Introduction If you’re looking for another smokin’ alto player to add to your list of people to check out, Nick Biello is your guy. Besides being as a top-notch alto player, Nick can also be seen playing bari, tenor, and soprano in various groups. I first saw videos of Nick playing alto saxophone when I [read more…]
Introduction The following article is a mini-lesson that incorporates an etude from Little Leaps and Sounds, which is my latest book geared towards the intermediate level and includes etudes written over twelve common jazz standards. After releasing Volume 1-3 of Leaps and Sounds between 2018-2020, I saw there might be a need for etudes written with [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
Introduction I strongly believe that transcription is the key to learning jazz improvisation. This certainly was the case for me and for the numerous jazz musicians that I have performed with over the years. I do not believe that I have met a great improviser that claimed to have never transcribed. For me, a light [read more…]
How can you improve the essential elements of your improvisation? Follow the advice in Sy Oliver & Trummy Young’s song: “It Ain’t What You Do (It’s the Way That You Do It).” Great soloists play interestingly and confidently. As listeners, we perceive that as charisma. In jazz education, there’s a lot of focus on what [read more…]
Lately I’ve been asked by other saxophonists how I am able to play notes below the normal range of the saxophone, which, as just about anyone reading this would know, is the low Bb, below the staff – especially since there don’t seem to be any keys on the instrument which would appear able to [read more…]
We have two lives: the one we learn with and the one we live after that. — Bernard Malamud Part 1 A few years ago I walked into a saxophone shop and asked the owner if he had heard a certain recording by legendary avant garde composer and saxophonist John Zorn. I was making musical [read more…]
Back in March when the COVID-19 quarantine went into effect, it took me a few weeks to gain my bearings. The shock and disbelief of watching all my upcoming tours, performances, and plans get cancelled day after day seemed too surreal to be true. I wasn’t playing my instrument much in those first few weeks. [read more…]
As 2019 marked the 60th anniversary of John Coltrane’s initial recording of “Giant Steps” (March, 1959 for the Atlantic record label), it seems hard to believe that it was really that long ago. Along with an additional pair of originals, “Countdown” and “Fifth House”, also recorded that year, these three tunes employed a harmonic device [read more…]
As jazz saxophonists we are always contending with the challenge of “originality.” Like most saxophone students, I started out practicing from method books and transcribed solos, but eventually realized that I was not going to stand out as a player, or feel creatively fulfilled, if I only practiced what everyone else was practicing. I had [read more…]
Introduction I recently had the chance to speak with San Francisco Bay Area sax pro, Tim Lin, and he was nice enough to share some examples of melodic shapes, which I believe could benefit any player, whether they are beginning or advanced. My hope is that the exercises included in this article will be a [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!
