Following the amazing concert by Branford Marsalis at the Barbican I was inspired to get back into playing the soprano again and extending the repertoire that my band plays, so that I can get more soprano!
10 Minute Jazz Podcast author Nick Mainella lives in New Hampshire, USA and has produced the fantastic 10 minute Jazz Podcast for over 18 months. You can subscribe to Nick’s podcast here, (after you’ve watched our chat!)
But they can be difficult things to work with. They are natural materials after all, (unless you go for synthetic reeds, which I never got along with!)
Here’s how I prepare my reeds and how I get them to speak a little better…
There are many old wives tales about how to fix them, ranging from raw eggs to the oil from the pituitary gland of Unicorn’s! But my favourite cure is a $1 Dollar Bill…
This Tonal Energy Tuner is a great little app for helping you identify which notes on your sax are in tune and which are out. It’s not the perfect method, (you really want to train your ears to do this) – but it’s a great starting point.
Last year when I was having lunch with my mentor Branford Marsalis, we were discussing simple melodic ideas and how Sonny Rollins is such a brilliant exponent of melodic improvisation. Branford told me why, from conversations he’s had with Sonny over the years.