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Saxophone Nouveau brings a wall of sax to Old Market Square
Local five-piece sax group debuts bold, funky arrangements at TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival
A saxophone lover’s dream
What happens when you take five of Winnipeg’s top saxophonists, throw in fearless improvisation, tight arrangements, and the music of Thelonious Monk, Joe Henderson, and Gerry Mulligan? You get Saxophone Nouveau—a bold new local ensemble set to electrify the stage at the 2025 TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival.
The group, comprised of Paul Balcain, Neil Watson, Anna Blackmore, Tristan Martinuson, and Ben Kensok, takes the spotlight on Saturday, June 21 at 6:00 p.m. at Old Market Square. Expect lush harmonies, funky grooves, and what the band calls “a wall of saxy goodness.”
From jam session to jazz festival stage
The seeds for Saxophone Nouveau were planted several years ago.
“We were at a jam session on a Saturday afternoon and we just started talking… about how cool it would be to arrange for five saxophones,” recalled Neil Watson. “The original idea was sort of like the Woody Herman Four Brothers kind of vibe… and it took four years or so to come to fruition. But here we are.”
The ensemble features a mix of sax voices. “I’m playing bari for this… only bari for the whole show,” said Anna Blackmore. Tristan Martinussen is switching between soprano and tenor, while Watson himself plays alto, tenor, and soprano. Paul Balcani is on alto and tenor, and Ben Kosak is “pretty much exclusively on tenor saxophone.”
Writing their own sound
All of the arrangements on Saturday’s show are brand-new and written by the group members themselves.
“These are world premieres,” Watson said. “We basically picked songs that were important to us… and then we sort of built them from the ground up with an eye towards what Tristan was talking about—tightly arranged saxophone soli sections and wide-open spaces of improvisation.”
There’s also a stellar rhythm section joining the sax quintet: Kevin Curtis on piano, Danielle Roy on drums, and Steve Hamilton on bass.
“We’ve got a fabulous rhythm section playing with us… and we just kind of ride on top of that,” Watson said.
The setlist: Monk, Mulligan, and mojo
From bebop to funk and even salsa, the program is deliberately eclectic.
Watson contributed arrangements of Thelonious Monk’s Trinkle Tinkle and a transcription of The Single Petal of a Rose from Duke Ellington’s The Queen’s Suite, originally written for saxophone section and rhythm section.
Anna Blackmore arranged Line for Lyons by Gerry Mulligan and brings her personal connection to the baritone sax icon’s sound. “I'm trying to copy not only his tunes now but also his arranging style a little bit,” she said.
Joe Henderson also gets a nod with a performance of Mo’ Joe. “He’s a wildly inventive improviser and he is a masterful composer,” said Watson. “Probably a little bit underappreciated are Joe Henderson’s compositions.”
A little more heat
For those looking for some grit and groove, Saxophone Nouveau has that too.
“I decided to write this tune Tanga Tanga Deo as a salsa,” said Martinussen, citing influence from the San Diego Latin jazz scene. “It’s more in your face, a little bit more energetic, a lot of horn backgrounds, horn shots and shout sections.”
Watson also put together a funk chart: “We’re doing a song called ‘Chips and Dip’ by a saxophonist named Sam Green… It’s the most funky blues you’ve ever heard.”
Building excitement
What are the members of Saxophone Nouveau most excited about?
“Finally bringing this to fruition,” said Watson. “And #2: if you’ve never been out to Old Market Square during the Jazz Festival, it is an evening unlike any other.”
Martinussen echoed the sentiment: “It’s great to be in the middle… I’ve never done it before and it’s going to be really exciting.”
Blackmore added, “It’s gonna tune in together. It’s gonna be good. Just… coming back to the Cube will be a lot of fun.”
