Seamus Blake Shares His Thoughts on Music, Practice Routine, Sound and Equipment
Introduction
Seamus Blake is one of my favorite saxophonists on the scene today and continues to move jazz in a forward direction appealing to a wide range of audiences. During my senior year of college, I had the opportunity to meet Seamus Blake and attend his masterclass where he discussed sound, practicing in all 12 keys, phrasing, rhythm, among many other topics.
Since then, I have received multiple emails from various saxophonists with questions about Seamus’s playing, equipment, and sound. I recently reached out to Seamus asking if he would be interested in discussing his approach to the saxophone and any upcoming projects. Seamus said he would be happy to.
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Biography
(partially taken from Seamus’ website)
Seamus Blake, New York based tenor saxophonist and composer, is one of the finest saxophonists on the music scene today. He was born on December 1970 in England and raised in Vancouver, Canada. At age 21, while still a student at Boston’s prestigious Berklee College, he was asked to record with legendary drummer Victor Lewis. After graduation, Seamus decided to move to New York and quickly established himself as one of the top tenor saxophonist in New York. In February 2002, “Seamus was awarded first place in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition in Washington D. C. and as the winner, had the opportunity to perform with Wayne Shorter and Herbie Hancock. Due to his popularity, Seamus has worked and continues to work with a wide variety of artists. As a long-standing member of the Grammy-nominated Mingus bands, he is featured on six of their albums. Seamus continues to play and has played with such artists as: Bill Stewart, Kevin Hays, David Kikoski, Alex Sipiagin, Eric Reed, Antonio Sanchez, Scott Kinsey, Tal Wilkenfeld, Jane Monheit, Kenny Barron, Sam Yahel, Michael Brecker, Randy Brecker, Wayne Krantz, Ingrid Jensen, Maria Schneider, Mark Turner, Brad Mehldau, Al Foster, Brian Blade, Jeremy Pelt, Jack Dejohnette and is a member of the Victor Lewis Quintet.
While many saxophonists know Seamus for his tenor saxophone playing, he continues to explore the electronic applications in jazz, especially with the EWI (electronic wind instrument).
Interview
ZS: While refining your musical ability, who helped you advance to the musician you are today?
SB: That’s a tough question because short of saying everybody, there are a lot of people that have influenced and helped shape me as a musician over the years. While working with musicians like Victor Lewis, John Scofield, Kurt Rosenwinkel, David Kikoski, Bill Stewart and Guillermo Klein can leave you in awe of their artistry but also inspired and full of ideas. I’m always watching, listening, and learning from many musicians.
ZS: How does today’s tastes in music (Hip Hop, Rap, Country, EDM, etc.) affect your creativity?
SB: There is a lot of bad music out in the present moment and for that I try to protect myself (Earplugs!). Your typical ride in a taxi will expose you to the hit parade of today which is mostly full of trash! However, I learned early on to be open to all kinds of music. It’s the same as being open to new ideas or to new people. It is a powerful ideology and ingredient of creativity. If you look for it there is always great music being made somewhere in all different types of genres. My listening tastes are wide and varied and I find inspiration in some unusual places. I recommend listening to all genres of music to help improve your creativity.
ZS: What exercises or musical ideas do you find yourself working on each day when you practice?
SB: I have a list of different patterns that I have created and practice to continuously maintain and improve my technique. Sometimes I will read through some classical music on my EWI. At the moment, I am writing some ideas down into Sibelius and trying to practice those.
ZS: What are you trying to accomplish musically in the upcoming months?
SB: February 11th, I go on the road with two back-to-back tours with two separate bands of European musicians. The first is an organ trio in the UK. The second is a French quartet. I will be touring in France and Spain with the French quartet. After this tour, I have two concerts in Latvia with a big band. This tour schedule has been taking all my time to prepare the charts and for the rest of the year I am still aiming to write more music despite being on the road a lot. The work never stops to continue finding new material.
ZS: How do you work on developing a more consistent sound through the entire range of the horn in addition to practicing overtone exercises?
SB: I think maybe it’s more setup than diligent practicing. Of course the two go together. A good player with good equipment can make a good sound. In all honestly, I don’t get too technical when I’m practicing. I try to be having fun and enjoy music. I like to stay creative and change up my routine. Sound is very important to me and I feel that I can’t play if I don’t have the right sound. At this point, I feel that I have a good setup and if I’m playing consistently then I don’t have to worry too much about my sound anymore.
ZS: Equipment will always be a topic for musicians when trying to take their playing to the next level. I understand that it’s mostly the player and not the equipment but what would you recommend players look for when test playing new equipment?
SB: It is important to have an understanding of what or whom you are trying to sound like when test playing various types of equipment. You should have a sound in your head. Horns, reeds and mouthpieces should allow you to project, play with dynamics, have the right balance of eq and allow you to play easily. You should not be fighting your setup.
Tonally, I think of the saxophone as an instrument between a trumpet and a woodwind. I want to achieve the power and brassiness of a trumpet and then turn around and have the warmth and wood of a clarinet or the breath and air of a flute. Saxophone is very diverse with tone. The only other instrument with more diversity is maybe a guitar but they are cheating with all of those pedals.
Seamus Blake Equipment
Saxophone: Selmer Super Balanced Action Tenor Saxophone
Mouthpiece: Ted Klum TonaMax HR 8* (117)
Ligature: Ishimori Sterling Silver Ligature
Reed: Roberto’s 4 hard
Case: Marco Magi
Videos
Seamus Blake Website
Seamus Blake “Sofa Song”
Seamus Blake talks about Ted Klum Mouthpieces
January 28, 2017 @ 8:03 pm
I heard Semaus play at the Saxophone Symposium several years ago. He played great.However at that point he said he was using a 1940’s HR Otto Link Reso mpc. I wonder why the switch, he sounded great, just as good in the video above. He was using the Selmer Super Balanced Action from the late 40’s or early 50’s.He was also using the Roberto RW Reeds, as was Chris Potter the following year. However Chris said he switched back and forth between RW reeds and Rico Jazz Select Reeds. ANyway just wondering about the mpc. Ted Klum’s mpc’s are EXPENSIVE!!
January 29, 2017 @ 1:09 pm
Hello Larry,
Seamus has also liked his reso chamber link but Ted’s mouthpieces work for him. I really like Ted’s work and am looking to check out the same mouthpiece Seamus is playing but in a 7 tip opening to see how it compares to my hard rubber slant link. Hoping to find a back-up to my link. Ted’s mouthpieces are on the higher end of the price spectrum but if one of Ted’s mouthpieces works extremely well for you, then you in theory would never have to purchase a new mouthpiece ever again unless the piece was damaged, lost, or stolen. I would definitely check out one of Ted’s mouthpieces if you are in the market for a back-up or replacement. Ted does great work.
February 2, 2017 @ 5:58 pm
Zach: Not really in the market for it and could not afford a Ted Klum mpc anyway. For backup I have a current HR Link that was adjusted by John Reilly of Hollywood, CA. I also have a HR CE Winds B stock HR “The Sig” that plays well. It is a Link knockoff. My Main mpc is a metal FL Otto Link 8* from the mid-1960’s that I bought used from a retired Army Band guy for $50.00 bucks. The best $50.00 dollars I every spent. I bought it around ’90 or ’91 before E bay and the net were there. I feel that Ebay is responsible for the inflated prices of Links, Mk VI’s etc. I met a guy at the Sax Symposium at GMU a few yrs back. He had a metal 8* just like mine by he spent $500.00 for it. He was shocked when I told him what I spent. Because you review for this site I assume that you get a good break on a lot of products. From your articles I gather that a lot of guys send you samples of their products.
February 2, 2017 @ 7:15 pm
Hello Larry,
Understood. I do receive quite a bit of products to test play but mostly send them back unless if I want to purchase an item I pay the current price or a bit less depending on the condition of the mouthpiece sent (new, slightly used, or test). I have stuck with the same vintage HR link for quite some time but am always looking for a back-up or simply a good mouthpiece.
February 3, 2017 @ 2:24 pm
Zach: The search is eternal. I believe that once you find a good mpc and horn that you should just stick w/it and practice. Zoot stuck w/the same mpc forever. Dexter the same for the most part. The only reason he switched horns and mpcs is because his Conn 10M and Dukoff Hollywood were stolen in Paris and not made any more at the time of the thief. So he went w/a Selmer Mk VI and an Metal Otto Link around a 8 or 8*. Then he just stuck w/it. His friends Sonny Stitt and Johnny Griffin were playing the same basic setup. Although for a while I believe Johnny played a King Super 20.
I believe and tell students this, buy the best horn you can afford, the same for mpcs. Now if they are just so-so or junkers then yeah they will have to upgrade down the line.
The thing 1 would like to know is why so many guys switched from the Selmer Super Balanced Action to the Mark VI? Was the VI so much better? All the SBA’s I’ve played play so much better in the lower register than the VI. Maybe the intonation on the VI is better. All I know s that all the studio guys play VI’s as well as most of the jazz guys. Getz and others made the switch. The 1 guy who did not switch was Ben Webster even though Selmer was going to give him a MK VI. I think Ben may have graciously accepted the present but still played the SBA. I heard he gave his VI to Dexter after Dexter’s Conn10M was stolen. Okay enough stories.