Biography Marcus Strickland (born 1979 in Gainesville, Florida) is a jazz soprano, alto and tenor saxophonist who grew up in Miami, Florida and now currently resides in New York City. Down Beat Magazine’s Critic’s Poll named Marcus ‘Rising Star on Tenor Saxophone’ in ’10 and ‘Rising Star on Soprano Saxophone’ in ’08 and JazzTimes Magazine’s [read more…]
Josh Quinlan is a saxophonist, composer, and educator based out of Colorado. Quinlan is currently an Instructor of Jazz Studies at the University of Colorado, music faculty member at Denver School of the Arts, Director of Education for the Colorado nonprofit, Gift of Jazz, Director of the Dazzle Recordings label, and Co-Director of the Telluride [read more…]
Introduction After reviewing Hip Licks for Saxophone Volume 1 and Volume 2, I contacted Greg when I heard about his new book called The Lobster Theory (and other analogies for jazz improvisation). I will be offering an overall review, my thoughts, and a conclusion as to what I was able to take away after working through this [read more…]
By now, many of you have noticed that many saxophone players also play the flute, which is commonly referred to as a “double” in our world. Often, saxophone parts, particularly in big bands, include segments written for the flute, giving composers and arrangers an added color to work with. And in the studio and show [read more…]
This article is the second of a two-part series on ear training brought to you by Scott Edwards of Ear Training HQ. Click here to read the first installment. A big part of ear training involves working on dedicated ear training exercises. These exercises focus on individual sounds (whether it’s intervals, scale degrees/solfege or chords) so you can learn [read more…]
Introduction As I discussed in my 2015 NAMM Product Review Part 1, over the past few years, the Silverstein ligatures have become one of the most popular ligatures used by professional players such as Dave Liebman, Jerry Bergonzi, Tony Malaby, Vincent Herring and the list goes on. Sean Yang and May Rhyu over at Silverstein [read more…]
This article is the first of a two-part series on ear training brought to you by Scott Edwards of Ear Training HQ. Once you’re done with this one, click here to read the second installment. When we first learn to play the saxophone we start by learning to make a sound. Then we learn where to put our fingers. After [read more…]
Introduction After test playing the Sax Dakota SDT-XR-92 at the 2015 NAMM show, Pete was nice enough to send me one to try out for a few days and gain a better understanding of what this horn has to offer. I will be reviewing the Sax Dakota SDT-XR-92 tenor saxophone based on the following criteria: [read more…]
Getting a full, resonant, singing, “fat” sound is the aim of many a saxophonist. For some it means a continuous quest for the right setup. And without a doubt, equipment plays a significant part. Certain horn, neck, mouthpiece and reed combinations help optimize resonance. But no matter what your equipment is, you can always fatten [read more…]
Biography Lucas Pino, multi-instrumentalist, composer and bandleader has been hailed as one of the most sought-after saxophone voices of his generation on the scene today. Pino has been called a “high wire act of musical textures and technique…” (Carmel DeSoto, jazzpolice.com) and been described as having “huge range, controlled ferocity, fleet notes and articulate expression” (Geoff Chapman, [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!
