If you’re like me, you’re always looking for ways to vary your practice routine, improve sense of rhythm and expand your language as an improviser. Here are a few exercises that incorporate groups of five notes (quintuplets) into some very simple triadic exercises that you can practice over the entire range of the saxophone. Some [read more…]
Introduction Légère Reeds LTD, has become one of the most popular synthetic reeds on the market today. More and more saxophonists have made the switch to Légère due to the many common problems and inconsistencies they have faced while dealing with traditional cane reeds. I have tried various Forestone, Bravo, FiberReed and a few other [read more…]
The new JodyJazz DV HR Tenor uses the patented DV secondary window to add mid and low harmonics, resulting in a more authoritative tone than normal tenor sax mouthpieces provide. And the long straight somewhat high baffle gives the mouthpiece it’s fantastic projection and cutting power along with excellent altissimo.
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The New DV HR Tenor from JodyJazz
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard educators and musicians refer to learning about jazz improvisation as “learning the jazz language.” Believe it or not, the more I learn about jazz improvisation, the more I agree that this analogy is spot on. The biggest issue that many folks run into, however, is turning [read more…]
Introduction JodyJazz has continued to expand upon it’s line of saxophone mouthpieces over the years and most recently has introduced a new model called the SUPER JET. Today, I will be discussing the SUPER JET as well as the new JodyJazz POWER RING ligature. I will be reviewing the SUPER JET alto metal mouthpiece based [read more…]
Introduction Morgan mouthpieces have been around for over 30+ years and have been quite sough after as a viable alternative to the highly desirable and expensive vintage Meyer and Otto Link hard rubber mouthpieces. I have heard great things about the Morgan line of mouthpieces from many saxophone students, professionals, and teachers who say they [read more…]
The music of Johann Sebastian Bach has long been admired by jazz musicians. John Lewis, Jacques Loussier, Ethan Iverson and many more have all interpreted his music in some way. This may be because there is so much structure and logic that can be applied to the way we improvise. Many know that the baroque [read more…]
Introduction I have seen various saxophonists playing on Phil-Tone mouthpieces as well as vintage mouthpieces refaced by Phil Engelman for sale on eBay and Craiglists but have never had the chance to test play Phil’s various mouthpieces for myself until now. I will be test playing four different Phil-Tone tenor mouthpieces (2 metal & 2 [read more…]
Introduction While attending the 2017 NAMM Show (2017 Saxophone Gear Roundup), I had a chance to briefly test play the new D’Addario Select Jazz tenor mouthpiece 7M tip opening. A few weeks after NAMM, Kristen Mckeon, Product Specialist at D’Addario, was nice enough to send me a 7M (.105) tip opening to further review. [read more…]
We live in an increasingly visual world. A world of billboards, smart phones, computer screens, FaceTime, Instagram, Google ads, Facebook photos, Photoshop. But how about this – jazz music is all about listening. It’s all about sound. It’s an aural tradition. Jazz musicians say this all the time for good reason – because it’s true! [read more…]
Introduction This marks my 6th year attending NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) and the show keeps getting bigger and better every year. Similar to the 2016 NAMM Show (2016 NAMM Show Saxophone Gear Roundup), the 2017 NAMM show was yet another year filled with more exhibitors showcasing new and updated products including: saxophones, necks, ligatures, [read more…]
Tips and Techniques from the pros PLUS free access to the Sax Lessons with the Stars archive - 10 years worth of interviews and exercises featuring the likes of David Liebman, Bob Mintzer, Ben Wendel, Bob Reynolds, and many more!
