David Wozniak, a native of Buffalo, NY, is an experienced soloist, chamber musician, and conductor. He has performed in the Mobile (AL) and Gulf Coast (Biloxi, MS) Symphony Orchestras, as well as the FestivalSouth (Hattiesburg, MS) Music Festival Orchestra, and has appeared as guest soloist with C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective, as well as the University of Southern Mississippi and Fredonia State (NY) Wind Ensembles. He has earned degrees from both the University of Southern Mississippi and Fredonia State University, where he was in the saxophone studios of Lawrence Gwozdz and Wildy Zumwalt, respectively. He is a member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia, the International Double Reed Society, and the North American Saxophone Alliance. Krista Wallace-Boaz currently serves as Assistant Professor of Piano and Pedagogy for the University of Louisville School of Music. Wallace-Boaz is active as an adjudicator and collaborator, performing with artists such as Oystein Baadsvik, Fabio Brum, Aaron Boaz, Delfeayo Marsalis, and Donald Peck. She is also the pianist for the Grawemeyer Chamber Players and Trio Bel Canto (an alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, piano trio). Wallace-Boaz holds degrees from Northwestern University and the University of Louisville; in addition, she has three certificates from the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia, and has been heard on the national radio broadcast of the Dame Myra Hess Concert Series. David Whitman is a native San Diegan raised in Wisconsin. He holds degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi, Kansas State University, and the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, and is now on the faculty of San Diego State University. Dr. Whitman's diverse performance credits include Five-by-Design, the Chippewa Valley and Meridian Symphony Orchestras, the Eau Claire Chamber Orchestra, and the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. He has authored articles for Percussive Notes, and his arrangements and compositions are published by Gary Gilroy Publications and Really Good Music. Dr. Whitman is also a member of the Percussive Arts Society and Kappa Kappa Psi National Honorary Band Fraternity. He is a Remo Artist. The potpourri of compositional styles represented on this recording have one common thread running through them. Although all the composers featured are American, the works programmed draw source material from other countries and cultures. Whether it’s the patriotic music of Poland or Spanish dance forms in the music of Sy Brandon, the liberal use of Latin-jazz styles by Brian Israel, or the allusions to the music of Bartok in the grandiose sonata by Alan Theisen, each of these composers have merged an American musical voice with music from abroad. American Fusion is a celebration of American music, and the influence of other cultures on our great nation’s art. Fantasie Variations on Mazurek Dabrowskiego was commissioned by David Wozniak and was made possible by him receiving a grant from the Co-Op Press Recording Grant program. Wozniak, wishing to celebrate his family heritage, suggested using the Polish national anthem as the basis of a composition that can serve as a fiery opener to a concert. After the initial statement of the anthem, Brandon develops the theme by exploring the minor mode, different meters, and different musical styles (including a charming lullaby). Sy Brandon was born in New York City, and is Professor Emeritus at Millersville University in Millersville, PA, where he taught low brass, composition, music history, electronic music, and music industry. Brandon received his degrees from the University of Arizona and Ithaca College. His composition teachers include Warren Benson, Ellie Siegmeister, and Robert McBride. Brandon’s music has been commissioned by the Boise Philharmonic, the York Symphony Orchestra, the Twentieth Moravian Music Festival, and many other professional and school organizations. Dripping with postmodern irreverence, Brian Israel’s quirky Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano is dedicated to “burned-out, club-date sax players everywhere” and was written for Israel’s close friend, composer Mark Alan Taggart. It opens with a “Cakewalk” in sonata-allegro form, featuring characteristic syncopated rhythms, lyrical melodies, and a short shimmy section, all of which satirize the BACH motive. Labeled “lowdown and filthy,” the “Blues” is an homage to the twelve-bar jazz form; the “head” is played twice, followed by two choruses of a saxophone solo, one chorus of piano, a raucous da capo, and a short cadenza. “Contrapunctus Interruptus” is a modified rondo with a contrapuntal, chromatic primary theme, a rumba, and a tango serving as the rondo episodes. Each episode gets progressively shorter, building to a wild finish. Brian Israel was born in the Bronx, where he proved to be a musical prodigy. He earned degrees from Cornell University after undergraduate study at Lehman College. Israel’s composition teachers include Ulysses Kay, Burrill Phillips, Robert Palmer, and Karel Husa, and he taught at Syracuse University. Although Israel’s life was cut tragically short by a battle with leukemia, he was still able to compose nearly 200 works, including six symphonies, two operas, and numerous songs, concerti, and chamber works. Israel’s music is characterized by postmodernism, humor, dark themes, and creative use of form. Four Spanish Dances was written for saxophonist Andy Wen for a performance at the World Saxophone Congress in Valencia, Spain. Originally composed for unaccompanied saxophone, Brandon has also scored the work for saxophone and guitar, flute and guitar, and saxophone and marimba. The “Zortziko” is a fast dance in five with frequent dotted rhythms and a fiery character. Tender and melancholy, the “Flamenco” explores modality by altering tones of the minor scale, and also calls for singing from both the saxophonist and the marimbist. “Malaguena” uses a repeating harmonic pattern as the groundwork for improvisatory melodies in both parts. The “Polo” is a brisk dance in one with frequent use of hemiola, and is punctuated by a sharp “Ole!” to conclude the suite. Alan Theisen writes the following in the preface to his Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano: “This Sonata is dedicated to my friends, saxophonists Richard Scruggs and David Parks. It was composed from February to August 2003. The current (and hopefully final) edition of this composition was prompted by the fantastic performance given by Marcus Ballard (saxophone) and Elizabeth Moak (piano) in May 2006. The revisions and revival of the Sonata owe much to their hard work and dedication.” Written in two movements, Theisen’s stirring Sonata uses dynamic extremes and microtonality to great dramatic effect. Adagissimo Lamentoso is structured around several recurring melodic motives that are developed in both movements of the Sonata, most notably the intense fanfare that starts the work. Dark and brooding, the first movement features an extended saxophone cadenza and critical interplay between the saxophone and piano. The virtuosic second movement, Toccata, is more aggressive than the adagissimo movement but still uses the earlier motives. Rhythmically energetic, the Toccata builds to an exciting conclusion that climbs into the saxophone’s highest register. A native of Port Huron, MI, Alan Theisen serves on the faculty of Mars Hill College (NC) and holds degrees from Florida State University and the University of Southern Mississippi. His music has been praised by composer Dimitri Terzakis as “the product of a unique talent,” and is distinguished by a broad array of musical languages, overt lyricism, and expression. The recipient of numerous commissions, Theisen has written for a broad array of genres, including chamber music, large-scale orchestral and wind ensemble works, and songs. An active music theorist as well as composer, Theisen’s research focuses on the music of Elliott Carter.