THE TIPTONS SAX QUARTET
featuring JESSICA LURIE
jessicalurie.com

"Calder's Circus" Audio Sample

THE TIPTONS are an all-female sax quartet with percussion featuring Jessica Lurie, Amy Denio and Sue Orfield, original members and the lead composers of the internationally renowned Billy Tipton Memorial Saxophone Quartet (BTMSQ), as well as Tobi Stone and Elizabeth Pupo Walker.

BTMSQ was originally founded in 1988, and chose its name to pay tribute to big band saxophonist and pianist Billy Tipton, following the postmortem revelation that Tipton was actually a woman who lived as a man for more than 50 years. Many believe that this allowed Tipton to pursue a career in the male-dominated world of jazz. Not to be bound by convention, the Tiptons similarly do their own thing. With a repertoire that ranges from New Orleans jump groove to hip hop, punk to East European, klezmer and beyond, the Tiptons create some of the wildest sounds ever to come out of a sax quartet. Live performances are not soon forgotten in light of the high-energy interaction between members.

As BTMSQ they have shared the stage with the likes of the Indigo Girls, Wayne Horvitz, Zap Mama, and Richard Thompson. The group has toured Europe eight times, playing to sold-out houses, including the North Sea Jazz Festival, the MIMI Festival in Arles, France, Horfest in Austria and Klinkende Munt Music Festival in Brussels. They have also been featured at the du Maurier Jazz Festival in Vancouver, BC, Bumbershoot Music Festival in Seattle, and performed concerts all over the US and Canada.