Four FREE Saxophone Lessons – Improve Your Saxophone Playing NOW!
Taking lessons with a new teacher is always a big call.
How will they inspire you?
How will you get better?
Will you get on together?
Can they explain things clearly?
Because of my VERY strong track record (click here to watch what some of my current students think) I believe that here at Cambridge Saxophone I can do all the above, and more.
I’m the current saxophone teacher for Cambridge University; I also have students of all ages and abilities. I’m willing to teach anyone provided they have the desire to learn more, are happy to work and have a passion for music.
Quite possibly the greatest gig ever for a saxophone player – four of the modern day greats all playing together.
I was delighted to hear Chris Potter, Joshua Redman, Mark Turner and Chris Cheek performing at the Wigmore Hall, London, as part of the Axis Saxophone Quartet. They all played tenor at some point (check out this video from their gig in Moscow playing ‘Tenor Madness’, just as they did in London), but then they also divided duties across the three other main saxophones. Chris Potter and Josh played soprano and alto (Potter is a beast on the alto, even though he doesn’t really play it much any more), Mark stayed mostly on tenor, whilst Chris Cheek kept the low end going on baritone.
Chris Potter told me his alto mouthpiece was an exact copy of Charlie Parker’s Brilhart and had been moulded from the original, now in the possession of Parker’s daughter.
I was thrilled to meet all of the guys backstage afterwards courtesy of Yanagisawa UK, who lent Chris Potter and Joshua a 991 alto and soprano (watch my reviews of these horns here).
Some of their words of wisdom that I wanted to pass on to you:
‘Keep working on your sound as much as you can’ – Chris Potter
‘What you do outside of your music has as much effect on your music as practice’ – Mark Turner
‘Wow, is that the new iPhone?’ – Joshua Redman (seriously, we spent ten minutes chatting about my new phone before we got near any saxophone talk!)
‘Don’t just play digital patterns in 4s, work on them in 3s, 5s and even 7s’ – Chris Potter
It was a great thrill to hear all these guys in one place, in a fully acoustic setting. I had a long chat with Josh about bringing the event to Cambridge at some point in 2015/16 – let’s hope we can.
On Saturday, 21st June I was delighted that Wynton Marsalis brought the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra to the Cambridge Corn Exchange. It was a particularly special date for me as it was exactly fifteen years ago to the day since I performed on the same stage with a Blues Brothers band.
I had been in touch with LCJO saxophone players Sherman Irby and Victor Goines to arrange a backstage meeting, but they both escaped to The Eagle for some fish’n’chips! I met up with them later on, but it was a real thrill to introduce some of my students – in particular 14-year-old Rob Burton, who, maybe one day, will be playing with LCJO – to … Wynton Marsalis.
Some of the great pearls of wisdom that Wynton shared with us are outlined below.
Don’t just learn the notes, learn why those notes were played.
Many of you may know that Wynton is quite a jazz conservative. His excellent book Moving to a Higher Ground is a must-read for any student of music, jazz fan or not. We’re going to read his book and have a Google hangout on it over the summer. But he surprised me a great deal by encouraging Rob (and all of us) to learn the music of Ornette Coleman:
The avant-garde is what youngsters should learn. They need to appreciate the freedom that is found in the music of Ornette Coleman.
I later met up with Sherman Irby, Victor Goines and other members of the saxophone section for a few beers. I’ll say more about this over the next few weeks, but these are some of the key points they wanted to share:
If you want to be a musician, be like a stockbroker. Spread your portfolio as widely as you can: be an arranger, clarinet player, teacher, composer – but work hard at all of them.
Vocabulary is everything – if you want to be a better musician, learn the vocabulary to express it.
Work hard on your sound. (Where have you heard that before?)
Spend time each day listening to music – really.
It was such a great thrill to have these guys in Cambridge. I’m in touch with a few interested parties about getting a Cambridge International Jazz Festival and I’d love to welcome Wynton and the Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra back to this town.
Just before the guys came to Cambridge they recorded this in Harrogate
Part of my vision for creating this Cambridge Saxophone website was so that my students could learn in a community, no matter where you are in the world. The technology available today is fantastic at bringing people closer and closer together.
And so here are YOUR video responses to the transcription exercise on ‘Take Five’. Remember, it is only YOU who knows how much you really should have done with this. Even if you’re not sure about sending a video in, I urge you to give it a go! We’re all nervous about hitting that red button and the only way you will improve your ‘performances’ is to keep on doing them!
I first encountered a curved soprano when I visited my old primary school ten years ago. A number of the students had bought curved sopranos as they were not big enough to play the alto or tenor.
This of course didn’t get the hoped-for results as the youngsters couldn’t keep them in tune, and the instruments were poor quality.
This Yanagisawa 992, by contrast, is SUPERB. I own a 992 Bronze straight soprano – for me it is simply THE best soprano on the market today, with flawless intonation, a warm and centred tone and a design that is second to none.
Make sure you watch the video and listen to the sound clips below.
[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]Here I am with the superb Yanagisawa T901 tenor saxophone. I was very fortunate to review this beautiful instrument at my local music shop, Wood, Wind & Reed in Cambridge.
What’s it like?
1. For an entry-level saxophone, it is incredible.
2. It is just SUCH fun to play. I hope this comes across in the video!
3. You would have to spend a lot of money to find a saxophone that outplays this one.
Comments are welcome – please let me know what you think.
Here I am with the superb Yanagisawa T901 Tenor Saxophone. I was very fortunate to review this beautiful instrument at my local music shop, Wood, Wind & Reed in Cambridge.
