The Tiptons Sax Quartet


The Tiptons Sax Quartet, previously known as The Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet, is a jazz saxophone quartet from Seattle, Washington. The ensemble consists of five members. Amy Denio is joined by co-leader Jessica Lurie, Sue Orfield, Tina Richerson and Robert Kainar from Salzburg, Austria. The Tiptons' material ranges from micro-Big Band to Gospel, Bluegrass to Balkan, whimsical Chamber Jazz, and nocturnal Funk to Free Jazz Improvisation using saxophones, clarinet, their voices, drums, and inventive percussion to create a genre-busting ‘world soul’ sound.
The band takes its name in honor of Billy Tipton, a 20th-century professional saxophonist and transgender man who upon his death was revealed to have been assigned female at birth.
WWW thetiptonssaxquartet.com

Current members

  • Amy Denio – alto saxophone, voice
  • :Amy Denio is an original member of the Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet, dating from the band's very first rehearsal at her house in the Fall of 1988. She composed for BTMSQ and organized tours and concerts until Spring, 1996. She took a hiatus from the band until 2002, when she and Jessica Lurie reformed the band, now named Tiptons Sax Quartet.
  • :She is a composer, improviser and recording engineer, and has run her own label, Spoot Music since 1986. She has received composition commissions from The Berkeley Symphony, The Relache Ensemble, Pat Graney Dance Company, David Dorfman Dance, New York Festival of Song, Italian National Radio and many other entities.
  • Jessica Lurie – alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, voice
  • :Jessica Lurie is a multi-instrumentalist performer, composer, producer and teaching artist based in Brooklyn, NY and Seattle, WA. As well as co-leading the Tiptons since 1995, she leads the Jessica Lurie Ensemble, Living Daylights, Sofie Salonika, FreEthiopiques, and Slingshot with Seattle violist Heather Bentley. Jessica has released over 40 critically acclaimed albums as bandleader, lead composer or collaborator and has worked with international artists such as John Zorn, Devotchka, Taylor Mac, Nikki Glaspie, Nels Cline, Col. Bruce Hampton, Helen Gillet, Fred Frith, Bill Frisell, Shaking Ray Levis, Amy Denio, Mark Ribot, Percussia Ensemble, Frank London, Allison Miller, James Brandon Lewis and Great Small Works. She is a Sundance Composers’ Fellow and Downbeat “Rising Star for Alto Sax” nominee. Recent productions Jessica has worked on include Taylor Mac's “The Hang; “ the Tiptons’ “Mujer o Bruja”; Mars Williams’ Devil's Whistle in New Orleans and her Shofar Meditations. www.jessicalurie.com
  • Tina Richerson – baritone saxophone, voice
  • :Tina Richerson is based in Beaverton, Oregon, leads her own trio, plays with, is the musical director of Never Too Late, Little Big Band and performs as a freelance musician.
  • Sue Orfield – tenor saxophone, voice
  • :Sue Orfield also performs with The Sue Orfield Band and a variety of other groups.
  • Robert Kainar – drums
  • :Robert Kainar is based in Salzburg Austria, and also performs with Ensemble 021, plays and writes for theater and records for many other bands.

Former members

Discography

  • Saxhouse Horn Hut Records, originally published by Knitting Factory Records in 1993.
  • Women and Their Work Knitting Factory Records
  • Make it Funky God Horn Hut Records
  • Box Horn Hut Records
  • Sunshine Bundtcake Horn Hut Records
  • Short Cuts Zipa! / Spoot Music
  • Tsunami Zipa! / Spoot Music and NoMansLand, Germany
  • Surrounded by Horns Stockfisch Records, Germany
  • Drive Zipa! / Spoot Music
  • Laws of Motion Zipa! / Spoot Music
  • Strange Flower Zipa! / Spoot Music
  • Tiny Lower Case Zipa! / Spoot Music / Sowiesound
  • We Are Happy to Meet Again with Michaelbeuern Benedictine Abbey Stiftschor Sowiesound
  • Cookbook Sowiesound
  • Wabi Sabi Zipa! / Spoot Music / Sowiesound
With Wayne Horvitz