March 8, 2019
The original Omnibook gets a second volume and Steve Neff has a review of the The Charlie Parker Omnibook Volume 2.
This is great news and it has a
February 18, 2019
I might have found a new favourite alto-sax reed
So far I had been rather satisfied with the very basic, blue Vandoren reed on my alto. In combination with my Aizen GR 8 I consistently got a good
October 22, 2018
The fine folks at My Music Masterclass have released a video (actually two) with saxophone legend George Coleman which looks great.
This was kind of
February 28, 2018
Jakie McLean documentary on Jazz Wax
And JazzWax dug up another interesting documentary. This time on Jackie McLean: Jackie McLean on Mars. Now I
February 23, 2018
Another very interesting in documentary: BBC Documentary: Charlie Parker.
I don’t think I have seen this one before, but surely will over the weekend
February 17, 2018
Art Pepper: Jazz Surviver
This looks like a great documentary. Will have to watch it this weekend
July 31, 2017
"Keep the Pad Unstuck"
Ben Britton in Battling the Sticky G-sharp Key: The conventional wisdom that gets passed around is to clean the pad with pad paper or a dollar
February 10, 2017
New York State Of Mind: Tenor-Solo
A transcription from Richie Cannata’s tenor solo on Billy Joel’s New State Of Mind A student needed to play the solo and I tried to find a
February 6, 2017
Bob Mintzer instructional videos on You Tube
This morning Jazz Video Guy shared a bunch instructional videos from Bob Mintzer, such as the above on Rhythm, on Building Jazz Improvisations from
October 24, 2016
'There are consistent changes to your sound'
In Ligature Position and Sound Ben Britton explores how the position of the ligature affects the sound. Very interesting and insightful
June 17, 2016
"One of his most important musical dialogues was Blue Train"
Marc Myers in John Coltrane’s Blue Train: The perfection and excitement of this album is hard to match. The flawless, sculptured lines catch the
May 11, 2016
Things to consider when trying a new Mouthpiece
While trying a couple of new mouthpieces for the Alto a few thoughts came to mind. It’s that time of the year when I am trying a couple of
February 29, 2016
Bob Mintzer Masterclass Videos
A few years ago I had the chance to meet one of favourite saxophone players, Bob Mintzer, when he was in town. Meeting him and attending the class
November 27, 2015
New Eric Alexander E-Book
Eric is surely one of my favourite players at the moment. Everything he plays seems to fall right into place. I have been working with and
November 12, 2015
A Mobley Loop
Those were roughly the words one of my all-time heroes Rick Margitza said to me when I had the chance to have a lesson with him in New York. And
November 9, 2015
‘Sound Before Anything You Play’
“I think, people will recognise you more for your sound than they will by what you’re playing, because no one knows what you’re playing. […] But
November 7, 2015
George Garzone Masterclass
Talking about masterclasses and here’s another great one: George Garzone clinic in Moscow. 1:30 hours of great stuff
November 3, 2015
Chris Potter Masterclass
This is a great recording of a Chris Potter from Jamey Aebersold’s Summer Jazz Workshops in 2015. I haven’t had the time watch it all, but it
October 28, 2015
Joel Frahm Live
I wrote before a few times here how much I appreciate the playing of Joel Frahm. Seeing him live around here is though, simply put, impossible. Over
October 16, 2015
BEATBoX Saxophone
This is the most mind-blowing sax-technique that I came across, in, I don’t know, like ever. Impressive work by saxophonist Derek Brown. If you are
September 26, 2015
A Wayne Shorter Portait
In Wayne’s World: Wayne Shorter With The Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra He’s revered by many generations of jazz lovers, including the members of
January 8, 2015
A John Coltrane Omnibook Playlist
The other day I (finally) finished putting together a Spotify playlist with the tunes from the John Coltrane Omnibook . It’s really a great book
January 4, 2015
A Looping Exercise
Some of my favourite etudes that I ran into over the years are the Kröpsch Clarinet etudes, especially the first volume. The exercises are short,
August 22, 2014
One Big Fingering Chart For Saxophone
During my preparation for the upcoming school year I ran into this fingering chart for saxophone by Peter Wespi which I thought might be interesting
July 17, 2014
‘You don’t have to use a pint-glass’
In this short video Bob Reynolds explains How to soak reeds. Everything is there: from the white paper trick over to rubbing the grains back into
January 18, 2014
Some Interview and Masterclass goodness
I enjoyed the playing of Joel Frahm ever since I listened his duo recording with Brad Mehldau Don’t Explain. Since then I have transcribed and
November 19, 2013
The John Coltrane Omnibook Review
You get the impression that someone at Hal Leonard (they deserve a raise) went through this book page by page with the goal of making it as easy to
November 16, 2013
Chris Potter Underground
Since I was sharing a video the other day, right away another one. Very nice documentary on Chris Potter’s Underground. Since he himself tweeted
November 3, 2013
Fingering Diagram Builder
I haven’t had time to test it myself (yet) but this tool really fills a gap. Since I’m currently doing a lot of materials