There’s little I can say about John Coltrane that hasn’t already been said. But one thing that I don’t hear that often is what Coltrane said about himself. After doing some poking around on the web, I can across this vibey Austin Powers-era interview with the man himself and a less-than-lovable interviewer. At any rate, [read more…]
For those of my compadres living in lands where the holiday of Thanksgiving is celebrated, and even those of you who aren’t, I just wanted to send my warmest thoughts for a safe and happy Turkey Day. As for me, I’ll be heading out to the ever-festive town of Palm Springs, California. So you’ll be [read more…]
It’s one of the key factors that separates the pros from the amateurs. It’s the reason I call American Idol The Intonation Olympics, since it’s the intonation factor which so drastically affects whether or not the singer will manage to touch the viewers’ hearts. It doesn’t matter whether you sing or play an instrument, but [read more…]
Every once in a while I come across a video that’s so amazing and inspiring that I just have to share it. This video of Chris Potter playing Charlie Parker’s confirmation sans accompaniment is more certainly one of those videos. The video is actually a part of a masterclass DVD series sold by Roberto’s Winds, and [read more…]
One of the hallmarks of any professional musician is the clarity and evenness of the individual notes they play as part of a note-packed passage of music, such as a 16th or 32nd note run. I recently came across a helpful discovery in this area while practicing my chromatic scale. Cleanliness is Next to Godliness [read more…]
Your weekly sampling of some of this past week’s saxophone-related news: A Collaboration Embraces the Sacred and the Saxophone (Jan Garbarek) Dave Liebman: Hard Work Courtney Pine gets even closer to his roots [Sorry(!), but this web page has disappeared since the original publication of this article] MUSIC PREVIEW: Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe / Maceo Parker [read more…]
I just got done doing an amazing in-depth interview with the multi-gifted New York saxophonist, composer, and mouthpiece refacer Adam Niewood for our podcast (aka Best. Saxophone. Podcast. Ever.). Among the things that struck me over the course of the interview was Adam’s description of a major turning point in his musical journey. You see, the [read more…]
Over the last few decades as a player, composer, and educator with an insatiable hunger for new material to work on, I’ve amassed an extensive library of books for saxophone. Despite owning many of the countless books on the market now, there are very few books that I’ve found myself coming back to over and [read more…]
Here is another little tidbit that while not exactly being breaking news, is still something that a lot of people have still not yet seen. In an inspiring interview presented in both text and audio with Charlie Parker conducted by Paul Desmond, the two legends discuss a myriad of fascinating topics. Some of the highlights Charlie Parker [read more…]
Your weekly sampling of some of this past week’s saxophone-related news: Shining on: interview with Sonny Rollins Rico expands Reserve Classic line [Sorry(!), but this web page has disappeared since the original publication of this article] Jan Garbarek and the Hilliards play music by Komitas (video) Pharoah Sanders part of a long line of jazz royalty [Sorry(!), [read more…]
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