Introduction I remember when JodyJazz first came out with his HR* line of mouthpieces for alto and tenor and since then, Jody has expanded his product line to include 9 different models that are offered for soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone. In this article, I will be reviewing Jody’s newest addition to the JodyJazz lineup, [read more…]
There seems to a be a common idea that improvising in odd time signatures is hard. When I come across a new time signature, I remind myself that it isn’t difficult – it’s unfamiliar. If you think 4/4 is easy, that’s likely because you’ve spent significantly more time playing songs in four, making it familiar [read more…]
Introduction If you’re looking for another smokin’ alto player to add to your list of people to check out, Nick Biello is your guy. Besides being as a top-notch alto player, Nick can also be seen playing bari, tenor, and soprano in various groups. I first saw videos of Nick playing alto saxophone when I [read more…]
Introduction The following article is a mini-lesson that incorporates an etude from Little Leaps and Sounds, which is my latest book geared towards the intermediate level and includes etudes written over twelve common jazz standards. After releasing Volume 1-3 of Leaps and Sounds between 2018-2020, I saw there might be a need for etudes written with [read more…]
How can you improve the essential elements of your improvisation? Follow the advice in Sy Oliver & Trummy Young’s song: “It Ain’t What You Do (It’s the Way That You Do It).” Great soloists play interestingly and confidently. As listeners, we perceive that as charisma. In jazz education, there’s a lot of focus on what [read more…]
Lately I’ve been asked by other saxophonists how I am able to play notes below the normal range of the saxophone, which, as just about anyone reading this would know, is the low Bb, below the staff – especially since there don’t seem to be any keys on the instrument which would appear able to [read more…]