New York City’s Mark Small is a badman on the tenor. Although he’s done much more, Mark’s main claim to fame is as the tenor guy in massively popular modern-day crooning sensation Michael Buble’s touring and recording ensemble. Tours with Buble have taken Mark to each and every corner of the planet as well as [read more…]
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…]
Flashy technique and altissimo are all fine and good, but a rich, powerful, and distinctive saxophone sound that truly grabs your listeners is the hallmark of any great player. Thing is, without the correct methods, you're likely to waste time, looking for the perfect setup and trying to make sense of vague and conflicting instruction from books, videos, and private teachers.
Luckily, sax legend David Liebman, one of the world's foremost experts on saxophone sound production, takes you on a step-by-step journey through the method used by legends such as Michael Brecker, Bob Berg, and other masters. Starting from your mental concept of sound, to the breath, to the throat and the oral cavity (lots of cool overtone exercises here!), to the embouchure, and then on to expressive effects and working on reeds - Dave covers everything you need to develop the sort of sound that turns heads - from the first note.
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Ready to go Deep Into the Art of Building a Massive Saxophone Sound?
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…]
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…]