frogs and assistant professor of saxophone at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst combines with harpist Jennifer R. Ellis to explore the already extant literature for this grouping and to seek out new works from exciting, young composers…This album is full of a wonderful contrast of excellent pieces for saxophone and harp with a wide stylistic and timbral range. Ellis is a highly-gifted, incredibly expressive exponent of her instrument, and Hulting-Cohen displays a wonderful mastery of the saxophone, melding seamlessly between the gentlest and most extreme musical demands.…it is a delightful album that will open the possibilities of a new ensemble medium to many saxophonists." (Saxophone Alliance)

Jonathan Hulting-Cohen, saxophone
Jennifer R. Ellis, harp