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Pain & Music
I have been having a tough time. I have what is called degenerative disc disease. It is a deterioration of the disc between my vertebrae at all levels. It is, at times, extremely painful, as the nerves to my arms and legs are pinched. As my spine becomes more misaligned the more pain and numbness…
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A Song For Joyce
Before joining the Navy I wanted to be a jazz composer. Somehow the Navy changed that direction. Anyway, this is a song I wrote, while still in high school actually, was for a girl. I hadn’t even met her yet. She was going to the college I was headed to. Her name was Joyce. We…
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Making Slow Progress
Slow Progress I have been struggling lately with practicing. It is very difficult because of upper back pain. When I was young I never would have thought that my body would fail to the point to where I could not even play my saxophone. When I got out of the Navy I had a lower…
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Have You Met Miss Jones?
I have been practicing for almost 3 months. I am making some progress. It takes me much longer to learn a tune nowadays, but I can still learn. I have read that people who play musical instruments are constantly increasing synaptic function in the brain. So playing music is good for you. So, here is…
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The Allora Sax
Allora Pro Level Saxophone I have to admit that I purchased this saxophone because of the price. While playing in the Navy band program I pretty much always play Yamaha Pro horns. I got out in 2007 and had not played since then. I got the new Allora Paris Professional Tenor sax nearly two months…
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Mastering your Gifts
A person’s gift will make room for them, and bring them before important people (Prov 18:16 my paraphrase). I was listening to an interview that Kirk Whalum gave at Loyola University Forum. He talked about something that I have been thinking about a lot lately; this gift of musical talent that he and I and many…
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Scales
Scales Necessary for Improvisation Scales? I remember when I was in high school, learning scales was the last thing on my mind. I would only learn the ones that were required for all-district band tryouts, and subsequent competitions. My junior year in high school we got new band directors; two sax players and one trombone…
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Rico Royal Metalite Tenor Mouthpiece
Metalite Mouthpiece from Tony Tate on Vimeo. Another mouthpiece I got in the mail was the Rico Royal Metalite. As you can hear, the sound is pretty good. However, for me at least, this mouthpiece was making me work very hard. The tip opening was pretty wide, and, the baffle inside this mouthpiece offers some…
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New Vandoren Mouthpiece
Got a new Vandoren mouthpiece today. I posted earlier in the day about it. This just me messing around with it a little more. You can tell I’m pretty out of shape. I will get better as I continue to practice. So keep coming by to see what I’m doing.
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Checking out Mouthpieces
I just got a new mouthpiece in the mail today. It is the Vandoren V16 T9. I found out that it is one of the mouthpieces that Kirk Whalum uses. And if you haven’t heard Kirk play the tenor sax, you have failed to treat yourself to some great sax playing. Here I’m just messing…
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Trying to Get into Sax Shape
I have had my new Tenor Sax for about a month now. I have been practicing about every other day or so. I have been working on scales, some long tones, and doing a little bit of jazz improvisation. It is happening slowly but the muscles of my embouchure are strengthening. I am no longer…
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My First Sax in 9 Years
This is the excerpt for your very first post.
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Prince Died Today
Prince died today. I heard last week that he had to cancel a performance because of illness, but, that after some rest was back on the road. I had not heard of any sickness that he was suffering from. So I am as surprised as when I heard that Michael Jackson was dead. I remember…
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Update On Vince Broomfield
A few days back I got a message from Vince Broomfield about his progress. Hey Tony!! This is Vince Broomfield, I just wanted you to know that I released my Smooth Jazz cd and the song you liked FOR YOUR LOVE was #1 on one of AFRICAS big radio stations for 9 weeks in a…
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Check Out Vince Broomfield!
If you love the saxophone you have got to check Vince Broomfield. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite players. He reminds me of one of my favorite players growing up, Kirk Whalum. My man has an absolutely fabulous phat alto sound. His music full of the soul you would expect from musician of…