One listen to masterful altoist and Selmer Artist Rob Wilkerson’s deeply expressive, original, and enchanting album, “Nest” will make it abundantly clear that Rob is not just another beboppin’ alto man. Although his original work favors subtlety over flash and flair, when it comes time to burn, Wilkerson can cut heads with the best of [read more…]
I’m always on the lookout for exercises that develop tone, technique and articulation. While I use material that is familiar to saxophonists (e.g. The Universal Method, Oliver Nelson’s Patterns for Saxophone), I also draw from methods developed for other instruments. Having started as a classical flute player (until a Charlie Parker record changed my life), [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
Baritonist Frank Basile gets around. And by that I mean shakin’ up the scene with the likes of The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, The Dizzy Gillespie All Star Big Band, The Jimmy Heath Big Band, The Dave Holland Big Band, The Joe Lovano Nonet, Michael Bublé, The Christian McBride Big Band, Pablo Mayor’s Folklore Urbano, The [read more…]
A Labor of Love I remember being in sixth grade and asking my sax teacher the inevitable question: “Who’s the best saxophone player in the world?” Of course, there can never be a definitive answer to a question like that, but my teacher didn’t miss a beat when he replied, “Michael Brecker.” And he wasn’t [read more…]
This guest post is from saxophone and multi-reed player, composer, recording artist, and educator Sam Sadigursky of SamSadigursky.com If I could only go back, I think I would play the guitar. Not just to rip those pentatonic scales up and down and play around with effects while my long hair blows in the wind, but [read more…]
Grammy nominated performer, composer and producer Ben Wendel has enjoyed multiple domestic and international tours with such artists as Cuban drumming legend Ignacio Berroa, Thelonious Monk Piano Competition Winner Tigran Hamasyan and even Snoop Dogg. He’s also a founding member of the Grammy nominated group Kneebody. In addition to playing saxophone and bassoon, Ben also doubles [read more…]
After over 20 years of using the “El Cheapo” LaVoz/Rico Reedgard which retails for $4.49 for the tenor version, I decided it was time to store my reeds like a big boy. So I went out to my friendly local music store, Baxter Northup and picked up a shiny new Rico Multi-Instrument Reed Vitalizer Case which retails [read more…]
Touted by Phil Woods as “one of the greatest alto players ever,” it’s no coincidence that Jon Gordon has been steadily building his reputation as one of the baddest of the bad on his axe. And it’s hard to avoid virtuosity when you’re sharing the stage and studio with folks like Kenny Barron, Tony Bennett, Dave [read more…]
This past weekend I got to interview none other than the musical genius swiss army knife known as Bob Mintzer. I know, totally awesome and amazing, right? One thing he said during the interview really stuck out to me was this: To play in a contemporary way, you really must have the depth of having studied the players that [read more…]
How many accomplished professional animators can say that they’ve also played alto with some of jazz’s greatest musicians? That’s right, none – until now. Well, actually, Allen Mezquida has been doing his thing for quite a while. Besides being a masterful alto player, Allen has also animated for Disney, Warner Brothers, and Sony. Heck, he’s even [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!
