Aaron Lington – 4 Bari x Bach

Aaron Lington’s normally busy life as a music professor and Coordinator of Jazz Studies at San Jose State, composer, arranger, session musician and family man slowed down slightly during the pandemic. He utilized the downtime as an excuse to hone his skills on learning Logic Pro. This is an Apple software program that allows a musician access to the benefits of a complete professional recording studio to go from first note to final master. Additionally during the pandemicAaron exercised his technical skills on the baritone saxophone by warming up with a Bach chorale. He stated “that it was fun and a great excuse to keep my fingers nimble.” Aaron enjoyed it so much that every ten days he curated and selected a new Bach chorale that appealed to him to perform. 4 Bari x Bach’s tracks are the result of expert “nimble fingers”and a brand new proficiency in Logic.

According to Aaron the 200 chorales attributed to Bach were never written by him but descended from preexisting melodies. Bach interpreted those melodies with his “unique and personalized harmonic sense”. Bach took simple melodies and “harmonized them in a brilliant way”. Aaron curated the Bach chorales he loved best and recorded four separate harmonies on the baritone saxophone for each track. He enthused “If you pull them apart the listener can hear each melody”. Aaron intimated that the purpose of 4 Bari x Bach was to let the listener enjoy just two or three tracks at a time. This allows them to enjoy “a small morsel of what can be beautiful” and to receive a sorely needed “spiritual boost”. Aaron hopes that listeners of the CD will be able to enjoy a “brief bit of beauty” that will help lift their spirits and soul during these difficult times.

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