As many of you know, I’m currently working on an e-book with accompanying audio lessons. One of my interviewees for the project is Bill Plake, whose insights into the physiological aspects of making music are seemingly endless. Among the many topics upon which I was enlightened by the good Mr. Plake was the puffing of [read more…]
To change things up just a little bit, I went ahead and put this week’s article to video. In my little micro-movie, I cover the topic of developing your own saxophone tone in a deliberate manner so that you can sound like you by first deciding what “you” sounds like. The video is a continuation [read more…]
You know that adrenaline you get from hearing a saxophonist tearing through super-hip lines with incredible clarity and a rock-solid time feel? Now, obviously, there's a lot more that goes into great sax playing than just playing a bunch of fast notes, but without solid technical skills, your playing is going to lack a critical dimension when it comes to exciting your listeners.
Luckily, there is, indeed, a clear path to developing those head-turning chops while at the same time adding original modern vocabulary to your improv "vocabulary", and renowned sax recording artist and educator Adam Larson's course, ππͺπ¨π©π΅π―πͺπ―π¨-ππ’π΄π΅ π’π―π₯ ππ³πΊπ΄π΅π’π-πππ¦π’π― is a "one-stop shopping" destination to get you there. Instead of blindly running scales or reading out of an exercise book, Adam takes you through a method similar to that of Brecker and other masters, where it's all about increasing the speed of not only your fingers, but your mind, and most importantly, your ears.
So if you're willing to do something you've never done so you can have something you've never had - click below to learn more about Adam's popular, game-changing course and start turbo-charging your playint - today.
SAXTECHNIQUE.COM
Lightning-Fast and Crystal-Clean Saxophone Technique
I recently saw a video with the great saxman Bob Reynolds, who’s best known for playing in John Mayer’s band, but also quite an established solo artist in his own right. At any rate, in a video (for his mailing list and online students only) he talks about how the best mouthpiece you’ll ever find [read more…]
Every once in a while I come across a saxophonist new to me who truly blows me away. Thanks to NYC sax maestro Daniel Blake, now is once in a while. As if performing and touring internationally with artists such as Esperanza Spalding, Anthony Braxton, Kenny Werner, Danilo Perez, Lukas Ligeti, Peter Evans, Ricardo Gallo, [read more…]
Those of us familiar with Mike DiRubbo’sΒ fiery brand of no-nonsense improvised flights of fancy can attest to the fact that he’s a major player in the jazz saxophone game. With shades of Kenny Garret, Jackie McLean, and John Coltrane, DiRubbo’s alto speaks in a distinctly powerful voice that’s at the same time modern and timeless. [read more…]
This is aΒ video review of a very interesting and exciting relatively new reed adjusting tool for saxophone known as the Reed Geek (no, really?). Β If you can get past my awkwardness on camera, you’ll heard what I believe to be a noticeable difference in the sound of the reed after I spent just a few [read more…]
This article is based on a question sent in by Best. Saxophone. Website. Ever. guest writer and reader Charles “Chazz” Pratt in Phoenix, Arizona (question has been slightly abbreviated): Here’s a question that’s been on my mind for quite some time. Where do people practice? If you’re traveling (not as a gigging musician, but mainly [read more…]
When putting these interview articles together, sometimes I get an artist whose accomplishments are so impressive and numerous that it makes putting everything into a few paragraphs, well, kind of a pain in the tush. That said, thanks a lot Grace Kelly. I’ll go ahead and list just a few of the bullet points here: [read more…]
Who says that all sax players with world-class jazz chops must restrict themselves to the Blue Notes and Village Vanguards of the world? Not Β Jay Collins. A product of Portland, Oregon’s surprisingly vibrant jazz scene in the late 80’s and early 90’s, Jay’s footing in the jazz world is more than solid. It’s not just [read more…]
Generously lauded in publications such as The Village Voice, The Boston Herald, The Boston Phoenix, and the Boston Globe, it’s obvious that Daniel Bennett is the toast of his former town (he is now based in New York City). With a list of teachers that includes Jerry Bergonzi and George Garzone, it’s easy to see [read more…]