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JABRA LATHAM

SAXOPHONIST | COMPOSER | ARRANGER

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Critics have responded to Jabra’s music with “thrilling writing" (The Mercury), “a wonderful listening experience, gripping, wholesome, moving, tender, and expertly executed” (MusicTrust), “a gorgeous meditation" (Classic FM), “arresting and vibrant" (Stage Whispers) and "catchy tunes & exceptional musicianship" (CutCommon).

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BIO | REVIEWS | REPERTOIRE

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JABRA LATHAM | BIO

Critics have responded to Jabra’s music with “thrilling writing" (The Mercury), “a wonderful listening experience, gripping, wholesome, moving, tender, and expertly executed” (MusicTrust), “a gorgeous meditation" (Classic FM), “arresting and vibrant" (Stage Whispers) and "catchy tunes & exceptional musicianship" (CutCommon). Jabra has been commissioned, performed and presented by the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Musica Viva, ABC Classic, Tasmanian String Quartet, Clinch Quartet, Virtuosi Tasmania, Southern Cross Soloists, Xyris Quartet and various soloists from Australia and abroad. Jabra is recorded and broadcast by ABC Classic, published independently and by TSO House, and has been supported by Government House Tasmania, Arts Tasmania, The Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, Hobart City Council, Creative Partnerships Australia, The Banff Centre, Tasmanian Community Foundation, and private benefactors. His music has been streamed around the world over a quarter of a million times, and he is broadcast frequently, including daily as composer of the theme to ABC Classic’s Mornings program. Reviewers have described Jabra’s own playing as astonishing, virtuosic and energetic, and “the most remarkable saxophone playing”. Jabra has performed as soloist, orchestral and chamber musician and recitalist, working with the likes of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, Malaysia Philharmonic Orchestra, Hobart Chamber Orchestra, Gilmour Ensemble and Opus House. As a performer Jabra has championed the music of various other Australian composers (particularly those hailing from his home State of Tasmania), including Russell Gilmour, Karlin Love, Don Kay, Maria Grenfell, Simon Reade, Quin Thompson and Timothy Coghill, recording numerous albums of new Australian music and having five concertos written for him.

PREMIERES & RECOMMENDED NEW REPERTOIRE

  • KARLIN LOVE | Homage, Laments & Ecstasies for alto saxophone & string orchestra | premiered by Jabra Latham and Camerata Obscura.

  • KARLIN LOVE | Emerald Boa for saxophone quartet (LISTEN).

  • SIMON READE | Sonata for alto saxophone & piano (LISTEN).

  •  SIMON READE | Song I & Song II for saxophone quartet;

  • SIMON READE | Travelogue for saxophone quartet and wind orchestra (LISTEN).

  • ​TIMOTHY COGHILL | Aspects of Friendship for soprano saxophone and string orchestra | premiered by Jabra Latham with Greg Stevens and the Hobart Chamber Orchestra.

  • TIMOTHY COGHILL | A Good Man for chamber ensemble.

  •  TIMOTHY COGHILL | Falling into Sky (LISTEN). 

  • DON KAY |Concerto for Alto Saxophone & String Orchestra | premiered by Jabra Latham and the Hobart Chamber Orchestra (LISTEN).

  • DON KAY | Triptych for alto saxophone & piano (LISTEN).

  • RUSSELL GILMOUR | Concerto for Soprano Saxophone & Wind Orchestra | premiered by Jabra Latham and The University of Tasmania Wind Orchestra.

  • RUSSELL GILMOUR | Eleven Duos for soprano saxophones (WATCH) (LISTEN).

  • RUSSELL GILMOUR | Ride for saxophone quartet

  • RUSSELL GILMOUR |You Say You've Seen Seven Wonders for saxophone, violin, marimba, cello & double bass. (LISTEN)

  • RUSSELL GILMOUR | Seven Things I'll Do Tomorrow for saxophone, violin, marimba & cello (LISTEN).

  • MARIA GRENFELL | Time Transfixed for soprano saxophone & piano

"a wonderfully retrospective album filled with hope, drama and fun. The album takes listeners on a 53-minute journey through a dense landscape of latent and bouncy rhythms, sweet melodies and discord. Seven elite musicians entwine the sounds of joy, melancholy and mischief. Existential questions are posed, and calm reassurance given. This is an album that works in totality, and in its pieces."

FULL ARTICLE | CUTCOMMON

"thrilling writing" | The Mercury

"a gorgeous meditation" | ABC Classic "arresting and vibrant" | Stage Whispers

"Supremely gifted" | Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra

“Latham was a star, with an astonishing performance” | The Mercury

"A 2020 ABC Classic release, Antarctic Triptych is a clarinet concerto by composer Jabra Latham featuring Andrew Seymour as clarinet soloist with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Greg Stephens. The work was commissioned in response to a particularly chilly Tasmanian winter in 2015. The music sonically evokes images of the beautifully monstrous ice-scapes of the Antarctic continent... I wholeheartedly recommend Antarctic Triptych as a wonderful listening experience that is gripping, wholesome, moving, tender, and expertly executed by Andrew Seymour and the TSO under the baton of Greg Stephens." 

FULL ARTICLE | MUSIC TRUST

"Who’d have thought it? A world premiere at the Longley International Hotel! Latham’s Antartic Tryptich for clarinet and strings was both atmospheric and approachable. Clarinettist Andrew Seymour performed with such skill that even in the blazing sunshine I felt the cold and saw the icicles. I wondered how a Live Sessions audience would respond to this piece – many of the audience members would have been having their first experience of the TSO. Looking around, though, they loved it: there was rapt attention on almost every face." FULL ARTICLE | CUTCOMMON

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