Why We’re Obsessed With Wayne Shorter NPR.org This past Monday had NPR.org posting a in-depth interview with Wayne Shorter’s biographer, Michelle Mercer. Obviously one of Wayne Shorter’s biggest fans, she offers her uniquely exhaustive insights on the music and the man. The interview covers topics such as Wayne’s revolutionary role in Brazilian jazz as well [read more…]
For Steve Cole, becoming one of the biggest players in contemporary jazz was no coincidence, as this guy’s certainly paid some dues. Any artist who manges to sell hundreds of thousands of albums and score four #1 R&R Smooth Jazz hits is likely to be a force to be reckoned with. Steve is no exception. [read more…]
Here's a new alternative to the uninspiring tunes often found in the average beginning sax book. This collection of 25 tunes, each with backing and demonstration tracks plus a video tutorial, is the product one of my most significant discoveries in over two decades of working with beginning saxophonists. That is, beginners learn fundamentals much faster by playing the kind of music that attracted them to the horn in the first place.
INFINITEMUSICAN.COM
🎷 Sax Fundamentals Faster
For those of you who’ve been keeping up with the blog (and shame on you if you’re not one of those people), I’ve recently been putting out articles that have to do with the art of saxophone tone creation, including articles on overtones, practicing on the mouthpiece, and proper positioning of the lower lip. Since [read more…]
A few weeks ago I saw a brief instructional video by monster sax player and educator, George Garzone. In the video, he takes on a plethora of topics, but one thing he said really stood out to me. George says that the first thing he does when a new student comes to him is have [read more…]
Now repeat the title of this article 27 times in a row at 300 bpm. But seriously ladies and gents, with this article I’d like to stress the importance of practicing your instruments at all different levels of volume, from pianissimo all the way up to fortissimo. From the Back to the Middle and Around Again [read more…]
Saxophonist, composer and author Walt Weiskopf has worked with legendary acts such as Buddy Rich, Frank Sinatra, Toshiko Akiyoshi, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, and Steely Dan to name just a few. As a solo artist, he’s recorded fourteen critically acclaimed albums bringing onboard heavyweights such as Brad Mehldau, John Patitucci, Billy Drummond, Joe Locke, and [read more…]
Dexter Gordon, Marcel Mule, David Sanborn – what do these legendary musicians all have in common? The answer, of course, is a big, beautiful, and distinctive tone. If you’re like me, for years and years, the only thing I ever heard about improving my sound was to practice long tones and support the air from [read more…]
Your weekly sampling of some of this past week’s saxophone-related news: Charles Lloyd continues his musical search Paquito D’Rivera: Jazz at the Heart Saxophone Summit with Joe Lovano, Dave Liebman and Ravi Coltrane Songs With Sexy Sax P. Mauriat Donates Saxophone to Panamanian Jazz Student The Moon Hotel Lounge Project: Former critic turns to music-makinge [Sorry(!), [read more…]
New York saxophonist Will Vinson is a force to be reckoned with. Hailing from London, Will made the move to New York in 1999 and hasn’t looked back since. The roster of jazz heavyweights that Will’s played with includes Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Kurt Rosenwinkle, Mark Turner, Chris Potter, Geoff Keezer, and many, many more. Not one [read more…]
Yes, yes, I know, I’ve been droning on and on about overtones lately. But I’ve really been having a good time practicing the exercises from part 3 of the Intro to Overtones series and isolating some of the muscles that haven’t really developed to the extent I’d like to develop them. One thing I discovered [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!
