https://youtu.be/eF6ZEkdTe2Y David Sanborn has been one of my favorite saxophone players from the beginning. In fact, he was my first. I was in high school the first time I heard him play. Unfortunately, I have never heard him perform live. My first exposure was a recording of him performing with Randy Crawford at the Montreux … Continue reading David Sanborn
For some reason, I have always found the blues hard to navigate. The tunes are usually pretty simple, easy to hear, yet, I can't do without hitting some crap notes. I try to do a lot of listening. Especially to tunes that feature sax players doing what I cannot. I'd like to share a tune … Continue reading Scrap Iron
For the past several days I have been trying to learn Giant Steps by, John Coltrane. It is probably his most famous tune. It was revolutionary as far as I'm concerned. It came out in 1960. All the years I have been playing I have never attempted to learn it. It was too much of … Continue reading Giant Steps
Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley was born September 15, 1928, and died August 8, 1975, at age 46. He was a jazz alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. He was thought to be the heir to Charlie Parker. That says something of the caliber of this saxophonist. Adderley is remembered … Continue reading Cannonball Adderley
Now's The Time - Charlie Parker Charles "Yardbird" Parker was an amazing saxophonist who gained wide recognition for his brilliant solos and innovative improvisations. He was, without a doubt, one of the most influential and talented musicians in jazz history. When I was first introduced to jazz in high school I was floored when I … Continue reading Charlie Parker
It seems like there are billions of saxophone players in the world. Some are like me, just a novice. And then there are those saxophone players that are just brilliant. I just ran across another extraordinary saxophone player. You may know his father, John. I'm sorry I am late in this discovery. Most of you … Continue reading Ravi Coltrane
Photo credit: Randee St. Nichols Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter both made names for themselves playing with some of the top jazz artists of their time; Maynard Ferguson, Miles Davis, Cannonball Adderley, Art Blakey, and many others. They met each other for the first time in 1959 while playing with Maynard Ferguson. Years later Weather … Continue reading Weather Report
I was still in high school when I first heard of Dexter Gordon. After school, our high school band director was teaching improvisation to those of us who were interested. Most times we were using Jamey Aebersold recordings to practice. Other times we were listening to jazz records. One of those records was by Dexter … Continue reading Dexter Gordon
Sonny Rollins - The Bridge The Bridge, 1962, was the first release of jazz giant Sonny Rollins following his unexpected early retirement in 1959 and his first recording for Bluebird/RCA Victor. The saxophonist was joined by the musicians with whom he would record for the next segment of his career: Jim Hall on guitar, Bob … Continue reading Sonny Rollins
Michael Brecker I started playing the alto sax in the 6th grade. I seemed to be naturally good at it or at least drawn to it. The first day I got it I played it for hours not knowing anything about the saxophone. In the seventh grade, I was introduced to the baritone sax and … Continue reading One of My Favorite Players
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