Miles Davis & John Coltrane play ‘So What’
Live in 1958, available on DVD’s “Miles Davis: The Cool Jazz Sound” and
“Jazz Masters: Vintage Collection”
Miles Davis & John Coltrane play ‘So What’ Live in 1958, available on DVD’s “Miles Davis: The Cool Jazz Sound” and “Jazz Masters: Vintage Collection”
Miles Davis CDs Miles Davis DVDs Miles Davis Sheet Music
Miles- Autobiography
Jimmy Cobb is on drums, Wynton Kelly on the Piano, and Paul Chambers is on bass.
Here are a few books that I have used in learning the sax
Jazz- Patterns For Improvisation By Oliver Nelson, Charlie Parker: Charlie Parker Omnibook – E-flat, Charlie Parker: Charlie Parker Omnibook – B-flat Basic Aebersold Play-Alongs- Volume 54 – Maiden Voyage,
The Aebersold books are great fun to play with and are useful in learning tunes. They range in style and difficulty across over one hundred books.
The Charlie Parker Omnibook gives you many melodies and the improvisational genius of Parker in a single book.
Even if you mostly play jazz or another style, being comfortable with classical music will add something to your playing- specifically technique, precision, and a different set of musical ideas you can draw upon. Just listen to Bill Evans to hear the classical influence.
Intermediate/Advanced Aebersolds- Volume 64 – Salsa Latin Jazz, Volume 16 – Turnarounds, Cycles & ii/V7s
If you play some classical music or even if you mostly play jazz, it can be beneficial to study from the classical perspective.
Rubank Method is a series that ranges from beginning to advanced. It includes scale exercises, fingering challenges, classical melodies, and other exercises.
Rubank Elementary Method Saxophone
Rubank Intermediate Method Saxophone
Rubank Advanced Method – Saxophone Vol.1
Rubank Advanced Method – Volume 2 (Saxophone)
You should definitely haveThe Jazz Theory Book.
As James Moody says, “The Jazz Theory Book should be in every musician’s library regardless of the level of their ability.” As author Mark Levine says himself,
“A great jazz solo consists of:
1% magic
99% stuff that is
Explainable
Analyzable
Categorizable
Doable”
You’re on your own for the magic bit, but his book will help you with the 99% part. And while The Jazz Theory Book is great, Mark Levine is a piano player and for saxophone specific issues the Art Of Saxophone Playing can help. It can be a bit dry though.
Thelonious Monk Quartet – Epistrophy (Paris, 1966)
Thelonious Monk CDs
Everyone is influenced by everybody but you bring it down home the way you feel it.
-Thelonious Monk
I always wanted to play the piano, and jazz appealed to me.
-Thelonious Monk
I learned how to read music all by myself.
-Thelonious Monk
I think all styles are built around piano developments.
-Thelonious Monk
I was about 11 or something like that when I started, and used to play with all the different side bands when I was a teenager.
-Thelonious Monk
If my own work had more importance than any others, it’s because the piano is the key instrument in music.
-Thelonious Monk
If someone wants to play music you do not have to get a ruler or whips to make them practice.
-Thelonious Monk
Seems musicians come to New York and they reach a certain maturity, because there’s an awful lot of good musicians in New York.
-Thelonious Monk
The piano lays the chord foundation and the rhythm foundation, too.
-Thelonious Monk
Well, I like music and I like plays and that is what opera is.
-Thelonious Monk
All musicians are potential band leaders.
-Thelonious Monk
All musicians are subconsciously mathematicians.
-Thelonious Monk
Be-bop wasn’t developed in any deliberate way.
-Thelonious Monk
Count Basie Big Band – Corner Pocket
All I wanted was to be big, to be in show business and to travel… and that’s what I’ve been doing all my life.
-Count Basie
I decided that I would be one of the biggest new names; and I actually had some little fancy business cards printed up to announce it, ‘Count Basie. Beware, the Count is Here.’
-Count Basie
I, of course, wanted to play real jazz. When we played pop tunes, and naturally we had to, I wanted those pops to kick! Not loud and fast, understand, but smoothly and with a definite punch.
-Count Basie
I’m saying: to be continued, until we meet again. Meanwhile, keep on listening and tapping your feet.
-Count Basie
If you play a tune and a person don’t tap their feet, don’t play the tune.
-Count Basie
Of course, there are a lot of ways you can treat the blues, but it will still be the blues.
-Count Basie
Well, if you find a note tonight that sounds good, play the same damn note every night!
-Count Basie
Dizzy Gillespie ; with Pepper Adams, Candido, George Davis, George Duvivier, Jon Faddis, Frank Foster, Curtis Fuller, Roland Hanna, Jimmy Heath, Jon Hendricks, Milt Jackson, John Lewis, Melba Liston, Victor Paz, Benny Powell, Paquito D’Rivera, Janice Robinson,Marvin Stamm, Grady Tate, Frank Wess, Paul West, Joe Wilder ; with special guests, Gerry Mulligan and Max Roach.
Dizzy Gillespie Sheet Music
I don’t care too much about music. What I like is sounds.
-Dizzie Gillespie
It’s taken me all my life to learn what not to play.
-Dizzie Gillespie
Joshua Redman- Jazz Crimes (From Elastic)
If you like my site/newsletter, please support it at Amazon
I went to Carmel this week for a master class by George Young. The week started off with a concert on Monday night. George played classical music for the first set and then jazz for the second.
Talking about his piece “For Diz” written for Dizzy Gillespie and somewhat based on ‘A Night in Tunisia’ he said that Dizzy Gillespie was in the audience one night when he played it and then came up to him after the show. Dizzy gave George a hug and a kiss on the cheek and called him a “greasy *&$# $*&@.” He didn’t understand this for a long time, but then was told many years later that it really was a great compliment.
Throughout the week I learned tons of things about the saxophone and playing music. Heard some more great stories too.
Maceo Parker plays Cold Sweat:
Maceo Parker – alto sax; Fred Wesley – trombone; Pee Wee Ellis – tenor sax; Rudolph Isley – guitar; Will Boulware – organ; Carroll Dashiell – Bass; and brother Melvin Parker on drums.
He’s playing his gold plated Mark VI alto
A saxophone quartet generally is made up of a soprano saxophone, an alto saxophone, a tenor saxophone, and a baritone saxophone. It can also have two altos, one tenor, and a baritone. Occasionally they will use bass saxophones or other varieties even.
Arrangements have been written for many jazz pieces and classical pieces. Here are two videos of saxophone quartets.
Above- World Saxophone Quartet playing ‘Hattie Wall’
Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin
Black Saxophone
Saxophones are mostly made out of brass, but they can be plated with other metals, painted, or lacquered. Almost all saxophones have a clear lacquer on the surface. A black saxophone gets its color from black nickel plating or paint. Silver is another metal used to plate saxophones.
The metal, black nickel or silver usually (occasionally gold), actually changes the tone of the horn and can give it a bit different characteristic. Flute can be made with a high percentage of silver- and that is usually desirable. On saxophones, silver gives a “brighter” sound while black nickel produces a “darker” sound. Maceo Parker plays a gold plated Selmer Mark VI alto. Probably mostly for visual effect.
My Keilwerth tenor (in photo) is plated with black nickel. Overall I like the sound of the horn. However, the plating is not the biggest factor in how you will sound. The mouthpiece, reed, and ligature among other things are much more important.
When saxophones are painted however, it does not help the sound. There are no acoustic benefits to putting paint on top of the metal. In fact, many saxophone players think it “deadens” the sound. Basically, the paint is for effect and can only hurt your sound. Some players go as far as saying the clear lacquer on most saxophones hurts the sound as well and that as it peels off over time the sound actually improves.
Selmer has even made a line of saxophones which do not have the clear lacquer at all.
The craziest material I heard of for an instrument is the a solid platinum flute. William Kincaid played one, which he bought at auction for $187,000. His critics say that he needs an $187,000 flute to sound good…. but it seems to work for him and apparently he can afford it.
Want to play saxophone, but feeling lost and not sure how to get started?
In this online/downloadable class you will see methodical lessons in a sequence and you can get feedback and ask questions at any point.
Learn more
Want to take your playing to the next level?
You’ll learn fundamental saxophone skills, building past the basics. Master rhythms. Learn about phrasing, tone, and more. Here you will get feedback which is crucial to developing good habits.
Learn more