Since 1988, the Belgian BL!NDMAN group has built a discography that reflects the evolution of the saxophone quartet towards the collective of four quartets today. Alongside contemporary music and experimental playing techniques, old music is a central thread in the story of BL!NDMAN. There’s more to it than simply arranging masterpieces to expand the limited saxophone repertoire: it’s about rediscovering century-old music and breathing new life into it with the sound of a modern instrument. First Bach, with his youthful Chorale Partitas, then further back to the organums of the twelfth century, and the grandiose treasures of Franco-Flemish polyphony, and later, a rare excursion into Mozart’s bawdy canons. Since its start in 1988 the BL!NDMAN group has become a collective of four quartets: the saxophone quartet has been sharing its experience with three new quartets; a vocal, a percussion and a string quartet. Sixteen musicians, a quadrate of four-voice playing, joining together to crystallize the sonorous harmony.
Dust makes Damage (1998), released to mark BL!NDMAN’s tenth anniversary, was a chance to look back before embarking on the great Bach adventure.
