Right now there is one published book of Joshua Redman’s sheet music, The Music of Joshua Redman: Solo Transcriptions.
Joshua Redman Sheet Music
Photo by Warren Kang on flickr
Joshua Redman Sheet Music
P. Mauriat and Saxophone Discussion
Recently Don asked me about saxophones and P. Mauriat and Yamaha specifically.
I had played Yamahas myself, but not P. Mauriat, so I asked some of my friends about it.
I got a lot of responses.
Also asked my teacher Todd and he said that they’re great looking horns and that the Count Basie Band is endorsed by them. He also wondered if they go back to their Mark VI’s when they’re not performing with the Basie Band.
It seemed like some people are pretty happy with them.
But there are a lot of Yamaha fans too.
Here are a few responses I got:
Hey Neal,Yes, I’ve played a couple of P.Mauriat horns. For the price, they are great horns; especially if you want the Selmer sound without shelling out the major bucks. Yamahas are great overall horns and will take you far. I still have my YAS-23 that I use as a practice horn with my Meyer 5 mouthpiece. I usually play a Selmer Reference 54 Alto sax that I got when the currency rates were very favorable. Have you tried upgrading your mouthpiece first? Try the Meyer 5. Great mouthpiece. Makes a beginner horn sound like a professional horn.I would say take your time and experiment with many horns. Ifi you can try the P.Mauriat horns, definitely try them. You won’t be disappointed. Good luck to you!
Manny
That actually sounds exactly like me a couple of years ago. Yamaha’s are great horns. I had one until it got stolen. P. Mauriats are great horns. But the question I would have is that what is your price range, Mauriats are very expensive. Also would you have a repair tech in your area because they are completely handmade. That said, since you are really just getting your mojo workin again The Yamaha would be a better choice in my opinion.
Yours in Music
BE BLESSED
-Calvin
Hi Neal,
I have played one P.Mauriat sax and have read lots about it. They seem to
represent the new quality coming from Taiwan. Relatively cheap but good
quality, great tone and singing quality. I, personally, found it to bright
and lacking the real pro character a Selmer or good vintage horns can get
you.
Narrowing down to Yamaha or P.Mauriat seems unneccesary limited anyway. In
that list I should definitely include Yanagisawa!
regards,
Ptr
I have not had the chance but my friend in chitown who works at sam ash says they’re very nice. they have great designs.
-Rick
Hi neal, I play a yam yts 875ex tenor I got on ebay in mint condition for $2200.00. I want to tell you how happy I am with this horn. It plays much better than the yts 62 and yts 62ll series well worth the extra money. I also owned a yas 62 ll series great horn also.; I also have been courios and it is between the p mauriat alto and the 82z ul alto or 875ex.I can tell you that one of the best players in st petersburg/tampa fl uses a tenor by them. In the past I have seen him use a martin,an la sax and I noticed he started using a p mauriat a couple years ago.He can be heard on his myspace michaelmcaurther.com. good luck , mike
Neal, Yamaha is definitely the way to go. The pitch is right, it is predictable and it fits in the hand really well. I have been teaching for 16 years and have that students have the best luck withYamaha’s. I play a Custom 857 Alto and a 62 Tenor. I cannot say enough about the horns!!!
-Kreston
Well of course I love a yamaha and I prefer over anything else.
-Stefan
Yeah, they are nice looking instruments almost as good a Yamaha’s in the right hands.
-Jim
I have never played a P. Mauriat saxophone. However, you might want to tell Don that he can get a really decent alto at saxophone.com for less than a grand.
-Delroy
Hi Neal,
I play a Yamaha tenor sax. never played a P. Mauriat
-David
-David
Stanley Turrentine Plays Stevie Wonder's 'Creepin'
Stanley Turrentine playing ‘Creepin’ by Stevie Wonder.
Turrentine’s version of Stevie Wonder’s hit.
How to get into the college market in 4 steps
-By Derek Sivers
I’ve made a good living playing colleges for the last 4 years. Been hired by over 350 colleges around the Northeast. I made good money doing it, but also wasted TONS of money sometimes, doing things wrong. Here’s my best advice, from experience, on what works and what doesn’t…
1. Get the database of colleges and complete contact info for the current person that does the hiring of entertainment at each college.
There are about 2800 colleges in the U.S. that constantly hire entertainment. You better have a good database or contact management program. I recommend Indie Band Manager. Though other popular ones are Filemaker, ACT, MS Access, Claris Works, MS Works, MS Outlook, Goldmine, etc.
I used to maintain a database of college contacts. I stopped in 2006. If you search the web a bit, I’m sure you’ll find someone selling a current list.
2. Send a one-page flyer to every school.
A GOOD one-page flyer with picture, price, testimonial quotes, contact info. Fun, colorful, exciting. Describe things in their terms. Don’t talk about the drummer’s background or the member names. Prove in 6 seconds why you will be a reliable good time for an evening at their college.
Name your price clearly! (I recommend $950 for a band, and $450 for a solo act. If they like you, charge a little more next time. But for a new, unknown act even in their circles, don’t expect more than this.)
My advice on how to make a good college flyer is here: http://cdbaby.org/collegeflyer
3. Tell them, on the flyer, to call for free CD and video.
Send it ASAP when they DO call. Follow-up until they say no thanks. Once they say “No” do NOT call them back. They hate that.
4. When one school books you, call ALL the other schools in the area.
Send them great promo material. Have colorful posters, table tents, postcards. And do not be depressed when you play to 4 people on a Tuesday afternoon in a flourescent lit cafeteria. Be nice, take the money, go home, thank them, and keep in touch…
Voila. That’s it. The best bang for the buck in the college market.
(And believe me I tried MANY other ways of doing it. Don’t waste your money. Do it this way.)
COLLEGE FYI:
1. Sending 500 flyers will usually get you 4 phone calls. 2 of those will hopefully turn into bookings. But it only costs $150 to mail 500 flyers, and you’ll make that back with one gig.
2. They often book a semester in advance. In October they book their February – May entertainment. In March they book their September-December calendar.
3. Don’t email. Don’t call unless it’s crucial. Just send a short flyer that can be read in 10 seconds. Send more than that and they won’t read it. Trust me. (I once spent $3000 sending every college the ultimate kit with video, CD, 10 pages of info, etc. I didn’t get one single phone call!!! A few months later I sent a single effortless one-page flyer. I got 20 calls and 10 gigs. Go figure…)
4. Student activites people that hire you are the squeaky clean girls than run for class treasurer. College radio people are the rebels with pierced faces. The two camps do NOT communicate. If you want college radio play, it’s a whole different world. Don’t think that they’ll just fall into place for you.
5. Don’t bother joining NACA and going to the conferences and all that mess unless you’re totally committed to it. Yes it may get you some more gigs, but you’ll spend $3000 to find out. Those conferences are way too expensive. My band HIT ME got the big mainstage showcase one year and yes we booked 30 gigs that weekend. BUT – it took me three years, 12 conferences, and about $20,000 to get it. My best advice to start, is to save the $, go with my plan #1-4 at the top of this page.
-Derek Sivers
CDBaby.com
Improvisation on Saxophone
“I have never started a poem yet whose end I knew. Writing a poem is discovering.”
-Robert Frost
Similarly, when you make up a sax solo, you should not know where it’s going to end!
You might have some ideas you want to try, and know that you want the sax solo to have some shape.
But you’re usually playing with a group, and there the group should interact. It should be playful in a sense.
If you play a certain lick, the drummer might echo the rhythm of it or the bass player might respond to a line you play with something of their own.
Getting Started at Sax Station and on Saxophone in General
Here’s an introductory video to Sax Station
And here are a few saxophone articles for players new to the sax.
Playing Saxophone With Passion
Please tell me what you think, how can I become as good as him and even better? Where does one
find this kind of passion?
Beginner’s Mind Child’s Mind for Saxophone
In Zen, there is an idea of approaching things with a “beginner’s mind” or “child’s mind.”
In this stage you are most open to new ideas, a not afraid to try things.
Starting Saxophone at 52
I am 52 and I just started learning the sax tenor.
I had my first lesson last week.
My previous music experience amounts to 1 year of studying the piano 20 years ago.
Stanley Turrentine Gibraltar with Eric Gale
Eric Gale plays guitar and Stanley Turrentine is on tenor sax from this 1971 album Salt Song.
Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication
Leonardo da Vinci said, “Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication”
And he had success with a couple things in his life.
On saxophone, it’s tempting to try and be like Coltrane or Charlie Parker and play a million notes. But it’s not always the best idea, especially for beginners on sax.
Some of my favorite saxophone players don’t even play that many notes. Instead, they choose each note with intention and make it mean something.
Coltrane and Charlie Parker were great players, and if they also chose their notes carefully, especially the ones they emphasized.
They knew what the “active ingredients” were and they played them.
So on your next solo, try playing notes that matter- and that might mean playing less of them.
Saxophone Altissimo Glissando
How to do Saxophone altissimo glissando. From the guys at Digital Pill.
To do this, you’ll need to be decently experienced with altissimo on saxophone.
This is a fairly advanced saxophone technique! So if you have only been playing for a little while, it should not be your biggest concern.
Do you Press the Saxophone Keys Too Hard?
You should only press the keys on a saxophone hard enough to make them close.
And you should keep your fingers directly upon the keys in most situations (for some notes you must lift them).
If you feel like you CANNOT play a note without pressing the keys down very strongly, then you probably have a leak.
If that is the case, take your horn to a repair person. They will use a ‘leak light’ to check for leaks.
Beginner's Mind Child's Mind for Saxophone
from Clearly Ambiguous on flickr
In Zen, there is an idea of approaching things with a “beginner’s mind” or “child’s mind.”
In this stage you are most open to new ideas, a not afraid to try things.
It is a useful mind set to return to when practicing saxophone.
You will not be afraid to try new things or worry if you sound bad.
And you will get better at saxophone more quickly.
