Billy Kerr: Saxophone Today

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first saw and heard Fred Hemke in 1967 while I was a

saxophone student at the U.S. Navy School of Music. In terms
of the Navy School of Music, at that time, those were the
glory days with musician enrollments at an all-time high. The
level of student musicianship at the school was varied, still one
of the best saxophone players (a student named Vincent) was a
protogee of Phil Woods, who enlisted in the Navy music program
to be with his brother, also a Navy musician to be. And Vincent
could play!
I supposed what happened next, on one fine day at the Navy
School of Music, was well-planned even though I didnt personally know what was going on.
We were all told to go to a large airplane like hanger bay structure near the Navy School
of Music where we all sat on the floor for the performance to begin. Out walks a gentleman
with his alto saxophone, and following a brief introduction mentioning that this saxophone
player was a student of Marcel Mule, he began to play. Since I was a big Paul Desmond and
Eugene Rousseu fan at the time, this strange gentleman on stage, with an alto saxophone,
delivered a performance (both a capella and with piano) that was rather unusual to my ears.
His chosen repertoire contained lots of altissimo, rapid passages, and intense vibrato. It was
a non-stop explosion of saxophone techique, and pure musical prowess that demonstrated a
whole new way to play the instrument. It was an impressive demonstration.
Frederick L. Hemke, who won the prestigious prize: Premier Prix, Conservatoire National
Superieur de Musique, Paris, France, 1956 (studying with Marcel Mule), retired in 2013
from his long 50 year career, as a teacher, and department head, at the Northwestern
University School of Music. And of course, as a saxophone concert artist of great distinction.
We all owe a great deal of gratitude to this great gentleman of music and saxophone! And
Im sure we will continue to hear his saxophone going forward!
PLEASE DONATE TO THIS WORTHY CAUSE
There is a fundraiser currently active to raise $25,000 to commission a saxophone concerto
dedicated to Dr. Frederick L. Hemke, to be composed by Augusta Reed Thomas. In the words
of Jim Bishop (class of 1976), All donations will be applied directly to the commission fee.
This is a wonderful opportunity for us to express our love and admiration for Dr. Hemke
through the gift of music. Alumni support will be the critical element in accomplishing our
goal. As one of Dr. Hemkes students, I am committed to the success of this project and
request that you join me by sending your contribution to:
Hemke Legacy Commission
PO Box 13
South Freeport, ME 04078
Join all of us in making the Augusta Read Thomas Concerto for Saxophone and Orchestra
become a reality! Jim Bishop
MY TEACHER: The Fred Hemke Legacy Official Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdAo4iZDdjo
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Billy Kerr
Photo courtesy Billy Kerr
Nancy Newman
Photo courtesy Nancy Newman
Publisher & Editor

David J. Gibson
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Billy Kerr
Billy Kerr Interview By Thomas Erdmann
July/August 2014
Inter view By Thomas Erdmann
axophonist and multi-woodwind artist Billy Kerr is

one of those rare musicians who, no matter where
hes lived, has always found great musical success.
With time spent as a number one call saxophonist in New
York, then in Montreal, and now in Los Angeles, Kerr is one
of those rare musicians who has never had to worry about
finding work; it finds him. As an orchestral pit musician for
theatre productions, Kerr worked Broadway for 25 years
playing in shows such as Annie, Carrie, Gypsy, La Cage Aux
Folles, and Me And My Girl, to list a few. In Montreal he
worked shows like A Chorus Line, Chicago, and West Side
Story, and in Los Angeles productions such as Brigadoon,
How To Succeed In Business, and Kiss Me Kate, to again list
just a few.
For 18 of his New York years Kerr was the tenor
saxophonist in the North American
counterpart to Marcel Mule and
the French Saxophone Quartet, the
famed New York Saxophone Quartet,
whose former members include not
just Kerr but also Al Cohn, Stan
Getz, Dave Tofani, Albert Regni, and
Ray Beckenstein, among others. For
television Kerrs played on shows like
The Danny Thomas Telethon, The
Grammy Awards, the Miss America
Pageant, The Super Bowl Half-Time
Show, The Tonight Show, and the
Ultimate Manilow CBS Special.
As an orchestral musician the long
list of ensembles Kerrs played with
include the Brooklyn Philharmonic,
Connecticut Grand Opera, New York
City Ballet, Orchestre Symphonique de
Montreal, Pasadena Pops, Orchestra,
San Bernardino Symphony, and
St. Lukes Chamber Ensemble. As
a touring and show musician Kerr
has worked with everyone, including
the following small sample, Tony
Bennett, Al Green, Bob Hope, Liza
Minnelli, Regis Philbin and Kathy
Lee-Gifford, Don Rickles, Diana Ross,
Frank Sinatra, Tommy Tune, and Phil
Woods. As a big band musician Kerr
could be found with every big band,
like those led by Bob Brookmeyer,
Clare Fischer, Bob Florence, Bill
Holman, Maria Schneider, and Gerald
Wilson.
An invited soloist at numerous World
Saxophone Congresses and National
Flute Association Conventions,
Kerr has also given clinics and
masterclasses around the world.
None of this takes into account his
published big band and saxophone
quartet/octet arrangements published
by prestigious publishing companies
Saxophone Today
like UNC Jazz Press and Opus 102 Editions Musicales, and
his writings have been featured in not only this magazine
but also Saxophone Journal and Planet Jazz. And oh yeah,
Kerr and Nancy Newman, another exceptionally talented
multi-woodwindist, make up one heck of a married couple
saxophone double threat.
I always like to start the interviews asking about equipment.
Why do you play a Yamaha Custom Z soprano but a Selmer
Mark VI alto and tenor?
Ive had the alto and tenor for years. I got both of them in
1981. The story behind the tenor is we had a robbery with
the (New York Saxophone) quartet in 1980. They got my
tenor, Dennis (Anderson) alto and Wally Kanes clarinet.
I had insurance, so I bought another horn. At that time I
www.saxdakota.com
pjlabiz2@aol.com
bought an 85,000 Mark VI. It was the hot horn at the time
one horn to the other. Each of them is the same number
because Michael Brecker was using it, and it was a good
mouthpiece and theyre identically the same. I find the
horn but I didnt like it. A year later I called Eddie Daniels,
products to be amazingly consistent and well made.
who always had horns, and told him I was looking for a
tenor. He had three or four horns
There are many reasons why
he was willing to sell. He said
youve been so incredibly
Billy Kerrs Equipment
he had a 217,000, but I told him
successful over the years as a
Soprano Yamaha Custom Z, with a Selmer
it was too high a number. He
musician. One of them is your
S80 (D) mouthpiece, an Optimum ligature and
said, Do yourself a favor, buy a
incredibly strong abilities on
Vandoren Traditional blue box #4 soprano reeds.
saxophone and not a number. So
not just multiple saxophones,
Alto Selmer Mark VI with a Vandoren V16
I went to his house, bought one,
but youre also a great flute and
A7 (S) mouthpiece, an Optimum ligature, and
and have had it ever since. He
clarinet player. To be a working
Vandoren ZZ #3 alto saxophone reeds.
and I still talk about that horn
saxophonist in the 21st century,
Tenor Selmer Mark VI, with a Vandoren V16
when we see each other from
do you believe its essential for
- T8/Medium Chamber, an Optimum ligature, and
time to time. When I was with
saxophonists to learn to play the
Vandoren ZZ #3 tenor saxophone reeds.
the quartet we were with other
flute and clarinet?
Clarinets Buffet DG Model (Bb & A), with
companies, like Yamaha and

These days the business is
a Vandoren 5 RV Lyre mouthpiece, an Optimum
H-Couf. Eventually I went with
so different. When I was coming
ligature, and Vandoren V12 #3 - 4 reeds.
Keilwerth, but whenever those
up, in the 60s and 70s, if you
Eb Clarinet - Buffet R13 with a David Hite
relationships ended I always
wanted to make a living as what
mouthpiece and Vandoren Traditional blue box #4
went back to the Selmer. One
we used to call a commercial
Reeds.
of my New York buddies, Lew
musician, you had to play the
Piccolo Pearl, Grenaditte Body, Model PFP
Tabackin, and I were always
saxophone, the clarinet and the
105E
trying horns. Hed say, The Mark
flute. The kicker was that in
Flute Pearl Maesta, Pristine Silver, Model
VI has the truth. For me thats
those days you had to be able to
9701 RBE
true. The story is the same with
play each of those instruments
Alto Flute Pearl, Model PFA 206S
the alto which I bought in 1981
like it was the only thing you
Bass Flute Pearl, Model PFB-305BE
and have been using it ever since.
played. The guys that were our
RR 200 Glass Reed Resurfacer
It will be two years this August
predecessors, those who were
Microphones Clarinet (AMT WS) and
when Yamaha came out with
there before us, were the guys
Saxophone (AMT Roam 1 Elite)
the Custom Z model. According
who were the veterans of the big
to the local rep its supposed
band era. They had been in the
to be a modified version of their model 62, which they had
Dorsey brothers and Goodman bands, bands like that. They
in the 1980s. They had a special four-day showing where
filtered into the studios and became the studio players.
they had 100 horns available. There was no pressure, they
The studio system was actually gone by the early 70s. It
just wanted our evaluation. I ended up buying one. It turns
was amazing, the studios just got rid of their staff bands.
out about a dozen of us here in Los Angeles bought one at
Those musicians then filtered into the Broadway shows,
the show. Pete Christlieb and a whole bunch of other guys
which was, in the 70s, the place to make a living in New
bought one. Its a good horn and thats why I bought one.
York. The musicians were all really good doublers. They
could play. Those of us coming into the business at that time
You use Vandoren mouthpieces and reeds almost exclusively.
as kids, I was actually not quite 30 when I started doing
What is there about their products that make you go to them?
that, had to be able to play to those expectations. Thats
One thing is they are amazingly consistent, including the
what we did. We learned to play all those instruments.
reeds. I play three saxophones, alto, tenor and soprano, I
These days, that business is gone. I have friends in New
dont play baritone anymore, and I play clarinet, a little
York who are my age and were on top of the heap, who
bass clarinet, a little E-flat clarinet, and I can get almost
are not working anymore, and a lot of them have given up
every reed that comes in a Vandoren box to work on my
playing. This is astounding to me, I cant imagine ever giving
instruments. I was a student of Joe Allard, so I learned
up playing. There is just no opportunity for those musicians
how to fix reeds, but out of a box of 10 I can get eight that
to work anymore.
will work. Sometimes I can get the whole box to work.
So now there are kids coming into the business who are
The mouthpieces are the same. Ive been using the tenor
not faced with having to play the flute and clarinet. Now
mouthpiece for the last eight or nine years, the T77. When
having said that, there are still shows that get played,
you try one, then try another of the same kind and number,
the Broadway shows are played in colleges, high schools,
theyre basically the same mouthpiece. In the old days, going
community groups, etc., and they hire local musicians. A lot
back to the 60s when I was in school, youd try two Otto Link
of these kids, in their 20s, do these shows and a lot of them
7*s and they would be completely different.
are just not qualified to be playing those shows. Kids come to
The Vandoren products are all amazingly consistent. I
me and say they are doing such and such a show and there is
have a couple of different clarinet mouthpieces I use. While
a piccolo part they are terrified of because they cant play it.
I dont play a lot of A clarinet anymore, I do use different
Well, I dont know what the answer is.
mouthpieces on the A and B-flat clarinet because I treat
To me it is still important, as a saxophone player, to be
them like a double; I dont like switching mouthpieces from
able to double on the other instruments. You know, its not
8
July/August 2014
The Vandoren products are all amazingly

consistent. I have a couple of different
clarinet mouthpieces I use. While I dont
play a lot of A clarinet anymore, I do use
different mouthpieces on the A and B-flat
clarinet because I treat them like a double;
I dont like switching mouthpieces from
one horn to the other. Each of them is
the same number mouthpiece and theyre
identically the same. I find the products to
be amazingly consistent and well made.
even doubling. You have to

take it seriously and be able
to play those instruments like
they are the only instruments
you play. I had this happen a
couple of times. I was doing a
show with a five piece band at
Lincoln Center. Everything was
solo, one to a part. I was playing
flute, clarinet, and bass clarinet.
There was also a violin player,
a piano player, like that. About
two weeks into the show the violin player came over to me
and said, Ive got to ask you, what is your main instrument,
the flute or the clarinet? I said, Actually Im a saxophone
player.
Another time I applied for a job at Berklee College in
Boston. I made the short list and had to play an hour recital.
At the end of the recital one of the people on the committee
came over to me and asked me if the flute or the clarinet
was my main instrument. For the people I grew up with,
that was what we did and every one of us could do that. My
advice is if youre going to do it, do it right, or dont do it.
A number of people Ive interviewed have said the same thing,

that you cant treat doubles like doubles. You have to play
them like theyre a real main instrument. What advice do
you have for saxophonists who want to learn to play the flute
or clarinet with regard to the first step they should take in
learning those instruments?
I remember talking to Eddie Daniels about this years-ago.
I dont think a number of us ever planned to learn those
instruments in this way. We never said, Okay, Ill do this
now. It was just the way it turned out. Everybody I know,
and Ill call them doublers even though they arent, studied
each one of the additional instruments for an extended
period of time. The best thing to do is study with a legitimate
flute player or a legitimate clarinet player, or else a doubler
who is top-notch. One of my first flute teachers was a doubler
in New York, Skippy Galluccio. He was a terrific saxophone
player. When he was 19 he played first alto in Tommy
Dorseys band in the early 1950s. He was a great clarinet
and flute player. I studied flute with him for two years. After
that I went to Tom Nyfenger who I studied with for three
years. That really made me a flute player. I studied clarinet
with Augustin Duques who was First Clarinetist with the
NBC Symphony Orchestra under Toscanini. Then I studied
with Joe Allard, who also taught Eddie Daniels. Eddie
studied under Harold Bennett and Julius Baker. Thats what
it takes. Its really all about taking the time and setting your
head in the right way in order to practice and learn these
instruments.
I, to this day, practice the flute for three hours a day. Ive
been doing that for over 45 years. Its only because I fell in
love with the flute. Fortunately I was a good clarinet player,
having played that instrument in high school and then went
on to be a clarinet major at Juilliard for the 2 years I was
there.
As I said, the people I came up with did similar things. Its
not possible to be successful with just two months of clarinet
lessons. You have to devote yourself to the instruments.
Saxophone Today
What happens is that you learn

to play the saxophone, having
played it for six, 10, 12 years,
whatever, then you have to say,
Im not going to stop playing
the saxophone. Ill play it every
day or every couple of days,
but every day for a couple of
hours I will play the clarinet
and really learn how to play it.
If you can get a good sound on
the clarinet and flute, and oboe
if you also want to go that way, or the bassoon as my wife
Nancy can, and get a well-developed sense of intonation on
those instruments, and hopefully you have the chops, the
technique, but at the very least if you have a good sound
and good intonation, youll be successful. What I mean by
successful is that Ill want you to play in my section, because
that was always the thing.
When I was on Broadway in the 70s, it was a busy time
and we had to be in the pit eight times a week. Truthfully
we were never there for all those shows because there were
other gigs and wed send in subs for us at the shows. Well,
when you send in a sub, I, and the guys, the pack I was
a part of, we always sent in the best subs. There was no
such thing as, I dont want to send in this guy because hes
better than me. Nobody ever thought that way. We sent
the best for three reasons. First, I want to send in the best
guy because hes available and I want him to work. Second,
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because I want the conductor

to be happy and not hassle me
about taking off. Third, and
the most important, I want the
guys in the section to be happy,
because if they hate me due to
the guy I had sub for me Im
going to have a lot of problems.
My first two influences on the tenor were

Stan Getz and Zoot Sims, so as a kid that
was what I tried to sound like. A little later
I got into Coltrane. One of my favorite
tenor players is and has always been
Eddie Daniels. Everyone thinks of him as
a clarinetist, of which hes peerless, but his
tenor playing is great.
Many times when youre in the studio or on a gig or on a

Broadway show, you have to change instruments really
quickly. You have a lot of instruments you play. Is the secret
to doing this as quickly, as effortlessly and as perfectly as you
do because youre practicing the instruments, all of them, so
much?
I think so. If you practice seriously you dont have to turn
a switch and say, Okay, now Ill play the clarinet, or, Now
Ill play the flute. You know the instruments so well that
you just pick them up and play. I was just reading an article
this morning about nerves and performances, and how some
people get nervous and that there are different degrees of
nervousness. I find that has to do with preparation. The
better prepared you are the fewer nerves youll have. The
better prepared you are at playing the flute and clarinet or
whatever, then there will never be any question.
The only caveat I have to put on that is when youre
playing on a show, you might have the clarinet on your
face for 35 minutes, and then suddenly have to pick up
the flute and have to play a quiet flute solo. Thats a little
10
nerve racking, but still if youve

practiced you can do this. You
see your chops are dead, in that
example, from the clarinet and
all of a sudden you have to have
that feeling when you jump to
the flute. But having to play
parts like that is really the luck
of the draw.
There are no shortcuts to building your abilities to be able to
handle something like that, are there?
I dont think so. I havent found any. You have to practice
seriously.
You were a member of the New York Saxophone Quartet for
18 years. They perform both jazz and classical music, not
only on the same concerts but on the same recordings. I really
loved your recording of Bachs Fireworks Music from the New
York Saxophone Quartet recording. You also recorded, with
the New York Saxophone Quartet, on the Free Trade CD,
which the NY Sax Quartet did with the Gerald Danovitch
Saxophone Quartet. That really is a brilliant recording. Do
you think its possible to be successful as a working musician
in the 21st century without being proficient, to some degree, in
both classical and jazz/commercial music mediums?
I dont think so. I dont think you can really be a successful
jazz player without some classical training. On the Phil
Woods DVD, A Life In E-flat, he talks about his early days
of going to school and going to Juilliard after growing up
in Springfield, Massachusetts; he was a clarinet major. He
says, In those days you learned music, and you picked the
style later. That was how I grew up, and that was how the
guys in my generation grew up.
Whats happened since then is a whole slew of kids have
come in from schools who have only learned how to play jazz.
Some of them play pretty good jazz, not great, but pretty
good, and they can really get around their horns. They cant,
however, play music. They dont know how to play a phrase
or a lot of things you learn in music. To me, you need to
study music, study what the instrument is supposed to do,
and then you can work the other styles into your abilities
later. Also, in any given situation you almost always have
to play something that is at least classical music like. Years
ago, when I was living in Montreal, on something like the
100th birthday of George Gershwins birthday, I did a club
date with a 10 piece band. We were playing a show. We
get to the first rehearsal and were playing Rhapsody In
Blue. The solo was in my chair. What if you dont have that
training? Are you going to say, Uh, look, I cant play this,
can you put it on the synthesizer? Thats not going to work.
I can always tell when someone doesnt have the training.
Your first CD as a leader, The Eagle Has Landed eh?, is
a wonderful tour de force of not just great blowing, but also
fantastic musicianship among all the members of your band,
and you sound incredible. These days, it seems, everyone who
can records an album, many times well before theyre ready.
You waited to record and release this, your first recording as
a leader, until after you were well established as a musician.
Why did you wait until later in life to release a recording as
July/August 2014
What I find in a lot of writing I see is

that its not melodic. Everybody has to
have a melody. Every part you write has
to be melodic. Dont write a part that is
da-do-da-do-da-do-da-do. That will not
work. First, the player is not going to like
the part you wrote.
a leader?
The point of doing it was
opportunity. I was about 53 when
I released that album. When I
was in New York, I was one of
the lucky guys. I always worked.
I got my first Broadway show
in 1976 and was never out of work for over 20 years. I was
just lucky. I was busy making a living. I started in the New
York Quartet in 1978 and stayed in it until I left New York
in 1995. I was just always playing. There was really never
an opportunity or desire to do a recording as a leader. I
was always playing jazz, and I was working very steadily
and quite happy. When Nancy and I got married I moved
up to Montreal in 95. There wasnt as much work there as
in New York. I managed to get what work was there, but
after a couple of years that started to disappear. I had the
opportunity to form a band, at first a quartet and then a
quintet, and we started playing gigs around town.
One of the great things about Canada is all of their artistic
grants. The grant I got at the time was a FACTOR grant.
Its a Canadian national grant. I applied for it, met the
criteria, and the grant paid for half the cost of the record.
We did it, and then the band and I went on two tours the
first year it was released, promoting the album. I was able to
do the record because for the first time I had the time to do
something like this, and I took advantage of the situation.
I was also able to do a lot of writing for the group. I was
fortunate to have the same guys in the band for over three
years.
One of the things that is so impressive about your playing,

and its demonstrated on the CD, is how beautiful and full
your tone is, no matter what instrument youre playing;
whether its tenor sax on Spring Is Where?, or flute on Love Of
My Life, or clarinet on Dont Get Clarinoid. For a musician,
their sound is everything. When you were young, how did you
work on your sound?
I think about that, because I do a lot of teaching and try
to help the adults who study with me, and try to help them
to understand what sound is all about. I was really lucky,
my first teacher, who I dedicated the album to, Rosario
Coletta, who is about 92 now and lives in Florida, was a
terrific clarinet and saxophone player. I studied with him
from the age of 11 to 18. He played practically every note of
every lesson I did for all of those years, with me. So I got to
hear, right in the trenches, someone who had a great sound
and I was able to copy it. I never really worked on my tone
other than to try to copy his sound. I was never big on long
tones, even to this day, except on the flute; in fact, right
before this interview Ive been playing long tones on the flute
for 30 minutes. I never really needed to play long tones or
work on my saxophone sound. Having Roe Coletta with me,
and being able to copy his sound, was indespensible. Once I
started on the flute I did the same thing, looked for people
who had a great sound and tried to copy theirs.
Bob Porcelli is from New York and played with Tito
Puente for years and now has been with T.S. Monk for about
12 or 13 years; hes a great alto player. Hes a Phil Woods/
Cannonball kind of player; thats not all he can do, but
thats a way to describe him. I played alto in high school,
Saxophone Today
but wasnt particularly good on it

except I could read well so they
put me on lead alto. Once I got
hooked on the tenor thats all I
wanted to play. I didnt even own
an alto, I played the schools.
When I got back to New York in
the early 70s (following time in the Air Force band), it was
apparent to me within weeks I would need to own an alto
because everyone played all the instruments and if I wanted
to make a living I would need to do the same. I bought an
alto and struggled with it. I took it to Porcelli and talked
about long tones, but he said, Before anything, youve got
to have a sound concept in your head of what you want to
sound like. Once you have that then youll have something to
work towards and youll find a way to make it happen. He
was right, and this applies to any instrument. I find students
who dont have a particularly good sound dont have a good
sound concept in their head. I think thats what saved me.
I always had a sound in my head and I always knew what I
wanted.
My first two influences on the tenor were Stan Getz and
Zoot Sims, so as a kid that was what I tried to sound like.
A little later I got into Coltrane. One of my favorite tenor
players is and has always been Eddie Daniels. Everyone
thinks of him as a clarinetist, of which hes peerless, but his
tenor playing is great. Ive known him for 50 years, and the
sound he gets on the tenor resonates with me. On the alto
I hear Phil Woods and Cannonballs sound, and for me that
was a no brainer in my trying to get their sound in my head.
Porcelli was right, once you have the sound you want in your
head you can make it happen.
I really loved your triple meter waltz composition, The
Birthday Waltz, which is on that recording. Nobody plays,
or writes, jazz waltzes anymore. How does the compositional
process work for you?
I wrote that tune on the occasion of my 43rd birthday. Id
tell people that the reason its in a minor key is because its
in honor of my birthday. Now-a-days having a 43rd birthday
would be a cause for celebration since Im so far beyond that
birthday. When I compose I usually sit down at the piano
and noodle a little bit; a little harmony, a few changes,
things like that. Im not a great piano player but I can do
that kind of stuff. Then I try to find something quickly, in
the first 10 minutes, like a germ. Then I try to work the
germ into something that seems like a theme, and I go with
it. I also usually try to write a tune in one sitting. That
takes about an hour or two, whatever it takes. I wrote a
tune, for my second granddaughter which my kids havent
heard yet, I wrote it six years ago and still havent recorded
it, in 20 minutes. I wrote it because I was teaching a class
in songwriting and I wanted to show the students that a
composition doesnt have to take a long time to compose.
I tweaked it over the next couple of days, but essentially I
wrote it in 20 minutes. I was lucky to be part of the BMI
Composers Workshop from 1991 to 95.
The year I joined was the year after Bob Brookmeyer
was finished. They were still, when I arrived, talking about
his teaching methods. Brookmeyer had a thing where he
would have you compose a cell, usually three notes. So youd
11
By virtue of the fact that I was

not particularly good in my public
schools regular classes I spent all
my time practicing and from that
was able to shine musically. For
me, music was a no brainer. If you
practice and study music hard, study
music harmony, and you do well in
school and are able to be able to get
into a good university so you can
get a degree and get chances to play
while there, you have a chance.
pick three notes and then start to

manipulate them. I think there are
24 permutations you can do with
those notes, not just nine. This
includes inversions, retrograde
inversions, etc., all sorts of things.
Then you could create harmony off
of those three notes. I do things like
that.
I wrote two pieces, one for the
BMI Jazz Composers Workshop
big band on a cell, and as soon as I
finished the composition the New
York Saxophone Quartet was getting ready to go to Italy for
the World Saxophone Congress. Dennis Anderson had just
quit the NY Saxophone Quartet and Kenny Hitchcock had
taken his place. Ray Beckenstein said to me, I want you
to write a piece that features both you and Kenny for the
festival, as a way to introduce him as the new member of the
quartet. I used the same cell for both those pieces. Now the
pieces dont sound at all like each other, but I used the same
three note cell in creating both those pieces.
When did you start composing?

I never wrote a note of music until I was 25. The only reason
I started composing was because I was going to Queens
College and needed a credit. My advisor, who has head of the
department, said Johnny Carisi had just joined the faculty.
He had a jazz arranging class for a credit, so I took it. When
I first started composing I would sit in front of the piano
with a blank piece of manuscript paper in front of me for
hours and hours and hours, not knowing what to do. There
I realized that I needed to put something down so I would
have something to work with. If I didnt put anything down I
would have nothing to work with.
I do the same thing when I write my articles. Even if I
dont like what I write, I can always chuck it later. If I put
something down then at least I have something I can work
with. Imagine what an artist must do, a sculptor, when
he works with a piece of clay. You got to start poking that
thing and move it around or else it will eventually become
hard and all youll have is a ball of junk. Its the same thing
with writing. I sit down and start working. It will take off.
Someone once said, You must listen to your music, it will
tell you what to do. It really will.
Your soloing abilities are remarkable. Not only are they
advanced harmonically, but they are exceptionally tuneful.
When you were young, how did you study improvisation?
Thats a pretty good question. When I was young I didnt
know how to work on improvisation. I didnt know anything
about harmony. When I was in my 20s is when I really
started to work on it. One of the things I have is a pretty
good ear. I would play by ear and I could figure out the form
of the piece. No matter how great your ears are, however,
that is still pretty limiting. If you dont study harmony
youre going to reach a dead end; you wont be able to get
past certain things. I was never big on transcribing, but I did
do a little bit of that. I would hear things on records that I
liked and maybe just copy those things, then work on those
12
ideas a bit, but it was not until I was

really well into my 30s that I started
to truly understand what I needed to
do to get better.
Nobody ever said to me that each
chord represents at least one scale,
and usually a lot more. It was not
until I was well into my 30s when
I started to understand that. If you
have a C7 chord it can be represented
with a mixolydian scale as well as a
number of alterations. Then I started
to work on things like that. As I
listened to other people solo I always wondered, Where did
they get those notes from? The harmony wasnt changing
yet the people I heard that I liked were obviously playing
different notes at different times over the same chord. Well
it came from other scales that could be used over this one
chord. It was much later in life when I realized that.
The other thing about the way I play is that I have a
melodic approach to improvisation. I think vertically,
naturally, but when I play I dont think about anything, I
just play. I try to make a melody. Listen to Stan Getz. Listen
to anybody. John Coltrane played melodies also, he just
played them differently. When listening to Stan Getz you
really get the sense of how his playing is completely melodic.
That was always what I dealt with. As I got more frustrated
with my limited harmonic approach, and Im a harmony
freak and have been for a long time, I found I needed to up
my understanding about that as well.
When you mentioned one can only go so far with harmony
it reminded me of a story John Cage would tell. He said,
when he was studying with Schoenberg, I have no feeling
for harmony. Schoenberg told him if that were the case
then he would only go so far as a composer, that eventually
Cage would hit a wall he would not be able to go beyond.
It applies in jazz as well. To me, your arrangement of Lush
Life for saxophones is outstandingly impressive, especially
in the opening four and a half minutes where you mix the
instrumental timbres in a wonderfully subtle and stylish
manner. For this arrangement to be played well, every
member of the group has to be on top of their game. Im sure
its much harder to perform than listeners would initially
think.
I think youre very correct about that.
For those readers who are thinking about writing for
saxophone ensembles, quartet or octet, is there one particular
problem area you can suggest they be very careful with in
order for their arrangements to sound good?
Actually writing for any group, saxophones or brass, is
actually easy in one respect, groups of like instruments
sound very sonorous together. You have to worry about
mixing strings with woodwinds and or brass; that presents
you with all kinds of other problems. Writing for the
saxophone quartet, if you just voice a chord out of the
four notes, its going to ring and be beautiful. Okay, first,
everything I ever wrote for the New York Saxophone Quartet
I wrote knowing they could play it. In Lush Life, Ray
Beckenstein is playing low Bs and B-flats. You dont write
July/August 2014
those notes for soprano saxophone players unless you know

they can do it. I knew Ray could do it. He would complain
about it, and asked me why I wrote those notes for him.
Because you can do it, was my reply. You have to be careful
about doing things like that. There is an old story about
Richard Strauss going to his fathers orchestra rehearsals.
Richard would bring in a short piece for the orchestra to run
through. The French horn player said, Why did you write
this French horn part in this way? Its an impossible piece
to play. Richard said, Those notes were the notes you were
playing as a warm-up last week. Knowing what people
can do, for the composer, is a good thing to know, but it can
also be a big problem for the player.
I was able to
write knowing the people in the group could do what I was
asking of them.
But, you have to know, as a writer and composer, the
ranges of the instruments, and you need to know the
practical range of the different instruments. I studied
arranging with Don Sebesky for a year, and he was an avid
advocate of relative intensity. That was not something new
or novel to him, he got it from somewhere else, but relative
intensity means that most instruments sound better in their
middle registers. Whatever their range, they will sound
better and the best in the middle of their register. That is
where their sound will resonate, they will also not sound
stressed in that range. Sometimes, however, you want them
to stress, youll want their sound to be stressed, and in those
cases you will write at the bottom or the top of their register.
Ray Beckenstein, Wally and a couple of the guys had
recorded with Gil Evans. Ray used to play flute for Gil. Ray
said Gil never wrote anything for the alto flute unless it
was in the third octave and he never wrote anything for the
piccolo unless it was at the bottom of the horn, which are the
extremes of those instruments. I found this out later to be
true because I also got to play that music as well. The reason
Gil did this was because he wanted that sound. He could
have written, instead of a low E on the piccolo, a middle E
for the flute, but he wouldnt have gotten the same sound.
The same with the alto flute, writing for it in the scream
register. I got to play a lot of music in concerts, and sure
enough thats what Gil did.
As an arranger and composer you want to know where
certain sounds are going to work and where certain sounds
are not going to work. There are times in a couple of my
arrangements where I cross voices, which you try not to do,
between the alto and the tenor saxophone. I did it because
by doing this I was able to avoid having the alto in a bad
register. I think its understanding registers, understanding
the musical concept you want and where youll find it to be
most sonorous, that is really important in writing.
What I find in a lot of writing I see is that its not melodic.
Everybody has to have a melody. Every part you write has
to be melodic. Dont write a part that is da-do-da-do-da-doda-do. That will not work. First, the player is not going to
like the part you wrote. One of the books I have is by Bill
Dobbins. He quotes Billy Strayhorn writing for Duke. He
said that after Billy would bring a new chart in to the band
he would go the musicians and ask if the part was fun to
play. If they said no he would change it, because he wanted
everyone to play a melody. That is an important aspect in
Saxophone Today
writing. If everyone is playing a melody, the arrangement

will probably work out.
You were successful for over 25 years as a musician in New
York. You were then successful in Montreal for a long time,
followed by a current long stretch in Los Angeles where you
are again, for the third time, a number one call musician.
Youve seen a lot of young musicians move to New York and
L.A., some make it, some wash out. What advice do you give
young musicians who are thinking about moving to New
York or L.A. to try and make it?
Yeah, you know, it can be really sad. My very first hit show
Click Blue Links Below To View Websites & Videos
Billy Kerrs Website

http://www.billykerr.com/
Vandoren Artist
http://dansr.com/vandoren/artists/1/4/billy-kerr
Cornel School Of Contemporary Music
http://www.cornelschoolofmusic.com/kerr/
Lush Life by Billy Kerr
UNC Press
http://www.uncjazzpress.com/product-p/664.htm
VIDEOS
Billy Kerr On Vandoren Reeds
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Hy_IvJXnoo
Chelsea Bridge - Billy Strayhorn, Arr. Billy Kerr
University of Kentucky Mega Sax 1 performing November
15, 2011. Members are Ian Cruz, soprano saxophone;
Will Stafford, alto saxophone; Nathan Treadaway, tenor
saxophone; and Colleen Wagoner, baritone saxophone.
Directed by Dieter Rice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU1ubzRtTS8
Billy Kerr Vandojam 2012 Jam Session
Ralph Brennans Jazz Caf
Billy Kerr - Sax, Kim Richmond - Sax
Mike Valerio - Bass, Lemar Carter - Drums
Andy Langham - Keyboard
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o85mlf5t78o
Auld Lang Syne
The Bob Florence Limited Edition
From the Bob Florence tribute at the Catalina Bar and
Grill (Hollywood) on June 15, 2008, here is the Bob
Florence Limited Edition on Auld Lang Syne.
Saxes: Jennifer Hall, Tom Peterson, Don Shelton, Kim
Richmond, Billy Kerr, Bob Efford
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZIxy5StPUQ
Cold Duck Time
Spencer Lemann with the
Bruce Eskovitz Jazz Orchestra
Spencer Lemann performs Al Jarreaus version of the
Eddie Harris classic Cold Duck Time at LAs Typhoon
with the Bruce Eskovitz Jazz Orchestra: Bruce Eskovitz,
Billy Kerr, Lee Thornberg, Jeff Jarvis, Nick Lane, Mark
Balling, Adam Cohen & Dick Weller.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Avo_5JiP6w0
13
was Annie and I was in it with Frank Wess. Frank used to

say, If you want to play music you have to be where the
music is. I learned that. I was in New York and here in L.A.
Montreal was a nice town, but there wasnt a lot of music
and it was hard to make a living. Its still not easy to make
a living in New York or L.A. My advice is first, be prepared.
You dont get a chance for a first impression more than
once. If you come in and you cant play, even if just some
small aspect of your playing is not there, youre probably
not going to get a second chance. Believe me, that first bad
performance, the news of that event will spread a lot quicker
than the news that some great player just came into town
who can do anything.
Second, you have to get along with people. Dont be a drag.
I dont think you have to be phony, but be nice. Its like
anything else in the world, you want to be around people
who are happy youre there. Be pleasant. I got all of that
advice as I was coming up in New York. My predecessor
in the quartet was Dave Tofani and Ive known him for
50 years; we went to Juilliard together. Dave was one
of the people who really helped me out a lot. It was his
recommendation that got me into the quartet. He said,
Look, do a good job, be pleasant, and youll do much better.
People do a lot of funny things. They write letters and send
flowers to secretarys and stuff like that, but to me, if you
can just do the job and be nice to be around I think you have
a leg up on everybody. That kind of a reputation will get
around. It really will.
What advice do you have for high school students who are
thinking about making music a career?
We talk about this a lot. The business is shrinking and
shrinking, and has been for a while. When I was coming
up Sid Cooper was one of my mentors. He played first alto
in Tommy Dorseys band when Sinatra was with the band.
Sid was one of the first alto players on The Tonight Show
back when it was in New York. Sid was a great guy. I was
involved with him a lot and played in a lot of things with
him. He said to me, and this was back in the 1970s, he said
that when he was coming up, back in his generation, We
had the bands, then we had radio, then we had television
studios, and then we had recordings. He talked about how
each of those performance venues for musicians came and
went. Remember, this was in 1975. He went on to say, I
feel sorry for you guys coming up now. And now its gotten
worse. Part of the problem is that we have at least three
generations of people who have grown up on mechanical
music, synthesized music, not real live music. Sometimes
you go to play a show and people will look into the pit and
say, Wow, there are real live musicians down there. They
are shocked. Thats bad for kids who want to play.
For high school kids who want to play, first of all you have
to be able to play at a really high level early on. If you are
not at a really high level now, when youre a junior or senior
in high school, youre probably not going to get to a high
enough level to really make it. That doesnt mean you should
give it up or that you shouldnt play.
Second, you also have to have a game plan and some
alternative routes of where you can go. Some people disagree
with me on that last one, having an alternative route you
can travel, but I think its important. When I was a kid my
14
father used to say, Get your degree and have something

to fall back on. Now you dont want to plan to fail, but you
have to have alternatives and you have to have a clear path.
Life will also change on you and you have to be able to go
with it, and you have to be prepared for that. I dont teach
high school kids because they dont practice enough for me.
By virtue of the fact that I was not particularly good in my
public schools regular classes I spent all my time practicing
and from that was able to shine musically. For me, music
was a no brainer. If you practice and study music hard,
study music harmony, and you do well in school and are
able to be able to get into a good university so you can get
a degree and get chances to play while there, you have a
chance.
But you also have to be really diverse. For instance, you
know I write for Saxophone Today, and wrote for Saxophone
Journal for over a decade. Ive been writing for Saxophone
Today Publisher and former Editor of Saxophone Journal,
David Gibson, for 14 years. I failed my junior year of high
school English. I had to retake it during the summer. There
are probably five or six English teachers that I had in school
who are now spinning in their graves with the notion that
I actually make money writing prose. I eventually learned
how to write. High school kids, you have to take school
seriously. This is your only shot at it. Do it, and do it well.
If you do, then you can make decisions about your future.
To quote the great Frank Wess, Dont let anyone control
your money. If they control your money they control your
life. When you get out in the real world you have to be able
to say, I can do this, I can do that. Then youre in control
of your life. If you learn this lesson early on youll be okay.
We never know where life is going to go. We never know.
Suddenly a door will open and if youre not prepared or
you have never thought about what it might be like to go
through that door, and have no knowledge of what the path
through that door might mean, well then, youve closed that
door.
Billy Kerrs Selected Discography
As A Leader
The Eagle Has Landed eh? (self-released, 1999)
With Others
Freddie Cole, Joey DeFrancesco, Bob Florence, Lorraine
Fontaine, Don Habib, Steve Huffsteter, John Labelle,
Maureen McGovern, New York Neophonic Orchestra, New
York Saxophone Quartet, Osland Saxophone Quartet, John
Pizzarelli, USC Vocal Jazz Ensemble
Movie Soundtracks
Chorus Line, Little Drummer Girl, Reds
Cast Albums
Gypsy, Legs Diamond, My One And Only, Threepenny
Opera, Wings
Television Commercials
Dunkin Donuts, Lipton Tea, McDonalds, Ponderosa Steak
House, Posner Cosmetics, Quaker Oats
Television Shows
CBS After School Special, CBS New Years Eve Special,
Danny Thomas Telethon, Democratic National Convention,
Grammy Awards, Miss America Pageant, Montreal Today.
Sesame Street, Super Bowl Half-Time Show, Tonight Show,
Tony Awards, Ultimate Manilow
July/August 2014
For SATB Saxophone Quartet

Carl Schimmels Music For Saxophone Quartet
By Susan Fancher
Click Blue Links To View Websites & Videos
first met Carl Schimmel while he was a doctoral

student at Duke University, when my quartet, the Red
Clay Saxophone Quartet, premiered his imaginative,
beautiful work Into Xylonia. His newest work for saxophone
quartet, titled Peregrinations in Praise of The One Who
Observes the Sounds Of The World, was composed in 2012
and is another truly outstanding piece of music, written
for the Iridium Saxophone
Quartet. In the intervening
seven years, Schimmel has
written several more works
for saxophone, including
Elemental Homunculi for
tenor saxophone and piano,
championed by saxophonist
Taimur Sullivan, and an alto
saxophone solo titled Puppet
Apparatus for Elizabeth Bunt.
Two new works for saxophone
and piano are currently
being added to his repertoire. We are fortunate to have this
remarkable young composer writing for our instrument.
Schimmel enjoys writing for the saxophone and says he is
always inspired by the excitement that saxophonists have
for the music of our time.
Carl Schimmels Biography
Carl Schimmels music was praised by The New York
Times as vivid and dramatic. His recent music is dense
with literary and musical references, often humorous, and
Saxophone Today
combines intensity of expression with a structural rigor that

draws upon his mathematics background. He told me that he
is inspired by concepts which are not necessarily musical,
and interpreting or combining them musically. He doesnt
often write absolute music (music without an extra-musical
reference), and notes that he doesnt think hes written
any since 2008. He often spends weeks or months getting a
concept to work musically. Emotional expression (sometimes
extreme) in his music is quite important to him. Fittingly,
his music was included on a concert called New Voices in
Expressionism. Schimmel shares, humor is one aspect of
my music that is noted and appreciated by audiences and
performers its not in all my music but its in a few betterknown pieces. He continues, I am always cognizant of how
contrast is key to generating musical significance but it is
also important in conveying humor. He currently composing
a Chamber Symphony for the new music ensemble Alarm
Will Sound, inspired by Thomas Pynchons novel Gravitys
Rainbow, and a String Octet for the Ciompi and Amernet
Quartets. We are, indeed, lucky that he is a fan of the
saxophone and also continues to write terrific music for our
instrument.
Winner of Columbia Universitys Joseph Bearns Prize and
the Lee Ettelson Award, Schimmel has received honors and
awards from many organizations, including the MacDowell
Colony, Yaddo, Copland House, New Music USA and
ASCAP. His works have been performed in Carnegie Halls
Weill Hall, Merkin Hall in New York, Severance Hall in
Cleveland, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa, St. Martinin-the-Fields in London, Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis
15
and at other venues throughout North America, Europe,

Australia and Asia. He has received performances and
commissions from the California EAR Unit, the Left Coast
Chamber Ensemble, the Minnesota Orchestra, North/South
Consonance, the Da Capo Chamber Players, Lucy Shelton,
the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra and many others.
He is currently Assistant Professor of Music Theory and
Composition at Illinois State University in Normal, Illinois.
Carl Schimmel is the director of the Red Note New Music
Festival at Illinois State University.
For more information about the festival, visit:
http://finearts.illinoisstate.edu/rednote/index.shtml
More information about Carl Schimmel can be found on
his website:
www.carlschimmel.com
About Into Xylonia
Schimmel was the 2005 Society of Composers, Inc./
ASCAP Student Competition winner, for which the award
was a commission for a work for saxophone quartet.
The resulting work was Into Xylonia, which received its
premiere performance on the 2005 Society of Composers,
Inc. National Conference at the University of North Carolina
at Greensboro. Schimmels notes for the piece inform the
performers and listeners that the work is one in a series
of works that explore diatonicism. He continues, In some
sections, phrases are constructed using complete diatonic
scales; other sections use four-note chords which, when
stacked, generate a diatonic scale. But, more important to
the listener than the compositional method is the fantastical
storyline indicated by the six section titles. The titles of the
six sections, played attacca, give a sense of the journey the
listeners and performers travel together.
Into Xylonia
I. gleaming teak parquet, boundless, oceanic...
II. Bubinga buttons and ash pegs bubble in clumps
III. Newelposts and dominoes jostle with alphablocks,
caespitose and shrubby
IV. Ligneous tendrils bear fattening spindle tips, shooting
about dowelsprouts
V. PYRGOIDAL PEPPERMILLS AND PEGLEGS
MAMMOTH AXEHANDLESTITANIC BIEDERMEIER
BEDSTANDS
From the barbicans flutter deckle and chads, tickertape
and timbersplinters, crepe paper billowing like hennin cloth
Into Xylonia beings with a glorious, gleaming opening
slow chorale, which builds to a climax on its way to long,
sustained chords interrupted by gentle slaps, the buttons
and pegs. Then the jostling happens over a triumphant
melody in the baritone, which gets passed over to the
soprano saxophone. The soprano and baritone then join
together on the ligneous tendrils of the tune, while the
alto and tenor provide the background dowelsprouts. The
melody passes to the alto, then to the soprano and tenor,
building in intensity and pace until all four saxophones join
in a dramatic punctuation setting up the mad march-like
fifth section. The joyous final section leads to an exuberant
ending, with the soprano wailing away on virtuosic high
licks.
16
YouTube Videos
To hear Carl talking about his piece on YouTube, and
listen to the first section of the piece performed by students
at Case Western University, click the next link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNoNmzmfIA8
A video of the Iridium Quartet performing sections IV and

V will soon be available on the Music/Video link at their
website, now under construction:
http://iridiumquartet.com/
A live concert recording of the entire work can be found at

https://soundcloud.com/carl-schimmel/into-xylonia-forsaxophone
As you will hear, the piece is difficult. Im eagerly awaiting
the release of a studio recording. The Iridium Quartet
recorded Into Xylonia on their upcoming release on the Blue
Griffin label.
Iridium Quartet
The Iridium Quartet has been a strong champion of
Schimmels quartet music, performing and recording Into
Xylonia, and commissioning and premiering Peregrinations
at the World Saxophone Congress in Scotland. Drawing upon
a rich history of nearly ten years of shared collaboration,
saxophonists Paul Nolen, Marcos Coln, Paul Forsyth
and Eric Lau join forces in the Iridium Quartet. All four
members are veteran chamber musicians as well as soloists.
The individual members have performed and given master
classes throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, Brazil
and the UK. Iridium members have also won top prizes in
competitions including the MTNA National Chamber Music
and Solo competitions, the North American Saxophone
Alliance Solo Competition and were semi-finalists in the
Concert Artist Guild International Competition.
Paul Nolen is known for his vibrant teaching and is in
demand throughout the U.S. and abroad as an educator.
He has given numerous master classes and lectures,
including recent classes at the Brevard Music Festival in
North Carolina, the University of Missouri at Kansas City
and the University of New Mexico. Nolen currently teaches
saxophone and chamber music at Illinois State University in
Normal, Illinois.
Marcos Coln was born in Caguas, Puerto Rico. He holds
a Bachelor degree from the Puerto Rico Conservatory of
Music, where he studied saxophone with Wilfredo Corps, and
a Master of Music degree in saxophone performance from the
University of New Mexico under the tutelage of Eric Lau.
Mr. Coln has won various awards and competitions such as
the MTNA Competition for the State of New Mexico in 2008,
Alternate Winner for the MTNA Southwest Competition
in 2009, the Joyce Walker Foundation Award Competition
in Las Cruces, New Mexico and the UNM Concerto
Competition in 2009.
Paul Forsyth joined the faculty of Northwestern State
University of Louisiana in the Fall of 2007. He received his
Doctoral and Masters degrees in saxophone performance
from Michigan State University, where he was the recipient
of the prestigious saxophone teaching assistantship in 20052006. His primary professors were Joseph Lulloff, Diego
Rivera and Ron Blake. A native of Knoxville, Tennessee,
July/August 2014
The Iridium Quartet has been a strong champion of Schimmels quartet music,
performing and recording Into Xylonia, and commissioning and premiering
Peregrinations at the World Saxophone Congress in Scotland.
Forsyth received his Bachelors degree in music education
from the University of Tennessee under the direction of
Paul Haar, Mark Tucker and Jay Romines. As a top-call
saxophonist in northern Louisiana, he has performed
with such performers as Regis Philbin, Lew Soloff, the
Temptations, Bobby Vinton and Bill Watrous. He has been
on faculty at Albion College, Spring Arbor University, and
Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.
Eric Lau joined the faculty of The University of New
Mexico in the Fall 2003. He received the Doctor of Musical
Arts and Master of Music degrees from the School of
Music at Michigan State University as a recipient of both
the Catherine Herrick Cobb Fellowship and the Deans
Recruitment Fellowship. He graduated summa cum laude
with his undergraduate degree in saxophone performance
from Louisiana State University. His major teachers include
Joseph Lulloff, James Forger, Andrew Speight, Branford
Marsalis and Griffin Campbell. An active recitalist, Eric Lau
has performed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico
and Brazil.
Peregrinations In Praise Of The One Who Observes
The Sounds Of The World
Like his first quartet, Schimmels newest quartet carries
an imaginative, poetic title and, though specific sections
are not given separate titles, the score indicates a series
of characters or moods from Serene and Glacial, to
Intense and Ecstatic, to Quick and Agitated, always
returning to Serene. I asked Schimmel what inspired
the new quartet. He replied that the origin was a melody
of goeika, a Buddhist song tradition associated with
pilgrimage in Japan. He noted that Buddhist pilgrimages in
Japan often involve visiting Buddhas or Kannon. A lover of
wordplay, Schimmel combined the very disparate concepts
of goeika (in praise of Kannon), canon and jazz (Cannonball
Adderley). The three concepts also happened to have in
common the word mercy. Schimmel writes, The goeika
and a 15th century canon (Obrecht) are quoted explicitly;
the Adderley is more concealed. Throughout the work, he
Saxophone Today
adds, there are 33 little canons (most are just snippets)in

reference to the 33 Kannon sites. The resulting piece is
lovely, with some truly stunning goose bump moments.
The quartet was composed for and premiered by the Iridium
Saxophone Quartet at the 2012 World Saxophone Congress
XVI held in St. Andrews, Scotland.
Peregrinations begins with a gorgeous chorale, moving in
and out of unisons, blossoming into dramatic chords, then
returning to a delicate, peaceful character. Activity picks
up, leading to a section of embellished tunes over a drone,
then returning to a peaceful, glacial resonance, followed by a
short, but lovely, melancholy solo in the baritone saxophone.
The soprano and alto converse over the lower instruments
until all four saxes join in an explosive climax. We return
to a chorale, with a piece of the Renaissance pulled forward
to the 21st century. Schimmel has created such a beautiful,
dramatic piece of music. Kudos to the Iridium Quartet for
their role in its creation. I hope many quartets will add it to
their repertoire!
You can listen to and watch that performance by going to
this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrRMqqnVr24.
...for saxophone, or includes the saxophone. Take a few minutes
to check out this music. If you like the music, contact the
composer and let him know! Enjoy.
Into Xylonia (2005) for saxophone quartet
Elemental Homunculi (2005) for tenor saxophone and piano
Puppet Apparatus (2006) for alto saxophone solo.
Popple & Jink (2008) for bass clarinet and tenor saxophone.
The Alphabet turnd Posture Master (2008) for tenor
saxophone, electric guitar, piano and percussion.
Gnomology (2010) for alto saxophone, trombone and piano.
Peregrinations in Praise of The One Who Observes the Sounds
of the World (2012) for saxophone quartet.
An Illustrated Ontogeny of the Flower Snark (in progress,
2014) for alto saxophone & piano.
Monogramarye (planned) for soprano saxophone and piano.
17
A Look Back...
Saxophone Artist Ruth Glanville
...1921
Playing a C.G. Conn New Wonder Saxophone
he Elkhart Press expressed the unanimous sentiment of the enthused

audience which packed the Bucklen Theatre when it stated that
Miss Glanville gave them one of the rarest of treats ever enjoyed in
this city. She choose for her firdt number Herbert Clarkes solo Showers Of
Gold, a most difficult cornet
solo which is peculiarly
adaptable for a saxophone
solo except that it is usually
difficult for the latter
instrument. Miss Glanville
gave this solo with perfect
ease and her phrasing was
beyond any possible adverse
criticism. She is a master of
the saxophone. Two encores
were not sufficient to satisfy
the audience.
Miss Ruth Glanville has
established a reputation
second to none as a
saxophone solo artist.
This yound and charming
musician has enjoyed
engagements with Innes
Concert Band the season
of 1919 and with Kryls
Concert Band in 1920. Her
last public appearance
with Band was a recent
engagement with the
Instrument City Band
of Elkhart, where she
appeared before perhaps the
most critical of saxophone
critics as Elkhard has been
honored for so many years
by the continuous company
of the greatest saxophonist
of all time who have either
lived here, or who have
offtimes visited this city and all Elkhartans have heard em all.
Some three years ago the Conn Ltd. Sold a saxophone to Miss Glanville
and while at that time she played very well indeed, yet it remained for the
Conn saxophone to add to the musical artistry of this talented young lady
and the wonderful advancement accomplished by her was quite a surprise to
all. She plays the latest model of the Special Artist finish of which she states,
I cannot express my great love for this instrument. I played other makes
as you know some years ago but I now wonder how I played them at all.
This Conn is truly wonderful. I have never dreamed of such perfection in a
saxophone. It is ALL to me.
Click Blue Links Below To View Videos
Conn New Wonder Alto Series I Saxophone

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXB2Tsq4WLc
Repairmans Overview: 1925 Conn New Wonder Series II Alto Saxophone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux-2ePVmoxg
In 1927, Vitaphone made a short film #480 of Ruth Glanville playing Saxophobia.
18
July/August 2014
Saxophone Today Reviews
New Saxophone Publications By David Demsey
By David Demsey
Greg Fishmans Hip Licks For Saxophone

Larry Teal: There Will Never Be Another You
Hip Licks for Saxophone
Greg Fishman
Book-2 CD Set, $24.95
http://www.gregfishmanjazzstudios.com/
Recommended for: Intermediate level jazz improvisers.
hicago area saxophonist, composer and educator

Greg Fishman has become a one-man jazz education
publishing mainstay. He has produced multiple
volumes of jazz etudes, many based on the standard chord
progressions that are so valuable for young players to learn.
The etudes are always interesting, and consistently include
a contemporary twist of post-bop vocabulary that ingrains
this valuable, more modern sound into the ears of the
students that learn his pieces.
This book (also published for trumpet) condenses the
harmonic/melodic highlights from these etudes, pointing
the students ears to the crucial melodic material from
Fishmans composition. This is particularly valuable because
of Fishmans unusual ability to distill the vocabulary words
and expressions of great players such as Dexter Gordon,
Sonny Rollins, Charlie Parker, Sonny Stitt and many others,
and make them his own not as trite repetitions, but with
twists that show his uniqueness and allow students their
own individuality.
At first glance, the use of two- or four-measure hip
licks seems to be too imitative, too old-fashioned, and not
allowing for any creativity from the student. But, if the
student and teacher take the time to delve into the fifteen
pages of introductory material, what unfolds is actually
the secret to the core vocabulary of some of the greatest
improvisers of all time. Fishman shows how to take one lick,
one melodic pattern, and start it from many different spots
in the measure. This technique is an under-recognized core
principle of bebop playing, particularly of Charlie Parkers
language. Fishman then shows how to utilize short segments
of some licks, combining them in new ways to create
entirely new ideas. This technique was featured beautifully
by author Lewis Porter in his book-length study of Lester
Young, where he points out that Young built his entire
vocabulary from a library of less than ten core ideas!
As with other Fishman books, this volume fully involves
an accompaniment CD, allowing the student to hear
him perform his ideas (or, more to the point, to read
the transcriptions of his ideas as he improvises them),
then allows the student perform them by themselves,
accompanied by a top-level pro rhythm section.
Saxophone Today
A watershed moment for me as a young improviser was my

discovery of the book supplement that was contained within
Volume 3 of the Jamey Aebersold Play-Along series, The
II-V-I Progression. This book-within-a-book contained pages
of famous ii-V progressions melodic ideas that I had heard
and could sing, but did not yet understand. Seeing them
decoded by referring to their parent scales and the chord
tones they emphasized opened huge doors for me. This book
by Greg Fishman will hopefully do the same thing for todays
young improvisers.
Author Greg Fishmans Website
http://www.gregfishman.com/
Greg Fishman Jazz Studios
http://www.gregfishmanjazzstudios.com/
VIDEO
Greg Fishman Demonstrates
Diminished-Chord Techniques From His Book
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2XPnhKQP-g
Available On Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Hip-Licks-Saxophone-GregFishman/dp/0984349243
Larry Teal: There Will Never Be Another You

Mary Durden Teal
Thomas Liley, editor
North American Saxophone Alliance
Biographical Series, $20.00
Recommended for: Any serious saxophone student, teacher
or performer.
arry Teal (1905-1984) is in many ways the father of

the classical saxophone in the U.S., as we know it
today. He was the first full-time saxophone professor
at any American school when he joined the University of
Michigan faculty in the fall of 1953; among his students were
Donald Sinta, himself a hugely influential performer and
teacher, as well as other major performers and pedagogues;
he also taught jazz saxophonists Joe Henderson and Yusef
Lateef; Henderson wrote that he considered him a lifelong
mentor.
This book is one of the first two volumes of the newly
established North American Saxophone Alliance
Biographical Series, written by Teals widow and wife
of nearly three decades, Mary Durden Teal, who is also
19
a faculty emeritus of the University of Michigan. Her

expertise as an author, researcher, musician and authority
on Detroits music history would alone make her the perfect
person to create this important volume. Her added deep
interest in genealogy and Teals family history make this a
truly unique biography.
The early chapters reflect Mrs. Teals family connections,
devoting nearly 50 pages to the history of Teals family
and the Midland, Michigan area where he grew up. His
early life and employment involved music through family
connections via his father, a barber who was also a violinist
and led his own group, and through his aunt, a gifted
pianist and teacher. He began as a flutist at age eight, and
his discovery of the saxophone at age 14 coincided with the
massive saxophone craze of the 1920s. Teals plans to
finance his dental school plans through saxophone playing
soon mushroomed into increasingly steady work, first in his
early studies at the University of Michigan when he became
a member of Paul Wilsons Wolverines and Kennedys
Collegiate Six, and then as a Wayne State University
student. Teals next major association was with the early
days of Detroit radio station WJR (still a clear-channel
beacon heard throughout much of the U.S.), then with the
citys Ford Hour radio program, leading to an association
with the Detroit Symphony where he became a member of
the clarinet section, later the flute section, also featured as a
saxophonist.
It was during this time that Teal became increasingly
recognized as a leading Detroit musician, and one of the
truly strong saxophone voices in the nation. He gave some
of the earliest American performances of the then relatively
new Glazounov Concerto and Ibert Concertino da Camera,
as well as his association with pianist-composer Bernhard
Heiden, who wrote his landmark Saxophone Sonata for Teal
and performed it with him many times. Teal rapidly became
as well known as a teacher as for his performance prowess,
and his own School of Music often used Wayne State
University faculty. Teal joined the WSU faculty, and his
full-time appointment to the University of Michigan changed
the course of saxophone history forever. He soon established
the first doctoral degree in saxophone anywhere, and by the
1960s, saxophone degree programs began to spring up on
many campuses, often notably led by his former students.
Although Mary Durden Teal is the books author, she
has done a first-rate job of including lengthy quotes and
statements from Teal himself, taken from oral histories and
interviews, also copiously annotated. In fact, one could say
that this book is co-authored, giving the text an immediacy
and precision that is rare. Anyone performing, studying or
teaching the saxophone in the U.S. today owes a debt to
Teals work as a performer, teacher and author. This book
details the fascinating story of his life and career, and should
be in the library of anyone serious about the saxophone.
Solos For The Alto/Tenor Saxophone Player With

Slowdowner CD
Larry Teal, editor
G. Schirmer/Hal Leonard, $24.99
n addition to the Larry Teal: There Will Never Be

Another You review there is also a high-tech Larry
Teal update! The universally used Solos for the Alto/
Tenor Saxophone Player edited and collected by Larry Teal,
is now available with an accompaniment CD, featuring the
very musical and clear playing of Jeannie Yu.
Best of all, this CD is also interactive, and comes with
a lite version of the widely used Amazing Slowdowner
software, allowing for tempo adjustment. This allows
younger students to gain the full musical experience of the
piano accompaniment while they are learning the notes.
Bravo to Schirmer for taking this step!
Solos For The Alto/Tenor Saxophone Player With
Slowdowner CD
Sold By Sam Ash On Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Hal-Leonard-Solos-SaxophonePlayer/dp/B0069HW614/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1381070
453&sr=8-2&keywords=larry+teal+solos+for+the+saxophon
e+CD
Editor Thomas Lileys Website:

http://www.thomas-liley.com
20
July/August 2014
The Evolution Of Saxophone Keywork
Steve Goodson
The Evolution Of Saxophone Keywork

Could You Just Add Another Key?
There is substantial anecdotal evidence that Sax had working examples of the saxophone that he was showing to
friends and potential customers as early as 1840, and this date is generally accepted as the official birthday of
the saxophone. What we dont know much about is the evolution of the keywork and mechanism.
obody is exactly certain when Adolphe Sax produced

the first example of the instrument which bears his
name. The patents were granted in 1846, and an
article written by Saxs close friend, Hector Berlioz in 1842,
describes the instrument in great detail for Journal Des
Debats, a Paris magazine. There is substantial anecdotal
evidence that Sax had working examples of the saxophone
that he was showing to friends and potential customers as
early as 1840, and this date is generally accepted as the
official birthday of the saxophone. What we dont know
much about is the evolution of the keywork and mechanism.
In 1842, Sax moved to Paris, then considered the musical
center of the world, in order to promote his new instrument.
The saxophone apparently had achieved a degree
of standardization by 1844, or at least enough for Hector
Berlioz to include a dedicated saxophone part in his choral
composition Chant Sacre. 1844 also marked the introduction
of the instrument to the general public through its inclusion
in the Paris Industrial Exhibition.
By 1845, Sax was rewriting military band arrangements
with the oboe, bassoon, and French horn parts all replaced
by saxophones keyed in both Bb and Eb. Sax believed
that by replacing these instruments with saxophones, the
military bands would achieve a more homogenous sound.
On February 14, 1847, a saxophone school was created in
Paris. The school was set up at a military band school known
Saxophone Today
as Gymnase Musical.
The saxophone continued to gain acceptance, and
in 1858, Adolphe Sax himself was appointed Professor of
Saxophone at the Paris Conservatory. All of the instruments
were, of course, constructed by Sax himself, and there was
almost no variation in the keywork or mechanism. The horns
were keyed from low B to high Eb, but very significantly, Sax
taught his students that the saxophone had a four octave
range! The instruments Sax (the only source) produced
used double octave keys, and lacked many of the features
commonly found on saxophones today, such as an articulated
G#, a forked F#, the one and one Bb, the front F key, and
other improvements that found their way onto later versions
of the saxophone.
The first patent issued to Sax reached the end of its
twenty year life in 1866, and almost immediately, other
companies began producing saxophones and making
improvements. One of the earliest improvements, which
soon found universal acceptance on all saxophones, was the
introduction by the Millereau Company of a forked F#,
which greatly facilitated the production of that note while
retaining the basic playing position for the three main
fingers of the right hand.
While not technically a keywork or mechanism
improvement, in 1868, Gautrot, Pierre, Louis, and
Company introduced a system that kept the surface of the
21
Adolphe Sax patent drawing from French patent #3226 (March 21, 1846).
Adolphe Sax
pads flat in order to provide a better seal.

Prior to this time, saxophone pads were of
purse style construction, with a leather
bag of appropriate size for the key cup
filled with sawdust and stitched shut.
These early pads were far too soft and their
pneumatic qualities were sorely lacking,
and the new system of Gautrot, Pierre,
Louis, and Company was a giant leap
forward toward solving a serious problem.
Pads would go through many evolutionary
stages and false starts before we obtained
the product in common use today.
In 1881, Adolphe Sax filed another
series of patent documents with
improvements to the saxophone that he
hoped would give him an edge over the
rapidly expanding number of competitors.
In addition to renewing his original
patents, Saxs 1881 patent called for an
extension of the saxophone bell to allow keywork down to
written low Bb, and for the extension of keywork up the
body tube to allow the production of high F# and high G.
The extension of the range of the saxophone unfortunately
required the addition of two more octave keys in order to
produce these notes reliably, bringing the total of octave key
touches to be operated by the left thumb to four!
The Association Des Ouvriers brought us closer to
22
the modern configuration of the saxophone

in 1886 with the introduction of the right
hand chromatic C key (up until then it was
sorta hard to trill from B to C!) and the
one and one Bb system for the first fingers
of the right and left hands. In 1887, Des
Ouvriers produced a somewhat functional
articulated G# key, and their system was
significantly improved by Evette and
Schaeffer so that the G# key can be held
down automatically while any finger of
the left hand is used. In conjunction with
this improvement, Evette and Schaeffer
perfected the forked F# system to the form
which is still in use today.
The multiple octave keys found on the
early saxophones, although an acoustic
necessity, was a great impediment to
smooth execution. This situation was finally
resolved in 1888 with the invention of the
automatic octave key by Lecomte. This mechanism, which
is basically the one most saxophones use today, uses two
separate octave vents, one on the neck (for notes A2 - F3)
and one on the body (for notes Db2 - Ab2) controlled by a
single key touch. Simultaneously, Lecomte also resolved
another great technique issue with the introduction of the
first ever rollers on the low Eb and low C keys.
Throughout the history of the saxophone, instrument
July/August 2014
designers have frequently offered changes in the mechanism

in the hope of facilitating technically difficult passages. In
addition to the improvements previously cited in this article,
a variety of different solutions have been attempted, the vast
majority of which ultimately fell from favor. These include
the G# trill key; the forked Eb key; and the high C/D trill
key. In 1899, Paul Evette introduced a new key mechanism
that was truly a game changer: the front F key. Not only
did this mechanism allow the player to easily execute the
two highest notes on the saxophones of that era, it greatly
facilitated the players ability to execute arpeggios between
high C and either high E or high F. This key would later
become an integral part of the performance of the altissimo
register, which was most uncommon at the time.
In the 1920s and 1930s, saxophone manufacturers
continued to offer instruments with a range which extended
beyond the normal low Bb through high F. The extension
of the range to low A found acceptance by baritone players
but was rejected by tenor and alto players, who believed
that the necessary extension of the bell added far too much
additional weight which upset the balance of the instrument
in its normal playing position. During the 1960s, the Selmer
company attempted to resurrect this concept by offering
a low A version of their popular Mark VI alto saxophone.
Production ceased after less than two hundred examples
were built, in spite of the excellent playing characteristics
of the instrument. The players of the day judged the
instrument to be simply too different.
Adolphe Sax himself had pioneered the extension
of the saxophones range through his 1881 patent, which
described keywork for high F# and high G. The high F#
key became an option for several manufacturers during
the 1930s, and by the 1950s it was commonly seen as
an addition (at extra expense to the buyer) on Selmer
saxophones. In 1977, Selmer made this key standard on
Mark VII alto and tenor saxophones. It is now seen on
virtually all saxophones manufactured today. It is worth
noting that there is a mistaken belief among some players
that the high F# key causes response problems, particularly
on the notes low B and Bb. This myth has become so
pervasive that some manufacturers now offer a high F# key
delete option as a special order on their saxophones.
Acceptance of the high G key, which was also
advocated by Adolphe Sax in his 1881 patent was slower,
and until around 2005 was confined mainly to soprano
saxophones. The lack of a high G option being offered by
most manufacturers is easily explained by the fact that
the required location of the high G tone hole required that
the body tube be lengthened slightly and the neck being
shortened proportionally, necessitating new and different
tooling. I was involved in the design and manufacturing of
saxophones with a high G key, and we made the decision
to include the high G key as standard equipment, thus
eliminating the need for different tooling for versions with
and versions without.
Of course, not all the mechanism changes seen
during the evolution of the saxophone were intended to
resolve fingering issues. From the very beginning, it was
recognized that the upper register of the saxophone was
problematic with regard to both pitch and response. This
is easily explained by the fact that the notes above C#2
Saxophone Today
are all overtones, which are produced by having the octave

mechanism destroy the fundamental pitch and allow the
first overtone to become dominant. The problem that has
always existed is that there are twelve semitones in the
chromatic scale and for optimum results, twelve independent
vents would be required. Needless to say, this would be a
mechanical nightmare, and twelve individual key touches
would never be easily manipulated by mere mortals!
The very first saxophones had two independent
octave keys which were operated by the left thumb. Each
key controlled a limited range of notes, and since only
two vents were used where twelve would be required, the
position of the vents had to be compromised. Adolphe Sax
recognized this problem early on, and his patent of 1881
sought to resolve the problem through the addition of two
additional octave keys, bringing the total to four. Keep
in mind that each of these keys was independent, so the
required finger technique became increasingly complex.
With the adoption of the automatic octave key
invented by Lecomte in 1888 with its very convenient single
key touch, saxophone manufacturers reverted to two vents,
and any increase in that number was very rarely seen until
the late 1930s, when the C. G. Conn company introduced
the very radical model 28M Constellation alto, which was
designed by Santy Runyon.
The 28M broke a considerable amount of new
ground in many areas, including keywork geometry,
construction materials, and the first ever mass produced
three vent octave system controlled by a single key touch.
The octave mechanism was the key feature promoted in the
advertising for this model, which promised an end to the
notoriously stuffy fourth line D. There were two vents on the
23
body tube which worked in conjunction with each other, and

another vent located on the neck which opened when the
body vents were closed. The system worked remarkably well,
but the 28M was not a success simply because many features
that it offered were simply too radical for the times.
When I was a student of Santy Runyon in the 1990s,
we discussed the 28M in great detail. Santy told me that
the lack of acceptance of the many innovations on this
instrument was one of the very greatest disappointments
of his long career. I was shocked to learn that Santy did not
own an example of the 28M, and that he told me he had not
seen one in almost fifty years. I was extremely pleased and
honored to be able to present Santy with a 28M from my
personal saxophone collection (I owned two) and to have him
demonstrate the many capabilities of this unique design.
Similar multi-vent systems were used in the 1930s by Allen
Loomis for the C. G Conn Company and by Edward Powell.
Neither of these was commercially successful.
Since the tuning and voicing problems with the
saxophone get worse as pitch increases, several similar
systems have been employed with varying degrees of success
in an attempt to tame the troublesome left hand upper
register. Beginning in the 1920s, a mechanical connection
was made between the octave key mechanism and the C pad
(the small one) of the upper stack. When the octave key was
depressed, the mechanism would partially close the C pad,
which would lower the pitch of the note. The use of this type
of compensating mechanism allowed designers to change
the location and increase the diameter of the palm keys (D3
- F3) and reduce some on the thin and shrill tone that had
been associated with those notes, as well as to bring them
more into tune. This system is commonly seen on soprano
saxophones, and during the 1920s was employed by Martin
on some alto models. It later evolved into the doughnut
pad commonly seen today, which is often used in conjunction
with a pronounced step in the body tube diameter.
As an alternative to lowering the C pad, some
manufacturers (most notably Selmer on the Series III alto
and Saxgourmet on the Voodoo Rex alto) employ an entirely
different tone hole dedicated to providing the necessary pitch
and voicing adjustments. This mechanism is of necessity
much more complex, but is adjustable to a far greater
degree.
Yet another option for resolving this issue is the inclusion
of a speaker key which is a part of the upper stack B key
mechanism, and has its own unique and dedicated tone hole.
This system has the advantage of requiring no additional
springs or moving parts, and if properly designed allows
greater venting for the upper notes, substantially improving
voicing and pitch.
When Adolphe Sax was instructing his students at
the Paris Conservatory, he taught that the saxophone
had a four octave range, even though the instrument was
only keyed to F above the staff. The higher tones were
achieved through the use of cross vented fingerings and the
manipulation of the players oral cavity. Then, as now, the
study of the altissimo range was a lengthy, difficult, and
often extremely frustrating. Until Sigurd Rascher published
Top Tones for the Saxophone in 1941, there was virtually
no teaching or study material available on the subject.
The altissimo register was very rarely heard because very,
24
very few players were capable of producing it. There were

certainly no attempts to produce an altissimo friendly
saxophone.
In 1949, Earl Gillespie, then employed as a designer
for the Martin Company, proposed a system in which a
hollow tube was installed in the B key on the upper stack (a
similar vent is found on the corresponding location on the
bass clarinet) and used in conjunction with a very specific
bore taper configuration. Gillespies patent application states
that Any saxophone completely embodying the principles
of this invention will have a natural range of 41 consecutive
chromatic semi-tones extending from B in the great octave to
d in the four line octave inclusive and provides a fingering
chart for these notes. Gillespie contended that the vent tube
produced sympathetic vibrations which eased the production
of the upper tones. I can find no record that this instrument
was ever actually produced.
During the 1990s, the Selmer Company began
producing an optional mechanism for the Super Action 80
Series II alto which had a dedicated key operated by the left
thumb which stabilized the note G3 when it was produced
by opening the front F key only. This system worked quite
well, but I always considered it to be quite an extravagance
to have such an elaborate mechanism dedicated to the
improvement of one note only.
Beginning in 2005, my company designed and
produced a saxophone with four octave vents, including
a separate dedicated altissimo octave mechanism. This
instrument is still in production, and we have continued our
research in this area. In late 2014, we expect to introduce
a popular priced saxophone with a dedicated altissimo
mechanism.
The quest for the perfect saxophone mechanism
continues, and hopefully the future holds many
improvements which will facilitate the enjoyment and usage
of the instrument we all know and love!
Click Blue links To View Webpages
Saxgourmet - Adolphe Sax

http://www.saxgourmet.com/adolph-sax.html
THESAX.INFO PHOTOBLOG
http://www.thesax.info/photoblog/2013/03/collecting-thesaxophone-antoine-joseph-sax/
National Music Museum
The University of South Dakota
414 East Clark Street
Vermillion, SD 57069
Saxophones Made By Adolphe Sax
http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/Saxophone/AdolpheSax/
SaxSaxophoneChecklist.html
Saxophone History Timeline
http://jeffheisler.weebly.com/uploads/8/4/7/0/8470103/
saxophone_history_timeline.pdf
A Short History Of The Saxophone
http://saxophonemes.fr/eng.saxophonemes.fr/History_of_
the_saxophone_%28short%29.html
July/August 2014
Rock Saxophone
How To Navigate Rock And Roll Key Signatures
Theyre Not Hashtags - Theyre Sharps

How To Navigate Rock And Roll Key Signatures
ve seen the joke I have quoted in

the title of this column in music
education circles quite a bit lately.
Thanks to our good friends at Twitter
the sharp symbol in music is now
widely recognized as a hashtag symbol,
especially among my younger students.
Its interesting that sharps can
become symbols of frustration for
saxophonists when they first try to play
in a rock band. And, a vast majority of
rock music is played in keys that give
saxophonists four or more sharps to deal
with. Lets look at the reasons why we
get stuck in these keys and how we can
make it easier on ourselves to function in
these situations.
For the most part saxophonists do
spend much more time in the sharp keys
than other instruments. Case in point is
the fact that some beginner band method
lesson books dont introduce the note
Bb in the first book at all. I guess they
figured you wouldnt need it. Beginner
band books have the flutes playing in four flats way before
the saxophonists even get to three sharps. The fact that
almost all saxophonists start playing in key signatures with
sharps should, in principle, make this transition to adding
more sharps a bit easier.
It wasnt always this way. Back in the days when jazz
was the most popular style of music a vast majority of those
songs were in the flat keys. Think about it: if you have a
Real Book around flip through the pages and find some songs
in the key of E concert. Youll be hard pressed to find more
than a handful. It seems to me that I cant be on stage with a
rock band for more than fifteen minutes without playing the
key of E concert! When Rock music became the most popular
form of music in the 1950s, and it has been dominated by
the guitar for decades, that guitar relationship has led to
songs in keys that fit well on the guitar.
When I first got to Berklee College of Music in 1983
I was a huge fan of jazz and I studied my Omnibook every
day. I had spent the previous year in a very good big band
at SUNY Fredonia and that experience helped me develop
excellent jazz reading skills, but it did nothing for my solo
chops. The only real soloing experience I had up to that point
was jamming with rock bands.
During my placement audition, for my first semester at
By Andrew Clark
Saxophone Today
Berklee, I was asked to play a blues

in Bb concert, my key of G on alto
saxophone. I played so poorly that
George Garzone wrote two words on
the back of my index card - no jazz.
Fortunately for me I got to study with
George and many other great teachers
who helped me erase that no!
I learned how to play a lot of styles
at Berklee. But at that time the one
thing no one showed me how to do
there was play in a rock band. There
were rock ensembles with saxophonists
but none of the saxophone faculty at
the time really played rock music at
all. Believe it or not, I got the most
help from the esteemed Joe Viola, who
took the time to listen seriously to my
music and how I played over it. Some
of his personal suggestions for me were
nothing short of watershed moments in
my development as a rock saxophonist.
Well get to some of those in future
columns. For now lets start with the
basics.
Most intermediate level saxophonists can play in
their key of A Major with just a few forgotten G#s along the
way. To be honest this key signature really is the starting
point for playing rock music on the saxophone. If you play
alto in the key of C concert, but if you play tenor, it is key of
G concert. Both of these key signatures are very common on
the guitar. I have created a simple exercise sheet that will
get you started in this key signature playing the most basic
chord progression in all of music, rock or otherwise, the I/
IV/V chord progression. You cant begin to play in any key
signature until you can get through the I, IV and V chords.
It is as simple as that.
The exercise sheet, included in this column, starts
with basic triads. I virtually preach the following statement
to all of my students, If you cant play the chords you cant
play over the chords! How can you play a ripping rock
saxophone solo over a groove in your key of A if you cant
play an A Major triad? Start with the first top line on the
exercise sheet. Before you even try to play anything else on
the sheet can you play this at 120 beats per minute? That
should be your first goal.
The next step can be up to you. You can stay in this
key and go down to the dominant seventh chords (I7, IV7,
25
V7), and learn the line in the key of A the same way as the
triads line. Or you could stick with triads and work your way
through the five key signatures before doing the dominant
chords. Either way will work. Just make the commitment to
have each pattern memorized and be able to play them all at
120 beats per minute.
The next step is the most important. Once you can
play these exercises at 120 speed you also have to learn how
to play them with the metronome clicking on beats two and
four, instead of all four beats. Set the metronome at 60 beats
per minute and play them all again like that. Youll notice
that they will have more groove when you play them like
this. Its one thing to play the notes correctly, but you also
need to groove!
This is the way to learn how to play over basic grooves in
4/4 time. Sometimes Ill have students put an arrow over
every note that is placed on beats two and four in every
measure so they can visualize which notes will fall on the
clicks.
When it comes to learning a pattern that will be
transposed into different key signatures I usually follow
the cycle of fifths. The order of the key signatures doesnt
follow this path, it is a cycle of fourths instead. It is still a
good way to go because there will be two chords from the
previous key signature that repeat in the next one. When
you move from key of A to key of E you will keep the A and E
chords and add B as the new one. Each step of the way you
learn a new chord and it creates a new sequence of notes.
Youll see that these exercises will cover a wide range of the
saxophone.
In the key of C# you have to hit that low C# as the
first note. Make sure you can blast this note out as you
will need it quite a bit in rock music. The dominant seventh
chord line, at the very bottom of the page, takes you up
to high F#. You have to be able to hit that note if you are
in a rock band. If you dont have a high F# key on your
saxophone there are other fingering combinations that will
work: another subject for another day.
You should be able to play the entire page without
missing a note and playing in sync with the metronome
at 60 beats per minute clicking on beats two and four. Once
you can do that you are ready to start using these chords for
creating horn parts and solos. If you need some help with
this page feel free to email me at SAXATTACK@aol.com.
Next issue well look at how you can get some more
mileage out of this music example. Once you can play these
exercises at 120 speed you also have to learn how to play
them with the metronome clicking on beats two and four,
instead of all four beats. Set the metronome at 60 beats per
minute and play them all again like that. Peace AC
I - IV - V Chord Progressions
Start with the first line on the exercise sheet. Before you even try to play anything else on the sheet can you play this at 120
beats per minute? That should be your first goal.
26
July/August 2014
I7 - IV7 - V7 Chord Progressions

...go down to the dominant seventh chords exercises, and learn the line in the key of A the same way as the triads line. Or you
could stick with triads and work your way through the five key signatures before doing the dominant chords. Either way will
work. Just make the commitment to have each pattern memorized and be able to play them all at 120 beats per minute.
Saxophone Blues Scales:

Saxophone Blues Scale in C Sharp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_F3laHAr8Y
Saxophone Blues Scales: Saxophone Blues Scale in E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQH_yDnNn50
Saxophone Today
Saxophone Blues Scales:

Saxophone Blues Scale in F Sharp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvqK08zP0n8
High F sharp
Developing the altissimo register on the saxophone
through overtone exercises.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm_vOqHPKPY
27
Saxophone Works Of Robert Jager
Repertoire Today
For Saxophone
By Andrew J. Allen
The Saxophone Works Of Composer Robert Jager
he composer Robert Jagers works have been a

staple of the wind-band repertoire for many years,
with organizations as diverse as the bands of the
University of Michigan and the University of Illinois,
the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, and the United States
Marine Band all commissioning new works by him.1 Jager
has appeared as a clinician throughout the United States
and Canada, and has won many honors, including being
named a three-time recipient of the American Bandmasters
Associations prestigious Ostwald Award for excellence
in wind-ensemble composition.2 As well-known and wellregarded as many of his band works are, however, the
composers works for saxophone have virtually been ignored
by performers in recent years. This article will seek to
remedy that problem by reintroducing this marvelous music
to the saxophonic world.
Robert Jager was born on August 25th, 1939 in
Binghampton, New York.3 4 Both of the future composers
parents were cornetist/trumpeters in Salvation Army
Bands.5 In fact, Jagers first experiences as a musician
would be as a trumpet player, under the tutelage of his
parents.6 In addition, his first steps toward composition
would come at the urging of his father, who had quit the
Salvation Army Bands to join the ministry by the time Jager
28
was a boy: the young man began arranging hymn-tunes for

trumpet and piano, to be played at church services.7
By Jagers high school years, the family had moved
to Michigan, where the young man began writing
arrangements and compositions for the band at Western
Michigan Christian High School in Muskegon.8 9 Following
this, Jager briefly attended Wheaton College before
transferring to the University of Michigan.10 He would go
on to study conducting with both Elizabeth A. H. Green
and William Revelli, while playing trumpet in the Michigan
Symphony Band.11 Jager earned both bachelors and
masters degrees in music education from the University of
Michigan.12
Following graduation, Jager joined the Navy and was
stationed at the United States Armed Forces School
of Music, beginning in 1963.13 He had originally been
assigned to the School as a basic theory instructor, but
he was promoted and reassigned as staff arranger after
his Symphony No. 1 received an Ostwald Award from the
American Bandmasters Association.14 In this new capacity,
Jager was responsible for arranging and composing music
for changes of command, concerts, parades, and all manner
of social and ceremonial events.15 He was discharged from
the Navy in December 1965.16
July/August 2014
Jager returned to the University of

Michigan, where he earned a doctorate
in music education in 1968.17 He initially
Composer Robert Jager
worked as director of bands at Old
Dominion College (now Old Dominion
University), but was hired by Tennessee
Technological University as a theory and
composition professor in 1971. He remained
there until retiring in 2001.18
The composer draws his stylistic influence
from a wide array of sources. Just some of
these include Charles Ives, Bela Bartok,
Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, William
Schuman, William Walton, and Leonard
Bernstein.19 20 It would be incorrect to say
that Jager has followed any particular
compositional movement throughout his
career. Rather, he has stated that he
strives for an eclectic variety of technique,
style, and form.21
Jagers oeuvre includes four works for
solo saxophone. In chronological order,
these are his Concerto for Alto Saxophone,
Brass, and Percussion; Three Pieces; the
Quintet; and Concerto No. 2.22 Each piece
is vastly different in scale, concept and
instrumentation, making for a wonderful
Robert Jagers Website
variety of music by this composer.
http://rjager.com/
Concerto for Alto Saxophone, Brass, and
Percussion was commissioned by the United
States Navy Band in 1965.23 It was written
conductor of the Capital Wind Symphony in Washington,
for and dedicated to Fred Hemke, who premiered the piece
D.C.34
on a Navy Band concert that year.24 Somewhat oddly for the
Three Pieces, as characterized by Etheridge, is a very
time, even though the piece was written on command while
pleasant and melodic work.35 The first movement is marked
Jager was serving at the Armed Forces School of Music, the
Allegro molto vivace, the second Andante moderato,
military allowed him to keep the copyright to the piece.25
and the third Allegro energico.36 Little more could be
The novel instrumentation of the work was requested
determined about the piece at this time, as the work exists
by Hemke himself.26 The score calls for trumpets, horns,
only in manuscript form, and no extant copy can be located.
trombones, euphonium, tuba, string bass, and many
This piece may, in fact, be lost to the world.37
percussion instruments, in addition to the soloist.27 The
Robert Jagers third work for saxophone, the Quintet, was
work is in a standard three-movement concerto form.28
also a product of his friendship with George Etheridge. The
After its premiere, the composer introduced the work to
piece, which was written for alto saxophone, violin, viola,
the saxophonist George Etheridge upon Jagers return
cello, and harp, was premiered on a student violinists recital
to Michigan. Etheridge would go on to perform the piece
at the University of Michigan in 1969. However, the piece
approximately fourteen times with the University of
was requested by and the performance was organized, yet
Michigan Symphonic Band in the coming years.29
again, by Etheridge.38 Unfortunately, as with Three Pieces,
Jagers Three Pieces is scored for alto saxophone, violin,
no known copy of the manuscript now survives.
viola, cello, and either harp or piano.30 It is dedicated to
The composers most recent work for the saxophone,
George Etheridge and was written for the saxophonists
Concerto No. 2 was written in 1977 at the request of
MM degree recital in 1967.31 The composer attributes his
saxophonist Nicholas Brightman.39 Currently, Brightman is
career-long fondness for the saxophone (both in his solo
adjunct professor of saxophone at Butler University and is
and wind ensemble compositions) to his close friendships
a freelance performer and teacher in the Indianapolis area.
with members of the saxophone studio at the University of
He received both bachelors and masters degrees from Ball
Michigan, including Etheridge.32
State University, where he studied with Cecil Leeson, and
George Etheridge studied at both the University of
he has previously been on the faculty of Purdue University.40
Michigan (obtaining both bachelors and masters degrees)
The piece had its origins in a trip Jager made to Butler in
and the Paris Conservatory, and his teachers included
1977. The university had commissioned Jagers Sinfonietta,
Larry Teal, Jean-Marie Londeix, and Marcel Mule.33 He
and, at the premiere concert, Brightman approached Jager
would later be a saxophone instructor at many institutions,
about writing a solo work for him, with the composer
including the University of Maryland and the Catholic
complying.41 Of special note to most saxophonists is the
University of America. Since 1991, Etheridge has been the
Saxophone Today
29
extensive use of altissimo throughout this piece. Jager

states that he was fascinated by Brightmans altissimo
playing, and, in listening to him warm-up, isolated those
altissimo pitches which were especially resonant, when
played by the saxophonist. Those are the exact notes that
Jager made the most use of in the concerto.42
Concerto No. 2 contrasts greatly with the previous Jager
saxophone concerto both in form and instrumentation. The
latter work is in one movement, as opposed to three. Also,
Jager calls for a full symphonic band to accompany the
saxophone.43
Robert Jagers band works are still staples of the wind
ensembles repertoire. It is a shame that his fine saxophone
works have fallen out of recognition in the saxophone world.
It is the hope of the author that this article will help to
reignite interest in and performance of these wonderful
works.
Endnotes
1 Catherine Self Cenzini, A Conversation With Robert
Jager The Instrumentalist 53, no. 5 (December 1998), pp.
37-38.
2 Nicholas DeCarbo, Robert Jager: Commitment to
Listeners, The Instrumentalist 43, no. 3 (October 1988), pp.
12-17.
3 Robert Jager: Biography, Conductor. Meredith Music.
Accessed December 16th, 2013. http://www.meredithmusic.
com/rovert-jager-biography
4 DeCarbo, 13.
5 Ibid., 15.
6 Ibid.
7 Interview with Robert Jager. December 21st, 2013.
8 Cenzini, 37.
9 DeCarbo, 13.
10 Meredith.
11 DeCarbo, 13.
12 Ibid., 15.
13 Interview with Robert Jager.
14 DeCarbo, 13.
15 Ibid.
17 Ibid.
18 Ibid.
19 Ibid.
20 DeCarbo, 14.
21 Ibid.
22 Bruce Ronkin, Londeix Guide to the Saxophone
Repertoire: 1844-2012. Glenmore, PA: Roncorp, 2012: 208.
24 Ronkin, 208.
26 Ibid.
27 Robert Jager Concerto #1 for Alto Saxophone, Brass, and
Percussion. Musical Score (manuscript copy). 1966.
28 Ronkin, 208.
29 Telephone Interview with George Etheridge. March
19th, 2014.
30 Ronkin, 208.
32 Ibid.
33 RTB-61-George Etheridge. UM Symphony Band 1961
Russian Tour. Accessed December 11th, 2013. http://www.
music.umich.edu/1961symphonybandtour/Bios?George%20
30
Etheridge.htm
34 Ibid.
35 Interview with George Etheridge.
36 Ronkin, 208.
37 Interview with George Etheridge.
39 Ronkin, 208.
40 Nicholas M. Brightman, Butler University. Accessed
December 11th, 2013. http://www.butler.edu/music/biosfaculty-staff/nicholas-m-brig
42 Ibid.
43 Robert Jager. Concerto No. 2 for Alto Saxophone.
Musical Score. Lebanon, IN: Studio 224, 1979.
Andrew J. Allen is an assistant professor of music at
Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. He
has previously served on the faculties of Claflin University
and Valley City State University, and, as a soloist, he has
appeared throughout the United States and Great Britain.
Dr. Allen holds degrees in music education and saxophone
performance from Tennessee Tech University, Central
Michigan University, and the University of South Carolina,
and his teachers include Phil Barham, John Nichol, Clifford
Leaman, and Joseph Lulloff. His writings have appeared
in The Instrumentalist and School Band and Orchestra
Magazine, as well as Saxophone Today. Dr. Allen is a ConnSelmer Endorsing Artist and performs exclusively on Selmer
Paris saxophones and mouthpieces.
Click Blue Links Below To View Websites &Videos
Robert Jager News

http://rjager.com/news.php
The Tufts University Saxophone Ensemble, better

known as the Saxyderms, in Cohen Auditorium
performing an arrangement of the Wind Ensemble
classic Sinfonia Nobilissima by Robert Jager at a joint
concert with the Tufts Wind Ensemble in Winter 2006.
This piece was under the direction of
Principal Guest Conductor Erik B. Kesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jevIRhBEEeE#t=26
Concerto No 2 for Alto Saxophone and Band

by Robert Jager
George Wolfe, alto saxophone.
Accompanied by the Royal Band of the Belgian Air
Force, Sr. Capt. Alain Crepin, Conducting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN2TQ_7DVWY
Robert Jager: CONCERTO FOR SAXOPHONE

1st Movement (George Etheridge saxophone soloist)
University of Michigan Band, Revelli, conductor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmgZRg7K_Cw
Complete Works Of Robert Jager

http://rjager.com/list.php
July/August 2014
Creative Teaching Techniques

On-Stage Etiquette For Saxophonists
By Steven Mauk
On-Stage Etiquette
eachers spend hours preparing students for recital

performances. They work on all of the fundamentals
of playing the saxophone, refine rhythm and technical
passages in the music, polish intonation and dynamics, and
hold several coachings with all of the supporting musicians
to be sure that ensemble issues are well addressed. What we
fail to address, sometimes, are the subtle on-stage etiquette
issues that make a performance both sound and look
professional. Below are some suggestions to keep in mind
when preparing for that recital presentation.
Walk On, Walk Off
If you watch professional musicians enter and exit the
stage, they do it with grace and confidence. Performers
should walk briskly on to the stage, so that they arrival at
the playing position before the greeting applause ends. There
is nothing more embarrassing than giving an initial bow to
a silent audience, so walk, do not run, to positions quickly.
Similarly, exiting the stage should be equally graceful. After
the final bow, the person closest to the stage exit should
lead the procession and walk briskly off stage. All of the
performers should be ready to follow close together, again
to avoid people being left on stage when the applause has
ended. Do not take music with you, as this takes extra time;
this is the work of the stage crew. Entering and exiting the
stage must be practiced at the dress rehearsal to learn how
to make it appear effortless and professional.
Bow & Curtain Calls
Nothing shows lack of maturity in stage etiquette more
than poor bows. Remember that the applause is the
audiences way of saying, thank you for your performance,
and the bow is your way of telling the audience, thank
you for attending and appreciating my performance. Bows
usually are not practiced in lessons or in the practice room,
where the other aspects of a performance are perfected. They
must be rehearsed to look professional and natural. Here are
a few things to consider when bowing.
When entering the stage, move quickly to your position on
stage, count two seconds and then bow from the waist. Be
sure that all ensemble members bow together.
Always look down when bowing, not at the audience. The
head must go down with the torso during the bow.
Bow with your feet together, not apart.
Appoint someone in front of the ensemble as the leader
during the bow, so that people do not look around in
confusion as to when to bow.
At the end of the performance, move away from the music
stand (toward the stage exit), count two seconds, and then
Saxophone Today
bow together.
If the applause persists after the performers have left
the stage, count four seconds and then quickly return for
a curtain call. You do not need to go back to your original
performance spots, but can merely move on to enough of
the stage that all ensemble members are present. Again,
count two seconds and then bow together. Practice bows and
curtain calls at the dress rehearsals to be sure you look at
ease.
Clothing
What you wear during a concert may not seem to be part
of on-stage etiquette, but it is very important. Clothing can
restrict your ability to walk, move, and breathe properly
during a performance. Practicing in the concert clothes may
be particularly useful for women, who plan to wear a dress.
Men should practice with coats and ties, as well, if these
will be worn during the concert. These performance clothing
choices are often more restricting than the casual clothing
worn during practice and lessons, so you must see if the
outfit will inhibit you in any way. If it does, this can make
you appear stiff and uncomfortable during a performance.
Shoes are particularly problematic. Many times, both men
and women wear dress shoes during a concert. Walking on
to the stage can sometimes be a very noisy event with loud,
hard-soled shoes. Bring a few pairs of shoes to the dress
rehearsal and practice walking on the stage. If you hear
excessive noise, you may want to try a different pair. Also,
women in high heels may have problems both walking and
standing during the performance. Select comfortable shoes,
so you can stay focused on the music, not on your feet.
Body Motion
How much should you move during a performance? A
certain amount of body motion can enhance a performance,
adding visual activity to fit the musical moment. For
instance, a very calm and tranquil section would not need
aggressive, active body motions. Similarly, more overt
movement may enhance an energetic and forceful section.
I think it is wise to do even a bit of choreography when
preparing your performance, so that you know what you
want to do with your body at specific moments in the music.
Another very important aspect is body motion during
rests. What should you do with your body when you are not
playing? Scratching your head, adjusting your reed, wiping
your face, and other motions will draw the attention of the
audience away from the other performer and focus their
attention on you. Unless absolutely necessary, stay still
during these rests and interludes, so the audience focuses on
31
the source of the music being played.

These aspects of on-stage etiquette are frequently
overlooked. Those who do not pay attention to them often
sound professional, but look immature. Consider these
aspects of concert preparation before you next presentation.
Click Blue Links Below To View Websites
Douglas Yeo Ensemble Etiquette

http://www.yeodoug.com/resources/faq/faq_text/
etiquette.html
Musical Etiquette
By Phyllis Avidan Louke
http://palouke.home.comcast.net/~palouke/
ArtEtiquette.htm
Rehearsal/Performance Etiquette
http://www2.ivcc.edu/montgomery/Reh_Perf%20
Etiquette.htm
Orchestra Rehearsal Etiquette

http://blog.kennedyviolins.com/2012/10/orchestra-rehearsaletiquette/
The Boston Conservatory

Large Ensemble Handbook
http://www.bostonconservatory.edu/ensembles/largeensemble-handbook
Band Etiquette
By W. A. Foss
http://ccband.wikispaces.com/Band+Etiquette
Royal College of Music

Junior Department
Ensemble Guidelines
http://www.rcm.ac.uk/junior/currentstudents/
downloadslibrary/Ensemble%20Guidelines%202012.pdf
Stage Presence from Head to Toe:

A Manual for Musicians Paperback
by Karen Hagberg (author)
http://www.amazon.com/Stage-Presence-Head-ToeMusicians/dp/0810847779
www.dillonmusic.com
32
July/August 2014
Improving Your Saxophone

The Saxophone Transformation
Curt Altarac
By Curt By
Altarac
Five Vintage Saxophone Modifications
Part I - Durability & Mechanical Improvements
here is something unmistakably beautiful about a

mint condition, all-original vintage horn, unscathed,
or marred, or altered; a time capsule which reveals
its age through engraving style, its features, its patina.
However, even as one may seek to preserve the original
goodness, there have been many advancements in the
saxophone world since the earlier days of this relatively
young instrument. As manufacturers developed their tooling,
they were increasingly able to produce more complicated and
precise keywork systems. An increased understanding of
ergonomics led to changes in the placement of certain keys
and features. The development of high-tech materials allow
manufacturers to change the way some keys and levers
worked together. The ever-inventive populace of saxophone
players and manufacturers strove to solve issues with their
instruments, which yielded some great ideas as well as some
very impractical inventions.
SAXOPHONES FROM THEIR INCEPTION
TO THE LATE 1960s
Depending on which manufacturer made the horn,
and in what year, the features of saxophones vary quite
significantly from their inception through the late 1960s.
Most modern saxophones are fairly similar to one another,
as manufacturers adopted many of the same features as
standard and most simply manufacture based on the design
of others.
Certain vintage saxophones are adored for their
characteristic sound but some players find that the
ergonomics and mechanical function of the keywork is a
major detractor. However, there are many ways to apply
modern knowledge and technologies to improve keywork and
afford the player the sound they are looking for.
In my shop, there are five types of modifications:
1. Those that increase durability.
2. Mechanical improvements.
3. Comfort and ergonomics.
4. Tone and intonation.
5. Beautification.
Part one of this article will be examining durability
and mechanical improvements. Many modifications are
designed with the exact instrument and the player in mind.
Modifications, can make an instrument easier to play for
a player given their style, playing environment and type
of music. The modifications listed below are some of the
standard modifications that we perform at the Sax ProShop,
on a regular basis. Of course, there are many more.
Saxophone Today
PROTECTING VULNERABLE AREAS

Brass is a fairly pliable metal. It does not take great
strength to make a key flex out of shape, nor does it take a
very large impact to bend a key or dent the body. By adding
braces and guards to vulnerable areas and contact points
under keys that are susceptible to bending, the instrument
can be increasingly more stable, which adds longevity to the
set-up.
THE ADDITION OF KEY CONTACTS
One of the most popular modifications in my shop is
the addition of key contacts. Key contacts are installed
underneath key touches that normally float to provide a
solid point to contact
the body. These are
especially useful on
larger instruments
that have long, flexible
keys, like tenors,
baritonetones, and
basses, and for players
with an aggressive
playing style. Solid
contact points under
the key touches result
Adding Key Contacts
in quieter action,
prevents the key from bending out of
line, feels solid, and yields consistent
action and stability. Side Key contacts
can be installed under the Side Bb,
Side C, and High E key touchpieces. G
Key, and on larger instruments, B Key
contacts can be installed underneath
the arm or pearl of the key, or as a
small post under the pearl touchpiece.
The Buescher Side Bb guide functions
as a contact for Side C, in addition to
reducing sonic buzzing issues in the
Side Bb.
THE IMPORTANCE OF KEY PAD
GUARDS
If youve ever played a baritonetone
saxophone without a clothing guard
along the back side of the bottom
stack and bell keys, youve probably
experienced times where your body
or clothing has prevented certain
33
Key Guards
keys from opening or closing. If the
baritonetone is leaning against the
players leg, the bell key hinge tubes
are experiencing addition friction when
opening or closing, resulting in sluggish
or an altogether lack of response. A
clothing guard keeps clothing articles
and friction added by the player away.
For players who tend to get a lot of
dents and dings in the bow of their
instrument, for horns with a very
small bow guard, or for those which
have sustained substantial damage in
the bow, a replacement oversized bow
guard with an alligator can be added
to increase stability and prevent future
damages.
SAXOPHONE BRACES
A neck without a brace is more susceptible to being bent
down. A neck brace can be added as part of the repair, or
added as a preventative
Braces
measure.
X Braces have a mythos
behind them that few people
other than those who have
played a horn with one (or
two) can really describe.
Without a doubt, it adds more
stability. Adding an X-brace
to a baritone or bass that
does not already have one,
or adding a 2nd brace closer
to the bow of the instrument
seems to open up the
resonance of the bottom end
and increase the response of
low notes.
MECHANICAL
MODIFICATIONS
The mechanical
modifications are largely
for eliminating lost motion,
quieting noisy and clunky
mechanisms, or adding
modern features to vintage
saxophones.
Adjustment screws can be
a terrific time saver for the
player and technician because
they make it possible to
make small adjustments to the timing of the top and bottom
stack keys with the turn of a screw driver. The screws are
installed through the C back bar on the top stack and the F#
back bar on the bottom stack. Other places that adjustment
screws can be added are for key-to-key timing on vintage
soprano top stacks that do not have a long back bar, the
Low B to C# arm, and on some instruments, its possible to
replace the F# adjustment arm with an arm that contains
individual adjustment screws for the F# to G# and F# to Bis
34
Adjustment Screws
Bb timing.
HIGH FRONT F KEY
MECHANISM
For vintage instruments
that do not have a Front F, or
for modern style instruments
with a Front F that is difficult
to reach or press, a new front
F mechanism can be installed
or an existing one can be
modified. Its style and size
vary depending on how the
top stack keys are set up and
how far away the arm of the
Palm F key is located. The
functionality of the Front F
key can be improved based
on whether the player prefers
to roll up to the Front F or to
lift their finger and press the
Front F.
CONVERTING A HINGE
TUBE TO PIVOT SCREWS
On some vintage horns,
there are very long keys
that are mounted on very
High Front F Key
long hinge rods. In perfect
adjustment, it works fine. But
as soon as the key is dinged
or slightly bent, the key will
experience resistance or
cease to function at all. With
tapered pivot screws in place,
the key will still function,
even if it becomes slightly
bent.
CONVERTING SPRING
HOLES TO A SPRING
CRADLE
Spring holes are a
Hinge To Pivot
particularly undesirable
thing of the past: on some
keys, springs were designed
to go through a hole in the
key, rather than rest in a
spring cradle. To adjust the
tension of the spring, the key
(and accompanying stack of
keys in some cases), must
first be removed from the
instrument. By converting
the spring hole to a cradle,
the spring can be precisely adjusted.
REMOVING THE OCTAVE SQUARE ON CONN
AND BUESCHER SAXOPHONES
Common on Conn and Buescher saxophones, the small
brass octave square is attached to the body octave key with
a steel rod. A forked arm then goes around this square, and
July/August 2014
Octave Square
each end that fit through circular holes in other parts of
the octave mechanism. Not only is it difficult to adjust the
contact point, but they can break, and they also dont allow
for silencing material to be installed. The Teflon Mini-ball
Mechanism replaces the brass ends of the octave rocker with
a teflon ball, which is installed with a screw. The teflon ball
expands by turning the screw, ensuring a precise fit with no
lost motion and no introduction of friction.
the square rotates on the steel

rod. This clunky mechanism
is often noisy and contains
lost motion. In my shop, we
found the best solution was
to replaces the steel arm
and the octave square with
a machined round contact
point, which is sized to work
smoothly with the forked arm.
CONVERTING SIDE Bb & C KEY BALL JOINTS TO
FORKED ARMS
Owners of Selmer Mark VI saxophones are usually
frustrated by the ball joints on the Side Bb and C keys. In
this mechanism, a steel ball
Ball Fork Side Key
with a peg fits in to a brass
arm on the lever, and a brass
contact on the key fits into
the steel ball. Because the
steel mechanism is much
harder than brass, the
brass begins to wear and
these mechanisms become
excessively noisy and contain
lost motion. Replacing the
ball joints with forked arms
that fit the round contact
point on the key yields quiet and smooth motion.
LOW C# MINIBALL
MECHANISM ON
SOME BUESCHER
SAXOPHONES
Some Buescher
instruments came with an
inadjustable mechanism in
the Low C#. This mechanism
would not allow the motion
of the C# touch piece in the
left hand pinky table to be set
Low C# Mini-Ball
differently than the opening
of the C# key. That forced a compromise where neither the
motion of the lever or the intonation of the C# could be set
optimally. By changing the rocking mechanism into a miniball mechanism, both the
lever and key can be adjusted
independently of one another.
REPLACING THE
OCTAVE ROCKER WITH
A
TEFLON MINI-BALL
MECHANISM
Another characteristically
noisy mechanism with lost
motion is the Selmer-style
teetering octave rocker
mechanism. This octave
rocker has slotted oval
shaped contact points at
Saxophone Today
Teflon Mini-Ball Octave
SLOPPY ROLLERS
Teflon Tips On Rollers
Many rattles and buzzes
originate in sloppy rollers.
Rollers can be fitted with
Teflon tips to remove play, or
new rollers can be machined
for a perfect fit.
Often, when a player
sends an instrument and
chooses to have various
modifications done they can
become overwhelmed with
the amount of work and the
changes that we might make
to the instrument. They
consider all the synthetic
materials like modern pads
and modifications, and
they can think the instrument will come back very odd or
different. However, a good modification and good work in
general is nearly invisible. The modifications can be made
in a way that is tasteful, and that aesthetically matches the
style of the horn. The player picks up the instrument and is
often surprised that they dont see the work. The end result
of any good work should only be an improvement. In the next
installment, we will be reviewing comfort and ergonomics,
tone and intonation and beautification.
Next installment, we will be reviewing comfort
and ergonomics, tone and intonation and
beautification.
Durability
Key Contacts & Guides
Side Key Contacts (side Bb, C, high E)
G Key Contact
- Low C/Eb Contact Buescher Side Bb Guide
Keilwerth High F# Guide Insert
- Guards and Braces Key Guards and Clothing Guard
Bow Guard
Neck Brace
X-Brace
Mechanical
Adjustment Screws
Front F Mechanism
Convert Hinge Tube to Pivot Screws
Convert Spring Hole to Cradle
Remove Octave Square
Convert Side Key Ball Joints to Forks
35
Beyond Boundaries
Brainwave
Entrainment
And The Creative Mind
By David Pope
Brainwave Entrainment: And The Creative Mind
hen I was a child, I suffered terrible headaches.

The episodes continued to disrupt my life as I got
older, and I went through a variety of treatments
that didnt provide much relief. In my early teens, I began
working with a neuropsychologist that used biofeedback
therapy. The results were profound, and permanent. I
eventually explored related techniques and technology
that extended beyond simple relief from the headaches. My
experiences with biofeedback and sensory stimulation have
become deeply connected to my pursuit of creativity.
Biofeedback therapy is relatively self-explanatory: a
measurement of some biological system is taken, and some
form of feedback is provided to the user. My first experience
involved the use of electrodes on my forehead, measuring
the natural amount of electrical stimulation present in
those muscles, with the idea that stimulated muscles are
contracting, and that prolonged contraction can cause
headaches. At first, the feedback came as a number on a
screen, but when the doctor realized that I was a musician,
she switched to a tone generator. As the muscles relaxed,
the musical tone would lower in pitch. I was given a variety
of relaxation techniques, but I ultimately began to simply
try to relax and to make the note go down. This worked
very well, and I always felt better. I eventually learned to
imagine what note my current level of stress would make
36
(without the assistance of the machines), and to make that

imaginary frequency slide downward. This helped me more
than any medicine.
Another biofeedback technique uses a surface
thermometer, attached to a fingertip. When a person is
stressed, the blood tends to rush inward, to protect the
internal organs. Loss of blood in the extremities causes
the surface temperature to go down, and this can be easily
measured. This is one explanation for a stressed person
getting cold hands, or the classic cold feet. Using a very
basic exercise where I imagined that I was warming
my hands in front of a fireplace, I was able to raise the
temperature of my fingertip by several degrees. Again, the
doctor used the thermometer to control a pitch generator,
so that I would have a musical feedback interface. It blew
my mind that I could actually increase the blood circulation
in my hands, and thus raise the local surface temperature,
using only my mind. To this day, I practice making my
hands heavy and warm, to prevent that internal rush of
blood inward. A stress headache can be caused by blood
quickly leaving the hands, and more importantly, the head,
causing the blood vessels to expand and then contract. This
can be related to migraine headaches. Obviously, I am not
a doctor and I am not giving medical advice here, but this
information seemed to hold up in my treatment, and the
July/August 2014
biofeedback provided measurable, repeatable results.

As I started to gain control of the headaches, and
success with progressive relaxation and meditation to
prevent stress-related episodes, I started to wonder what
else might be possible. In 1994, I was introduced to a socalled mind machine, also known as a light and sound
machine. I was in the recording studio, and a headache was
getting me down. The engineer handed me a black box with
some headphones and glasses that flashed LED lights. I
put the contraption on, closed my eyes, and I felt a wave of
relaxation come over me. Not only did my headache clear,
but I felt a kind of mental clarity that was something like
a pleasant rush of caffeine, but without the side effects. I
ended up purchasing my own machine, and I have been
using it ever since.
Before continuing, it is important to mention that
light stimulation should never be used by anyone with a
seizure disorder. Flashing lights can cause seizures! Talk to
your doctor before using a light and sound machine.
These types of devices use the concept of frequency
following in the brain, where the dominant EEG frequency
can theoretically be influenced by an external stimulus.
Heightened mental states are frequently associated with
musical ceremonies, such as the rhythmic beating of drums,
or the pulsing drones of a church organ, for example. The low
frequency flickering of a fire can also have an apparent effect
on state of mind. A mind machine accomplishes similar
stimulation using pulsing tones in headphones, and special
glasses that pulse LED lights (while the eyes are closed, so
that the light is soft and diffused through the eyelids).
I have never used my mind machine while
connected to an EEG, so I cannot say with certainty that
this frequency following effect is real. I can only say that I
have had regular and repeatable experiences over the course
of decades, and that if my mind machine ever died, I would
immediately replace it. Immediately. I should also add that
my particular device (NOVA, by the photosonix company)
has been going strong for twenty years. I have no affiliation
with the company, but I can honestly say that I have never
owned a more rugged electronic device, a heavy duty metal
case, all made in the USA. Highly recommended.
I have used different programs for relaxation, to
help induce sleep, and to increase mental clarity. Another
interesting application for me has been hemispheric
stimulation. By synchronizing light and sound stimulation
to alternate between left and right eyes/ears, there is a
supposed effect upon the creative and analytical parts of the
brain. Again, I cannot produce any scientific evidence of such
effects, but I have had very good success with these kinds of
programs as preparation for creative work. I experience a
kind of sensation where the muscles of my face and around
my eyes feel very relaxed, and there is a sort of buzzing
behind my forehead. A good game of chess gives me the exact
same physical sensation, and I equate this with the creative
and analytical components of the game. Either way, that
particular state of mind is frequently good preparation for
practicing, composing, or writing. I feel relaxed and open to
a flow of ideas.
Another interesting approach is something called
binaural beats. This technique uses stereo headphones
to introduce different pitches in each ear. Within certain
Saxophone Today
parameters, mainly that the two pitches must be below

1,000 hz and within 30 hz of each other, the brain creates
a low frequency pulsing that results from the difference
between the two tones. Musicians experience this beating all
the time, when two notes are slightly out of tune, resulting
in a beating that is proportional to the difference between
the two notes. We also hear strange artifacts in difference
and combination tones, often strong enough that you would
swear that the notes are real. Amazingly, they are not; they
only exist in the mind of the listener. Another example of
this binaural effect occurs when we listen in stereo and
sound seems to emanate from a phantom speaker. (This
effect is more pronounced with high quality stereo systems
or headphones.)
Binaural beats were first observed in the nineteenth
century, but they have risen to relative popularity in recent
years. Practitioners believe that the beating of the perceived
difference tone has a frequency following effect on the brain.
It is easy enough to create a home-brewed audio track to
use with headphones. As I write this article, I am using a
binaural beats app on my iPod touch, with the volume set
very low in the ear buds. I can most definitely feel a sense of
relaxation and clarity.
There are a number of possible uses for these
techniques. I sometimes use the light and sound machine
to prepare for a work session, or to relax and reflect at
conclusion. As I mentioned, I sometimes use the sound alone
during a work session (obviously not for practicing!), to tune
out distractions or to increase mental focus. I have also used
both to assist in meditation. I actually view meditation as an
integral part of using these different technologies.
This kind of thing is certainly not for everyone, but
if you are open to trying something different, it might be
worth investigating. Use of light and sound stimulation is a
big part of my life, and I have no doubt that it helps me in a
variety of ways. The NOVA is a relatively expensive device,
but you can download basic binaural beat programs for free.
If any subscribers have similar experiences with light and
sound machines, I would love to hear from you. Peace.
popesax@mac.com
Coping With Stress - Biofeedback

Self-Mastery Beyond Pills
University of California UCTV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iup0msVJeAI
Biofeedback Therapist in NJ
Biofeedback Therapy Monmouth County
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7RNxc-dhPw
What is biofeedback and neurofeedback?

A Mind Media video featuring NeXus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXbGjkV0UYU
Biofeedback Session Demo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxGIzYY43zA
Quantum Biofeedback Therapy for Migraines

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tflRSb0cwe8
The Pros and Cons of Neurofeedback Therapy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJRWYxEEFv0
37
Click Blue Text Links To View Webpages
New Works For Saxophone

Consortiums: New Works For Saxophone
By David Camwell
Consortiums That Captivate
he saxophone has three main areas of classical

literature: transcriptions, original French/
European compositions from the first half of
the 20th century, and contemporary pieces that often
originate from the trailblazing work of saxophonist JeanMarie Londeix. New pieces continue to be written for the
instrument, encompassing such styles as minimalism, jazz,
improvisation, extended techniques, unique instrumental
combinations and more.
Many new works have been created by the consortium
process. For those who are unaware of what consortiums
are, they are a popular way for a select group of interested
musicians to engage a composer to write a piece. First, the
group of interested musicians agrees to pay the composers
fee. Once the new work is completed, the members of the
consortium then typically enjoy a period of exclusivity
(1-2 years) for public performances and recordings, as
well as having their names listed on the compositions
title page. Additionally, and perhaps most importantly,
the participants in the consortium have the satisfaction
of helping create a new work of art in a very direct and
personal manner.
Due to the connective powers of the internet, many likeminded musicians are now able to assemble consortiums
that feature members from all over the world. While some
consortiums struggle for months to reach the numbers
needed to fund the project, others fill up very quickly. This
often has to do with the popularity of the composer and the
renown and/or organizational prowess of the musicians who
are running the consortium.
Over the last few years, I have been approached by a
number of consortiums:
Maslanka (3 compositions): Saxophone Quartet; Concerto
for Saxophone Quartet and Wind Ensemble; Trio for Alto
Saxophone, Cello, and Piano.
Carter Pann: Trio for Two Saxophones and Piano
Ida Gotkovsky: Sonata for Tenor Saxophone and Piano
I was of course pleased that others were taking such
a proactive role towards the creation of new works for
the saxophone. In August, 2013, I was reflecting on how
I enjoyed performing Marc Mellits Black for two bass
clarinets (also performed on two bari saxes). Like a light
bulb turning on, it occurred to me that Mellits had not
written anything for two alto saxophones.
My next thought was, I should lead a consortium to create
a new work by Marc Mellits! Though excited, I wrestled
with questions typical of self-doubt. What if Mellits was not
interested? What if no saxophonists were interested? How
38
would I actually do this? Did I need a partner? Why would

this consortium succeed when many founder for months
looking for enough participants? What if no one likes the
end result? What are the logistical needs? And finally, the
nagging refrain Ive never led a consortium before...
Having now followed this consortium through to its
completion, I am able to share many of the answers and
realities to the initial problems that I wrestled with. For
those who are considering forming a consortium, I hope the
following text is useful towards taking an active role in the
creation of new works for the saxophone.
What If The Composer Is Not Interested?
If Marc Mellits was not interested, this whole project
would have screeched to a halt. The reason that I first
became interested in Mellits was because I genuinely liked
and identified with his music, knew that many others in the
saxophone world felt the same way, and that there was a
particular void in that he had not written anything expressly
for two alto saxophones. The worst thing Marc could say to
me was no, and if that did happen, the rejection would be
private. I felt I had nothing to lose, and course course was
thrilled when he greeted my idea with enthusiasm.
Partner Up
As this piece would be for two alto saxophonists, I felt I
needed to engage another saxophonist as a partner in this
project. I decided that my good friend Dr. Stephen Page
would be an ideal choice on a musical, personal and logistical
level. I wanted someone who would be similarly enthusiastic,
reliable, a good sounding board, and help with the numerous
aspects of this project. Stephen turned out to be terrific in all
aspects, and it was very rewarding to present the premiere
performance with him and later record the piece.
Consortium Structure And Design
The next issue was to define the structure of the
consortium. What was the typical fee that Mellits
commanded, and was that achievable? When would payment
be due? When was the piece to be sent to consortium
members? The number of consortium members to be
included and the cost per person is a formula to be worked
out with each individual composer. While ultimately
Tachycardia will be freely available to the public to purchase
via Dacia Music (www.marcmellits.com), the exclusive rights
of the members for performance and recording were valued
and appreciated. We also designed the delivery date of piece
to its members to be shortly after the 2014 Biennial NASA
July/August 2014
conference. One of the rewards with leading and defining

this consortium was that Stephen and I were to be were to
be the ones to first premiere it - certainly a nice bonus for
the work of running this project.
What If No One Is Interested?
Some saxophonists are reluctant to sign up for
consortiums, as the percentage of piece hits versus misses
is not very high. This is the risk of joining a commissioning
project; there is no guarantee that the work created will
have staying power in the literature. In our case, the
combination of the founding members and Marcs esteem in
the saxophone community resulted in the consortium filled
up in less than 24 hours, with an additional thirty (at least)
more members on the waiting list. We could have opened
the consortium to more people, but one of the most valued
aspects of the process is the exclusivity that being a member
of a small group provides.
How To Market The Consortium?
As so many of Stephens and my saxophone friends
and colleagues were on Facebook, we used social media
as the main method of advertisement and information
dissemination. Our Marc Mellits Consortium Facebook
page contained the initial call and proposal, as well as
biographies and pictures of myself, Stephen, and Marc. All
the information and details on the consortium were posted
there, and the public forum aspect of Facebook allowed for
discussion, questions, interaction, and publicity that led to
our project quickly going viral. We also created pages on
our respective websites www.davecamwell.com and www.
stephen-page.com where people could learn more about us
and the project, and sign up via a Google Docs link. Im sure
our personal websites were helpful, but the Facebook page
was the most useful conduit of the consortium.
What Are The Logistics Involved?

The logistics were relatively simple, provided I stayed
organized! Once someone signed up for one of the thirty
available spots, they were required to send the $150 to me
via personal check or paypal. I created a separate online
account via an online bank account where funds were
deposited, and I was careful to keep track of payments in
a Google doc. I did have to remind a few members of the
consortium about the due date for funds to be delivered, but
it was far from the headache that I had initially feared.
At the completion of this project, I took stock of what I
actually needed to do. The following aspects stand out to me
as he most important:
Being a conduit between the consortium members and the
composer.
Managing the financial accounting.
Making sure the project was moving forward positively in
regards to the promised timeline.
Providing addresses to which Marc would ultimately mail
the completed piece.
Advertisement and the running of the Facebook and
website pages.
Committing to premiering the piece at a venue where
it could garner attention. I was lucky in that the Biennial
NASA conference was about seven months away from the
consortiums conception. This proved to be an adequate
amount of time for all needs to be met.
Why Did This Consortium succeed When Many Fail?
I was confident that Marcs popularity in the saxophone
world (mainly due to two of his most performed pieces,
Black and Farfalle Cotte) would lead to many saxophonists
excitement and interest in this project. Indeed, I was
surprised when I looked at the long list of Marcs
compositions that there was not already a piece for two alto
saxophones. I did not want someone else to also think of
w w w. d e j a c q u e s . c o m
Saxophone Today
39
this project, and the consortium was set up quickly so we

wouldnt be beaten to the punch!
Nagging Self-Doubt
...But Ive never led a consortium before...
In leading a project like this, there is always risk. Many
consortium pieces are disappointing, as is the organization
and response between the projects leaders. I focused on
doing the best possible job I could in the organization of the
project and simply had faith in the reputation and creative
powers of Marc and my project partner Stephen. I knew that
this consortium, like all others, had a chance of going poorly.
However, my experience has shown that the results can be
positive.
Consortium Leaders Perspective
Upon the completion of this consortium, I am very grateful
for the experience that I gained as a result. Tachycardia
was received very positively and was premiered at the 2014
North American Saxophone Alliance Biennial conference in
Illinois, USA, to a packed hall and enthusiastic audience. At
the time of this writing (April, 2014), I know of at least three
recording projects of Tachycardia, which makes me grateful
and proud that this work is perhaps headed towards
becoming a popular and standard work for saxophonists.
The process from start to finish provided me with a great
appreciation of the many moving parts involved in projects
like this, and I am grateful and proud of the results.
Composers Perspective
In summary, I asked Marc Mellits himself to provide some
feedback into the composers mindset of a consortium. His
suggestions of what to do, what to avoid, and how to pair
successfully with a composer make for valuable reading:
Consortiums are appearing more and more as traditional
arts funding opportunities are dwindling. It is inspiring to
see many musicians leading the way to this form of funding
new works. However, knowing that a host of musicians are
involved, of course, increases the pressure. Writing any new
work is always terrifying for me, and in the case where you
might have 30+ people premiering the new work across the
globe within a year cycle certainly heightens the anxiety.
However, it also just as inspiring as it is daunting. Knowing
that many people are interested in a new work from me
gives me creative inspirational flow and transfers easily into
the new work.
As a composer, the less I am involved in the actual
process of the commission the better. It was enormously
helpful that Dave and Stephen handled all of the logistics
completely. This tends to be the norm in consortiums, and it
is very helpful for composers to not have to follow and track
addresses, checks, etc., from a large consortium. All I needed
to work from are length and instrumentation, and that is
a perfect working relationship. I could put all of my energy
into the composition of the piece, and Stephen and Dave
handled everything else.
Everyone was clear from the opening what was to be
expected from both me and also the consortium members.
We spent time at the beginning of the project to go over
these specifics carefully, so that everyone on board knew
what to expect. This is extremely important, and I would
40
greatly encourage anyone who embarks on a consortium to

carefully consider all of the mechanics in the beginning so
that after the composer can concentrate solely on writing the
new work.
I would also encourage a time line be formed. A deadline
for the score and parts is beneficial for the composer to work
from but also helps the performers to know when they can
expect to see the music. Once the composer has embarked
on the creation of the new work, it is perfectly acceptable
and I think helpful for the leads in the consortium to check
in periodically. But it should only be the leads, in this case,
Dave and Stephen who should be checking in. Knowing who
does what is great, and this consortium was a prime and
perfect example of this process.
In fact, there was very little, if anything, that I would
change in how this consortium was implemented. In the
end, the process for the commission of Tachycardia worked
flawlessly because there was no confusion on what was
expected of me and of the performers. When small problems
did arise, we were able to work through them easily because
we had a clear understanding throughout the process.
I cannot stress enough my enormous thanks to both Stephen
and Dave for their great efforts in putting this consortium
together. This music exists because of their idea and of the
tremendous support it received.
World Tenor Saxophone Consortium

http://www.andyscott.org.uk/world-tenor-saxophoneconsortium.htm
Indiegogo
Consortium: Saxophone Commissions
Join UNT graduate saxophone performance major
Sean Murphy in commissioning a new work from
composer Stephen Barr.
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/consortiumsaxophone-commission
Bari Sax Solo Consortium Commission
Benjamin Dean Taylor, Composer
http://www.benjamintaylormusic.com/sax-commission.
html
Wild Velvet Baritone Saxophone
Concerto Consortium
Evan Williams, Composer
http://www.evanwilliamscomposer.com/bari-saxconsortium.html
Three Rivers New Music Consortium
http://www.threeriversnewmusicconsortium.org/html/
about.php?psi=30
Barlow Endowment For Music Compositions
http://barlow.byu.edu/Pages/index.html
Calls For Scores
http://www.voxnovus.com/15_Minutes_of_Fame/calls/
The Louisiana Composers Consortium
Concert #46
http://media.wix.com/ugd/e0ba65_
a76283af47b7461693b0b0894a24feeb.pdf
July/August 2014
The Saxophone In Zagreb

Josip Nochta International Saxophone Competition
By Eugene Rousseau
ince returning recently from Europe, several friends

member of the jury that was comprised of Pavle Despalj,
have inquired about my itinerary. When telling
Dragan Sremec, Matja Drevenek, Arno Bornkamp, Claude
them that the first event on my tour was to serve on
Delangle, and Gordan Tudor. The 42 saxophonists were
the jury for the 1st Josip Nochta International Saxophone
from 16 different countries: Australia, Belgium, Brazil,
Competition in Zagreb, Croatia, they seemed puzzled. Who?
China, Croatia, France, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Macedonia,
Where? Understandably, the saxophone is more closely
Poland, Portugal, Russia, Serbia, Slovenia, and Spain.
associated with Belgium, Adolphe Saxs country of birth, and
Required works for the first round were: Quarter tone Waltz
France, owing to its great tradition of classical saxophone
by Gordan Tudor; Sarabande from Cello Suite by J.S. Bach,
playing. For some years, however, I have been quite aware
BWV 1008; and a work chosen from the following: Boutry
of the high level of playing and teaching in Croatia, and its
Divertimento, Desenclos Prelude, cadence et Finale, Pascal
neighbor, Slovenia an awareness that is rapidly taking
Sonatine, Robert Cadenza, Sancan Lamento et Rondo. The
hold world-wide. The recent competition serves as a sterling
only new composition from this group was that by Tudor, a
example, for two of the four finalists did their major study in
highly interesting work that creatively employs the use of
Zagreb.
quartertones and other extended techniques.
The event bears the name of Josip Nochta. Although
For the ten players who advanced to the second
clarinet was his primary instrument, Josip Nochta played
round, the required compositions were Dubravko Detonis
the saxophone as a youngster; an instrument that he always
22 per 2 in 2 and a work of choice from the following:
loved. Being solo clarinetist in the Zagreb
Albright Sonata, Decruck Sonate,
Philharmonic Orchestra, he was often
Denisov Sonata, Feld Sonata, Rueff
called upon to play saxophone when the
Sonata, Yoshimatsu Fuzzy Bird Sonata.
program required it. As in most academies
Four players advanced to the final
of this era, however, the saxophone was
round, and these four each played two
not included in the curriculum. Josip
concertos with the Zagreb Philharmonic
Nochta was Professor of Clarinet at the
Orchestra under the very capable
Zagreb Academy of Music, so when in
direction of Tomislav Faini. The first
1976 Dragan Sremec and colleagues
concerto was that of the noted Croatian
petitioned the Ministry of Education to
composer, Pavle Despalj, who also
include the saxophone, Professor Nochta
served as a member of the jury for the
had a sympathetic ear. The class opened
final round. Finalists had their choice
the following year, an extraordinary
among Rueff, Ibert, and Larsson for the
event, as even the Academy in Vienna did
second concerto; three chose Larsson and
not offer the saxophone until many years
one chose Ibert. The first-place winner
later. The first graduate in saxophone
was Juan Pedro Luna Agudo (Spain),
from the Zagreb Academy was Dragan
followed by Sara Beria (Slovenia), Lovro
Sremec in 1981. He was followed by Goran
Merep (Croatia), and Dimitrii Uvarov
Merep, Saa Nestorovi, and Matja
(Russia). The level of playing throughout
Drevenek who, with Dragan Sremec,
the entire competition was extremely
Portrait of Josip Nochta is by artist Dinko Zlatari high a wonderful confirmation of the
are the members of the esteemed
Copyright Dinko Zlatari, Master of Fine Arts.
Zagreb Saxophone Quartet.
saxophone as a vehicle of great artistic
All Rights Reserved.
It was a great pleasure to be a
expression.
Used in ST by permission of Mr. Zlatari
http://www.dinko-zlataric.com/
Saxophone Today
41
Juan Pedro Luna Agudo, 1st Prize

Quite apart from the saxophone
event, but nonetheless extremely
important, was the setting for this
momentous occasion. Zagreb, the
capital of Croatia, is a city of nearly
one million inhabitants. It is bordered
on the west by the Adriatic Sea,
and on other geographical facets by
Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, and Bosnia
Herzegovina. Croatia encompasses
many ethnic groups, all of whom
have contributed to its rich cultural
environment. The city of Zagreb is
home to the University of Zagreb Music
Academy, a distinguished institution
that will soon occupy a new and stateof-the-art building. For those visiting
Zagreb, it is a pleasant surprise to
encounter so many Croatians who
speak English very well. Trips from
Zagreb to other areas of Croatia reveal
the countrys vast natural beauty. This is particularly true
in the region of Dalmatia, whose western edge borders on
the Adriatic Sea. There are a number of cities located on
the route from Zagreb two of the most beautiful are Split
and Dubrovnik. In 1979, the city of Dubrovnik, one of the
greatest walled cities from the medieval era, joined the
UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. A tour from Zagreb
to Dubrovnik along the Dalmatian coast is spectacular,
especially if adequate time is taken.
Here are some distances from Zagreb to other European
cities in kilometers and miles:
Budapest......... 325k 200m
Munich............ 550k 340m
Rome............... 515k 320m
Prague............. 490k 304m
Salzburg.......... 425k 265m
Vienna............. 268k 166m
Given the site of the Josip Nochta International
Saxophone Competition, the large number of highly
qualified applicants, and the thoughtful manner in which
all details of this complex undertaking were so completely
addressed, the image and perception of Croatia have been
greatly and deservedly enhanced. A visit to this gorgeous
country is highly recommended.
Members of the Jury
October 4, 2013, 9:48 a.m.
Eugene Rousseau (USA), president
Arno Bornkamp, The Netherlands
Claude Delangle, France
Matja Drevenek, Slovenia
Dragan Sremec, Croatia
Gordan Tudor, Croatia
Pavle Depalj, Croatia (The Finals)
1st International Saxophone Competition
Award Winners
1st prize - Juan Pedro Luna Agudo, Spain
2nd prize - Sara Beria, Slovenia
3rd prize - Lovro Merep, Croatia
42
4th prize - Dmitri Uvarov, Russia

Official Owards
1st prize
- Soprano Saxophone SELMER (series
3) sponsored by Henri Selmer Paris and
Euro-Unit Group Croatia.
- At least one concert with THE ZAGREB
SOLOISTS in the season 2014/15
sponsored by The Zagreb Soloists.
2nd prize
- Tenor saxophone SEQUOIA sponsored
by Vincero Sequoia.
- Concert at the 2014 Samobor Music
Festival sponsored by Puko otvoreno
uilite, Samobor.
- A 1,000 US$ check sponsored by
EROUSSEAU Saxophone Mouthpieces.
3rd prize
- Double case for Soprano and Alto
Saxophone WISEMAN, custom made,
sponsored by
Wiseman Cases, London.
- A 500 US$ check sponsored by EROUSSEAU Saxophone
Mouthpieces.
4th prize
- VANDOREN award (400 value) sponsored by Vandoren
- 400 money award (bank transfer).
Juan Pedro Luna Agudos Performances

(Videos - All Rounds)
http://www.adolphesax.com/en/the-competition/
participants/2321-luna-agudo-juan-pedro-2

http://www.kdz.hr/index.php/en/competitions/
international-saxophone-competition-josip-nochta
Competition Rules
http://www.kdz.hr/index.php/en/competition-rules
Program
http://www.kdz.hr/index.php/en/program-1sax-en
Application Form
http://www.kdz.hr/index.php/en/application-form-sax
Members Of The Jury

http://www.kdz.hr/index.php/en/members-of-the-jury-sax
Schedule
http://www.kdz.hr/index.php/en/raspored
Competitors
http://www.kdz.hr/index.php/en/competitors
2014 Eugene Rousseau, Used by permission in Saxophone Today
http://www.eugene-rousseau.com
July/August 2014
Having Good Time

Having Good Time Is Of The Essence
Photo by Andrew Spratt
Time Is Of The Essence

From my own experiences I can tell you that fighting bad time for an entire rehearsal or
performance is draining. There could be a collection of highly qualified players in attendance but
everyone needs to agree on the time. There is the rub.
n high school I had a personal challenge with playing

in time. I tended to rush and my teachers encouraged
me to buy and use a metronome. Unfortunately, the
little Franz metronome was not loud enough to compete with
my big sound on tenor sax. The verdict was in. I hated the
metronome.
Later, at Berklee College of Music in Boston, I had a timekeeping revelation while playing in a lab band. We had to
play a 12 bar blues with our eyes closed. The first solo chorus
was played with the rhythm section. The second chorus used
stop time with a hit every 4 bars. The last chorus required
playing 12 bars alone with no time provided by the rhythm
section. It was a very humbling experience when I finished
my 12 bars two and a half measures early! Following that
regrettable experience, I more eagerly continued to practice
using the same old black metronome. The verdict remained
the same. I hated the metronome. It taunted me.
While on the road with a show band I took to practicing
with the metronome again. The rock, funk and dance music
we played absolutely mandated that everything be played
Saxophone Today
in the pocket. It seemed I still had a tendency to rush and it

needed to be fixed. This time I embraced working with the
metronome and had much greater success. It was not the
old, black metronome with the light on top. This time I had
taken the advice of a drummer and purchased the Klic-Trac
metronome. It was for use with headphones and was LOUD!
Since then I have learned to LOVE the metronome.
Unlike those early days I now play and practice with a much
broader dynamic range. Additionally, we all have access to
many metronomes, apps like Drumgenius and click tracks
on the computer. Therefore, there is no one need despise the
metronome any longer.
In previous columns for Saxophone Today, we have
explored various facets of playing well within a big band
saxophone section. Being able to blend, play in tune and in
time goes a long way to making you a valuable and endeared
member of any saxophone section. Each time we play with
other musicians it becomes apparent who has a good grasp
of pitch, timing, blend and balance. Vibrato and Intonation
have already been discussed. Now time is of the essence.
43
Understanding Time
Having good time is something often associated with the
job of a drummer. The bass player also plays a key role in
laying down the time within the rhythm section. One would
be remiss if the piano and guitar players contribution were
overlooked as well. Although the rhythm section is entrusted
with the role of propelling the big band, they cannot do it
alone.
Some people have perfect pitch.
Others must work more diligently on
developing good relative pitch. The
same is true of time and rhythm. Some
have great innate time keeping skills
while other must work more diligently
to achieve the same skills. As the
paragraphs above stress, I was among
the latter.
There are essentially two steps to
having good time as a saxophonist.
The first is to be able to play your
saxophone in time with or without
the use of a metronome. Secondly,
one must be flexible in their ability to
adjust the feel for their performance
environment. The remainder of this
article will look at these two separate
factors and break down the component
parts of each separate skill.
I. Producing, Practicing and
Maintaining Good Time
As a teacher, I require all my private
students to purchase a metronome or
appropriate smart phone app as soon
as possible. Playing in sync with a
metronome is a skill which should be
encouraged from the very beginning of
saxophone study. Whether a beginner
or an advancing student, the metronome plays a large role in

each lesson and practice session.
Playing scales, longtones, jazz patterns or etudes all
benefit from working with a metronome. Being able to listen
and play with the metronome is a practiced skill some grasp
easily and yet others struggle initially. As a young player
NOONE hated the metronome more than me.
Measuring your progress with a
tangible guide such as the metronome
will keep you honest. Tempos can be
checked, increased gradually over
time and result in increased technical
facility.

Ive included several scale
tonguing and articulation exercises,
suitable for work with a metronome.
Practice Exercises #1 & #2

Initial metronome practice with my
private students usually starts with
working on major scales, then scales in
3rds. More advanced students will often
work on larger intervals of 4ths, 5th
and beyond. Work on majors scales is
typically followed by the relative minor
scales and then modes within the major
scale. The exercise below runs through
the relative major, then three forms of
minor. It can be learned slowly, without
the metronome at first. Once they are
memorized and relatively even in the
fingers work with the metronome can
begin. Keep records of the progress you
or your students have made regarding
metronome markings. Write the
metronome markings on a chart in a
manuscript book or someplace visible.
It a great reminder and motivator
Practice Exercises #1 & #2
Practice Exercise #3
44
July/August 2014
for increasing facility and developing solid skills with a

metronome
often tempting to play at a louder volume. Part of it is the

excitement or adrenaline rush. Try playing a fast passage,
at MF or MP rather than FF. Most likely you will find it
easier at the softer dynamic. Particularly pesky figures can
Exercise #3 was shared with me by two wonderful
be practiced with rhythmic variation as well. I often use the
saxophone teachers, Bill Garton and Tony Salicandro. It
Long short, short long exercise in Practice Exercise #5,
originated from their saxophone teacher, Mike Guerra what
which show the same Ladybird turnaround with the two
was also legendary in Philadelphia. There are two variations
variations.
floating around and I have shared both tonguing exercises.
The Syncopation by Ted Reed is one of many
Taking one or the other through all 12 keys is a great
percussion and rhythm study books which can be utilized
workout with the metronome set at slow, medium and fast
by saxophonists. The written snare drum rhythms can be
tempos. Try m.m. 60, 132 and
taken at varying tempos (with
200 for variation. The tempo
the metronome of course).
can increase infinitely beyond
Rhythmic patterns can be
200 b.p.m. for more advanced
played on one note or adapted
students or players.
to virtually any memorized
scale, arpeggio or pattern.

Joe Violas Technique
1477 E. Michigan Ave.
Another legendary
Of The Saxophone series
Battle Creek, MI 49014
Philadelphian is Larry
also includes a wonderful
McKenna. Like many in
3rd volume on rhythmic
the area, I studied jazz
development.
Ph:800-253-2261/269-965-0511
improvisation with Larry.
Playing with good time is no
Fax:269-965-7719
The Ladybird turnaround
different than keeping up
E:ferreestools@aol.com
below is a warm up exercise
with sight-reading skills or
that I have been playing for
technical facility of any kind on
Contact us today for a FREE printed catalog or find
years, just to get my fingers
saxophone. Maintaining good
it online at www.ferreestools.com
going. There are many others
time keeping skills requires
I utilize as well, but Practice
dedication to the instrument
Do you have a technical question about one of our
Exercise #4 is one example.
and regular practice. Even
items? Email to repairtips@aol.com
I like to play it at 60, 120
those musicians who have
and 240 b.p.m. in all 12 keys.
innately great time keeping
We carry pads, corks, felts
It can be played with the
skills must maintain the
and many other supplies
metronome on 1 and 3 for a
facility in order to demonstrate
for your convenience!!
straight 8th feel or on beats
those talents consistently. This
2 and 4 for a more decidedly
leads perfectly to the second
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swing feel.
part of the equation time
7:30am-3:45pm EST
keeping in the ensemble.
While working on fast
passages of any style it is
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Saxophone Today
45
Time Keeping Within the Big Band

When a big band or other large ensemble plays together
and finds a collective groove it is an awesome thing.
Playing in the pocket just feels great and everything
seems easier. Although somewhat intangible and difficult
to describe, many readers undoubtably have had similar
experiences.
From my own experiences I can tell you that fighting bad
time for an entire rehearsal or performance is draining.
There could be a collection of highly qualified players in
attendance but everyone needs to agree on the time. There is
the rub.
Anyone can play by themselves and sound good. In a
saxophone section or big band as a whole, one must LISTEN.
That is a good place to start. Ultimately, everyone in the
band needs to listen to all around them which is a challenge
at times. That being said, the one thing you control is your
own sense of time. Hopefully others around you are doing
their part as well.
Things Worthy Of Consideration
There are five things worthy of consideration when playing
in the ensemble and they are outlined here.
1. When playing lead alto, I like to listen to the drummers
high hat and the bass guitar/acoustic bass. For swing tunes,
that is where the groove emanates. When playing within the
section, I listen up to the lead alto, and try to follow the time
and feel he or she sets.
2. Listening back to the trumpet and trombone sections is
also important for a lead alto player. The time is a consensus
of the individual sections and the band as a whole. Section
players can never go wrong listening to the lead alto
assuming that person is listening to the rhythm section and
brass players behind.
3. It is important to understand the expectation of certain
styles and ultimately certain well-known charts. Latin tunes
tend to be played on top or ahead of the beat. Funk and Rock
typically favor a feel right on the beat. Songs in the slow
Basie style swing tend to lay back behind the beat. These
are only a few considerations. Understanding the nuances
of each requires experience and critical listening. A full
disclosure of stylistic feels is beyond the scope of this article.
4. Fatigue can be a factor. Learn to understand what the
effect of mood and energy levels have on your playing. If you
are tired or lacking energy, the music may drag. If you are
nervous, overexcited or anxious the tendency will be to rush.
Extremely fast saxophone solis will often be more precise
by not overblowing, which is often the tendency. The sound,
pitch and time can all suffer from overblowing.
5. Be flexible. Your interpretation of a melodic line or soli
figure may not match those around you. It is EVERYONES
job to meet in the middle. Admittedly, the rhythm section is
in charge of laying down the time. From there the horns
must match the time feel set and keep it where it belongs.
One person, whether the drummer, bass player or lead of
any section cannot single-handedly keep the tempo where it
belongs. It must be a concerted effort.
Possessing Realistic Expectations
Being able to play your own instrument with good, steady
time remains the first step to having good time within an
46
ensemble. Understanding the limitations of the environment

can and will go a long way toward having realistic goals.
Some years ago much of my own playing was done in
smaller groups where MIDI sequences were used. Later,
sampling and digital recordings were also used as backing
tracks. My goal was simply to match the time set by the
tracks behind me and the rest of the band. With the absence
of a human, flexible tempo, the live musicians merely needed
to match the tempo being played by the track. It was a
fairly simple process to hear the correct, unchanging tempo
along with time feel and then match it. In a larger, acoustic
ensemble such as a big band, there are many more variables
requiring much more acute listening and adjusting.
Typically the better the band is, the better the time and
feel can be for the collective group. It is important to realize
and appreciate the level of the each ensemble. If a group is
full of well-trained and well-practiced professional players
in their prime; then the expectation for good musicianship
and time keeping skills can be high. Conversely the
expectation needs to be lower for a community group where
not all members share the same vigor for maintaining their
musicianship or technical skills.
Lastly, each group is only as strong as its weakest link.
If there happens to be a drummer or bass player with poor
time, everyone will have a long night. The same could be
said of virtually every chair in the band as well. But as a
general rule, if the lead players and rhythm section can
swing one can hope the rest of the band will follow suit.
Conclusion
In the end I believe our expectation for solid time keeping
should be high. As individuals we must learn and maintain
the ability to play with solid time by ourselves. In ensembles
we must take that ability with us and then be able to become
flexible with the variables around us. Working diligently and
maintaining an open mind devoid of ego will help you match
the specific time feel in a variety of situations. In the end its
all about making great music.
Stay well and play well!
Skip Spratt is a saxophonist and music educator living in

the Philadelphia/Atlantic City region. Additional help, sax
info and lessons via Skype can be found on Skips popular
website www.SaxShed.com. You can email Skip directly at
skip@saxshed.com.
July/August 2014
Got A Question? Call Me!

(504) 324-3850
This is the ONLY place you can actually talk to

the man who designs and builds the horns and
accessories. Were glad to speak with you!
WWW.NATIONOFMUSIC.COM
Saxophone Today
47
Nancy Newman
Nancy Newman Interview By Thomas Erdman
48
July/August 2014
Interview By Thomas Erdmann
axophonist and multi-woodwind artist Nancy

Newman is at a stage in her career few musicians are
able to attain. Not only is she able to look back on the
start of a wonderful teaching and performing career in both
Montreal and Los Angeles, but since moving to L.A. shes
paid her dues in full and is reaping the benefits of having
put in the hard practice that leads to all of the success
shes currently enjoying. Known mostly as a low woodwind
specialist, shes quite frequently found on gigs and in the
studios playing the bass and bari saxophone along with
low clarinets and bassoon. This doesnt take away from her
stellar abilities in playing the middle and smaller woodwind
family of instruments as well. So accomplished on so many
instruments, including the low woodwind specialty horns,
she has ascended to be a first call studio musician.
Newman earned her Bachelor degree from McGill
University in Montreal, then later did post graduate work
at Concordia University before earning her Masters Degree
in Jazz Studies from the University of Southern California.
Known by most as the long time baritone saxophonist in
the world-famous Gerald Danovitch Saxophone Quartet,
Newman, who moved to L.A. with her husband and fellow
Duo Bilanci ensemble member husband Billy Kerr in 2001,
also has a ton of other top-flight performing experience
credits. Included in this list are numerous West Coast
musical pit performances in A Chorus Line, Fiddler On The
Roof, Music Man, Sweet Charity, and West Side Story, among
many others.
Over the years she has performed regularly withthe Stan
Kenton Alumni bands, the Clare Fischer Big Band, and the
John Daversa Progressive Big Band. In addition, Newman
has performed numerous concerts with big bands at the Los
Angeles Jazz Institute Festivals at LAX and has worked a
number of Los Angeles Pops Orchestra performances as well.
While still in Montreal Newman performed with the
Montreal Symphony, the Metropolitan Orchestra, did
many live radio broadcast recordings, toured Europe as a
member of various groups, and put herself through McGill
as a member of the Montreal Alouette CFL Band. Currently
teaching at the College of the Canyons, soloing with various
groups like the Glendale College Orchestra on Mark Watters
Rhapsody for Baritone Saxophone, and a frequent school
clinician, Newman is a dedicated teacher and mentor to
countless musicians both on the West Coast and in Montreal.
Newman is at a stage in her career few musicians are able to
attain, but all highly covet.
I always start by asking about equipment. Why do you play a
Yamaha Y-62 bari, but a Selmer Mark VI alto and tenor?
I started playing Selmer saxophones in college when we
all studied with Gerry Danovitch. That was the only horn he
would teach us on. When I entered his quartet in 1978, we
played on Selmers for a few years, but Yamaha eventually
approached us to play their instruments as one of their
artist groups. We all experimented with the instruments and
found we liked them. It was a change to go from Selmer to
Yamaha. The big thing, however, was that I had been doing
so many things in order to make the Selmer play in tune, the
intonation was horrendous but the horn had great tone, that
Saxophone Today
when I started playing the Yamaha it actually helped me to

play the clarinet and bass clarinet better. This was because I
didnt understand all of the problems I had made for myself
when I was playing the Selmer bari.
I loved the Yamaha. Even when the quartet finished when
Gerry passed away, I kept my Yamaha bari. I had adjusted
to that horn. One day I actually went back to the Selmer
when a key dropped off the Yamaha. I had a concert and
my old Selmer was lying in the closet, so I used it. It just
wasnt the same anymore. I realized how much a persons
body changes to adapt to creating the sound of different
horns, and the sound you want. I had adapted away from the
Selmer bari.
You mentioned playing the Yamaha made you play the
clarinet and bass clarinet better. Can you explain this?
I had done some things up at the top of my throat, with
the shape and the cavity of the mouth, from playing the
Selmer bari, which interfered with getting anything thing
out of the second octave of the bass clarinet or playing the
B-flat clarinet without getting a headache. I literally couldnt
play the clarinet for more than 10 minutes without getting a
headache. I had opened up and dropped the throat so much
for tuning when playing the Selmer bari that I had gotten
to the point I thought it was normal; that that was how you
played woodwind instruments.
What I had done was use my ear, and playing in that way
made playing the Selmer work. I didnt realize this was not
the way you were supposed to play and because of this I
could not play the other instruments for a long time. I had
been going through a lot of clarinet teachers without any
success. Eventually the combination of switching baritone
instruments and changing my throat, then finding the
perfect teacher for me, worked out and allowed me to be able
to play the clarinets.
Do you prefer a bari with a low A or without?
For me, I definitely want the low A. A lot of soloists say
they only want a low B-flat, but I do all kinds of reading gigs
with big bands and quartets, etc., and everyone wants the
low concert C for those gigs.
On saxophones you mostly play on Vandoren reeds, except for
the bari where you use La Voz MH reeds. Why the difference
on the bari?
I just kept playing reeds until I found one that felt good.
I have Vandoren and Rico reeds. I try them all. My biggest
pursuit in finding reeds was last year when I had a solo to
play with an orchestra. I needed to find a reed that would
cover everything I wanted. In the end I went back to my old
La Voz. I bought several boxes and found those worked best.
Before we do anything else, you have to tell the readers about
the Duo Bilanci ensemble you are in with your husband, Billy
Kerr. Both of you are musicians of the highest order. Can you
describe this ensemble for the readers?
Billy and I started doing things together because when he
moved to Canada he didnt have other work right away. He
loves to compose and started writing various duets using 11
different woodwind instruments between us. We would do
49
the music as demos and concerts in schools for kids when

way to go, according to everyone else, but it was obviously
they were trying to decide what instrument they wanted to
the best way for me to go. Im sure there are things youre
play when it was time to join their school band.
supposed to do, but I dont think any of that matters. What
When we first arrived in Los Angeles I was interested
does matter is your commitment to what you want, and how
in keeping the group going, but the kind of music played
much time and effort you put into it. If youre serious about
here in Los Angeles is very movie and show oriented and
it, you go and find the very best equipment you can afford
the music the kids were more
and the very best teachers you
interested in hearing involved
can find. That applies for every
Nancy Newmans Equipment
single artists who would come in
single one of the instruments
Soprano Sax curved P. Mauriat, with a
with CD soundtrack backdrops.
you want to learn. Its a big time
Vandoren S-27 mouthpiece, ligature, and
The two instrument duo just
commitment, and a big money
Vandoren Traditional blue box #3 soprano reeds.
didnt seem to fill a need here in
commitment, but Im pretty sure
Alto Sax Selmer Mark VI, with a 1960s NY
Los Angeles.
everyone in the business feels if
Meyer 1960s (Frank Wells facing) mouthpiece,
music and everything to do with
ligature, and Vandoren ZZ #3 alto saxophone
I read when you broke into the
music is not your life 24/7 then
reeds.
Los Angeles music scene it was
you are in the wrong business.
Tenor Sax Selmer Mark VI, with an Otto Link
originally as a double reed artist.
6 hard rubber mouthpiece, ligature, and Vandoren
Is that true?
As a double reed artist, as well
ZZ #3 tenor saxophone reeds.
Yes. Once I started to play
as someone who plays the other
Baritone Sax 1980s Yamaha Y-62, with a Berg
bassoon I was now available for a
single reed instruments, how
Larson 110/0 hard rubber mouthpiece or a La Voz
broader variety of work. In order
do you arrange your practice
MH Classical mouthpiece or a mouthpiece with
to start out here in L.A. you have
time in order to stay up on all
no markings (have been told it was a Kell, from
to start as a sub. There werent as
of the different instruments you
England, a cross between a Selmer and a jazz
many people playing on bassoon,
regularly play?
style mouthpiece which is no longer made and La
baritone and bass clarinet, as
Thats probably the hardest
Voz MH reeds.
there were those who played
thing to do. Often practice ends
Bass Sax a borrowed 1920s Conn belonging
the single reed instruments. A
up being about which part is
to Jennifer Hall with either a Berg Larson 110/0
friend of mine told me if I was
the hardest or scariest thing
Bari mouthpiece or a Bass Sax Mouthpiece, A
serious about playing in L.A. I
to learn at that time, and that
Pan American, with Lgre Contra Alto #2 reeds
needed to play bassoon. I would
gets the most practice time. For
or Vandoren Traditional blue box #3 contra bass
be one of eight players who could
me, being a new bassoon player
clarinet reeds.
play double reeds along with the
of about six years, means the
B-flat Clarinet - Buffet Greenline Festival model
other low woodwinds, as opposed
bassoon often gets first pick of
with a B45 mouthpiece, ligature, and Vandoren
to being one of about 300 in
the day because I dont have
V12 #3 reeds.
town who play the single reed
the years of natural ability, at
A Clarinet - Buffet R13 with a B45 mouthpiece,
instruments. That advice worked
this point, to fall back on. The
ligature, and Vandoren V12 #3 reeds.
out.
bassoon technique is a struggle
Bass Clarinet 1970s Selmer Model 32 with
for me, to always be on top of it
custom Low C extension by John Breda , B44
How important do you think it is
and fluid. I always get a lot of
mouthpiece, with Vandoren Traditional blue box
for saxophonists to learn to play
bassoon in.
#3 reeds.
other woodwind instruments
The saxophone sometimes
Contra Alto Clarinet - Selmer Rosewood
if they want to be a working
gets cheated because I have
Depose, with a Selmer mouthpiece refaced by
musician in the 21st century?
a long background in that
John Yoakum, Los Angeles; Legere or Vandoren
I think part of it involves where
instrument. Flute is not an easy
Traditional blue box #3 contra bass clarinet reeds.
youre living and what is needed
instrument for me, in fact all of
Piccolo Pearl, Grenaditte Body, Model PFP
in that area. Live performance
the high instruments are a bit
105E, Grenadilla Wood High Wave headjoint
music has changed so much, and
of a challenge for me in terms of
Flute 1960s Haynes closed-hole, handmade
in L.A. you have to be able to play
feeling connected. I love to play
model.
everything in every style because
on the bottom of an ensemble.
Alto Flute Pearl, Model PFA 206S.
you dont know what is going to
I often get to play the bass
Bassoon - Renard 220 with a variety of different
come tomorrow morning.
and contra-alto clarinet, and
reeds.
bari and bass sax for rehearsal
Reed Geek - RR 200 Glass Reed Resurfacer.
For saxophonists who want to
bands, that helps me to keep
start learning the other woodwind
them in shape. Its the smaller
instruments, which of the other
instruments and the bassoon,
instruments do you suggest they start with first, and why?
for me, that need the major practice time at home; the other
I know there is a protocol of what youre supposed to do,
ones I love to play so I keep rolling on them.
but I did everything completely backwards. I do know when
A bonus of living in LA is that there are numerous
I was in elementary school everyone said to start on clarinet
rehearsal bands and lots of people looking to play chamber
and progress to saxophone, if thats what youre interested
music, or play small jam sessions. That really helps me
in. I started on baritone saxophone which is the worst
stay on top of my horns. One of the best ways to get your
50
July/August 2014
instrument working is to play as much as you can.

When I interviewed Tom Scott he mentioned the same thing
in a slightly different way. He said he does a lot of practicing
on the bandstand and rehearsals. Do you do this as well?
I think you can practice anything anywhere. I drive my
students crazy because they keep telling me they dont have
enough time to practice. I ask them if they practiced on a
pencil in the car on the way over to the lesson? They look
at me like Im crazy, but I did most of my practicing on the
bus when I was a kid. That allowed me to practice mentally.
Then when youre playing your instrument all the mental
work is done and you can focus on the physical things.
As a low instrument specialist you play a lot of bari and bass
saxophone in big band gigs. What advice do you have for
saxophonists playing the bari chair in a big band in order to
be successful?
The way I try to talk to my students about the baritone
is that its a little different than the other horns. It is its
own lead instrument. You have to play it with confidence,
and identify the qualities of the bari people are looking for.
I make them practice exercises for tone, endurance and
power, so they can get the snap and attitude of the bari in
a way that is needed in a big band. Its not enough to play
the right notes; nobody will hear that. With a lot of my
students I really get them to be aggressive so they are the
underpinning of the saxophone section. Its also important
in how they work with the bass trombone. I have them work
from that angle.
In that answer you lay the groundwork for some of my
additional questions. The bari and bass saxophone players
in big bands are required, many times, to play really loud.
Youve had to do this kind of playing in the roaring Stan
Kenton Alumni Band, and that band truly roars, as well as
in John Daversas Big Band. How do you practice in order
to get the proper projection youre required to, in a big band,
without having problems with intonation?
At this point I dont worry about intonation; I listen
carefully and adjust accordingly. When I would get a big
band gig back in the Montreal days when I was in the
Danovitch Quartet, I would put on the stereo, play a wild
recording by some incredible jazz group, and I would practice
above it. Unfortunately the neighbors didnt like that, but
with the sound system at triple the volume, I had to really
push the baritone until I could hear it. There is a feeling I
used to find, when everything was all lined up, of how the
air would be direct and I could power right through the horn,
but I had to work to develop that.
You have to find the core, energy and power if youre
going to do that kind of specific playing. You dont always
want to be blasting away, but when you need it and you
dont deliver it youre not called again. That was originally
how I trained for big band performances. Now Im doing
it all the time and feel in shape. Playing the bass sax and
contra alto clarinet make the baritone seem like a toy. I just
practice and use the exercises Ive been using for years.
You also mentioned playing with the trombones, which many
times the bari sax player ends up doing. Is there any special
Saxophone Today
advice you have for bari big band players, when they find
their parts to be with the trombones, in order for them to
blend and punctuate their lines with the trombones as
perfectly as possible?
One of the things for me is hearing whether Im with the
bass trombone or the upper trombones. If Im with the bass
trombone then its full out with whatever he/shes doing. I
find, if Im playing with the upper trombones as a section,
that I need to fit my sound inside their blended ensemble
tone. So in playing with the trombones there are those two
different ways I might have to approach playing.
The baritone and bass saxophone have a lot of heavy keys.
How do you practice in order to be able to play with and
still stay in perfect metric rhythmic alignment with the rest
of the saxophone section in a big band?
I just practice or play my horns every day. I practice
chromatics and in particular, focus on feeling the horn,
developing the muscle memory for each instrument. You
have to be completely comfortable with your instrument.
You have to learn to control your horn, and I did a lot of
that when I was young with Gerry Danovitch. He taught
me how to keep that kind of thing tight and how to be on
top of it. He was a killer about sight-reading, blending, and
being very precise, both as a student and in his quartet.
I continue to still do the kind of things now as I did then.
Most importantly, this includes using the metronome
and starting super slow, working things up gradually. I
make sure everything is exact from the slowest beat to the
fastest.
When playing the bari and bass saxophones in a big
band, like you do on the Clare Fischer Big Band album
Continuum, many times you have to play really low notes.
What advice do you give your students for handling really
low notes on such big instruments in order to make the notes
sound centered and not tubby?
When I was fairly young that was a big issue right away.
I took a private lesson with Ted Griffith of the Montreal
Symphony, he was the bass trombone player. It was a
lesson on how to focus and use your air, and how to develop
that ability to the max. One of the exercises he gave me
was to play one of the lowest notes I had and hold it until
I was literally turning purple and the veins were popping
out of my head, and then I was not allowed to breathe in
for 5 more seconds. You really notice the muscles that you
need for deep breathing, doing that exercise. That was one
of the earliest types of breathing lessons I did. I practiced
that a lot. It also helps if you develop natural body strength
in order to work the horn. You have to be in shape, focused,
and healthy. Those qualities will give you a leg up, in
addition to doing exercises like the one I just described.
The flip side of that question is that there are times when
the bari sax is asked to play lightly and delicately. This
you do with spectacular results on The Nutcracker Suite
Highlights with the Danovitch Quartet on the Musica Viva
recording, most especially when you have the melody on
the Dance Of The Reed Flutes movement. Do you have any
favorite exercises you like to do in order to play such a big
instrument in so light and delicate a manner?
51
The signature tune with the Danovitch Quartet was The

Barber of Seville. I would do twenty minutes of special
tonguing exercises, playing things like the chromatic
scale very slow to very fast, in a way so that I could hear
every note being light and bouncy, and I would work that
endlessly every day of my life so we could play that one
piece. All of that preparation made the other pieces we did
possible. I remember thinking of trying to do my best to
sound like a bassoon when I would do those exercises; my
sister was a professional bassoonist so I had that sound
in my ear. I wanted to not sound like a funky baritone
saxophone player but to sound light and delicate and that
was how I worked my exercises.
Your tonguing on the fast and furious bass line of the
Chinese Dance in the Nutcracker is perfect, so all of that
preparation paid off. You have a wonderful light yet pointed,
delicate yet pronounced tonguing ability.
The funny thing is that I just played that piece on
the bassoon for the first time this year. It was this past
Christmas and I remember thinking, Oh my, bassoonists
have it so easy when compared to how hard I had to work in
order to get that sound on the bari. The great thing about
playing music for such a long time is that you come full
circle on so many things.
Playing forte in a saxophone quartet, as you did for 19
years in the Danovitch Quartet, is its own thing. Did you do
anything special to regulate your air when playing soft in
that group, such as when you had to blend with the soprano
or alto and they were playing very softly?
I always think you need to have all your air for everything
you play, whether its ppp or fff. The sound has to ride
from the toes up, for support. Then with your embouchure
and the resistance created with your lips and the way you
modify your throat cavity, etc., you can lighten up your
sound or push through and have a very heavy sound.
In addition to playing the low saxophones, you also play all
of the other ones. Each saxophone has its own intonational
problems. How do you suggest your students work on
intonation in order for it not to be a problem in their
playing?
My students range from the younger ones, to college, and
adults. The adults are working in big bands and learning
jazz, and the young ones are dealing with school. When
working with them, I play virtually everything with them,
and tell them to match me. Then I see if that triggers a
response to the pitch between us. If they stop when it is out
of tune, thats a good sign, they understand something is not
quite right, and we dive in to what to do.
For the sax students, I named one of the exercises The
Johnny Hodges exercise. I have them learn to play a given
note, and be able to do a sort of yawn, to drop the note a
complete semi-tone, then slide it back up. We pick out the
sharpest notes on their horns, and they can plan ahead for
some of the most troublesome spots by memorizing the feel
of the tuning for that note, knowing it might still need to be
adjusted in the moment. For the students that dont really
hear any problems with tuning, I deliberately play out of
tune until they hear the pulsing of the note, and once they
52
can identify when the sound is making waves or not, they

can start to improve tuning. Then we can work on duets, and
interval training.
What did you do when you were developing your intonational
abilities?
I think the best thing is playing in chamber music groups;
duos, trios and quartets. My quartet days started as soon
as I started my studies at McGill. Its not only about
lining yourself up with a tuner, its about hearing a chord
and knowing when the sound rings and when it sounds
restricted. To play with just a tuner means youre going to
learn only one part of intonational development. The fifth
needs to rise up a little bit and the third will need to ride
down a little, in order for a chord to blend and open up.
I think chamber music is one of the best ways to help you
with this. You do need to understand where your horn is
with regard to pitch, that is where the tuner can be of help.
Sadly, many music programs have had to cut back, and there
are not as many opportunities for small chamber groups.
Students will need to be proactive, and create them on their
own. I am currently playing with 3 great ladies in LA, and
am in my 7th generation of quartets.
When you go out to play a gig many times youll have to
switch between a number of different instruments, and many
times they are all different sizes. For example, when you
played in Clare Fischers Big Band you had to play bass sax,
B-flat contra bass clarinet, flute and piccolo. How do you
practice in order to make the changes you need to in order
to sound so good on each new horn, beginning with the first
note on the new horn because switching between those four
instruments is not like going from alto sax to tenor sax?
The hardest thing to do was play the piccolo after the low
horns. Sometimes there was 20 or 40 minutes of bass sax, or
really pumping it out on the contra-bass clarinet. Usually I
didnt have a fast change. I would get eight bars, and during
that time I would find a line that someone else was playing
and start warming up my playing and find my embouchure
before I had to come in, by playing someone elses line with
them, down the octave. Then Id go up to the octave I had to
play in when my written part came in.
In the professional saxophone world, which is dominated
by men, you were one of the first women professional
saxophonists. Did you ever face discrimination based on your
gender and if so how did you handle it?
I think the way I began made it easy for me. I started
as Gerrys student and then I ended up in his quartet. In
a way, that brought me along. Im not sure what would
have happened in my playing world if I hadnt been in
the Danovitch Quartet. That was a cocoon of excellence,
exposure, and wonderful adventures. We were a crazy
quartet that fought like crazy and played like crazy. It kept
me really busy.
Because I was working with Gerry I was able to work
with other musicians as well, either because Gerry was the
contractor for gigs and hired me, or because people knew of
the group and our playing and Id get hired in that way as
well. Im sure someone along the way didnt hire me because
I was a woman but I didnt really feel that effect, and thats
July/August 2014
because I was already really busy doing a lot of performing. There was one
time when I walked into one of my first recording sessions in L.A. I heard
from across the room, Crap, its a girl. What I did was say hello, sit down,
and set up, until we had to play. Then I did my thing. At the end everyone
was all friendly and chatty. The thing to do is to go and play when you can,
demonstrate what you do, dont talk, dont argue, etc., and dont talk about
the role of women, because no one wants to hear about that. You just need
to play your best. Everyone deals with discrimination. Its not just being a
woman, it can be age, sex, race, culture, you name it. I do whats available
and if I dont get something I move on and find something else.
What advice do you give your women saxophone students in order to help them
deal with issues like that?
Women are famous for being chatty, so I tell my female students, Close
your mouth, open your ears, and just play and be focused. When you find out
what the group is like, then you can let go a little, maybe. There is a slight
difference in perception between chatty males or females. Unfortunately I
see some girls coming in to the business dressed to kill, but then they dont
play that well. They do get a lot of attention from all of the men around, but
I dont see them coming back very much. Its more important to be a serious
musician and be serious about how you play rather than focus on how youre
presenting yourself in the latest outfit.
In your promotional materials you state, ensemble playing is and has always
been my favorite work. There are a lot of young musicians who want to be
stars, but unless they first prove themselves as capable and highly skilled
ensemble players theyre never going to get the opportunity to really ascend
to the level of a soloist. What advice do you have for saxophonists in order to
develop good ensemble playing abilities?
I think the best thing is to have a long term group and develop them in that
manner. That was my experience so perhaps Im biased in that direction. I
was lucky to have the Danovitch Quartet. The four of us would constantly
challenge each other, and insisted on our 6 hours of group rehearsal a week,
whether we had performances or not. This gave us the freedom of time, to
dig deep into the details. There was an intensity of playing and performing
together, intuitively creating something bigger than the four of us as
individuals. That will really affect your level of musicianship. The collective
whole helps to educate you as youre doing it, and it takes time and effort.
You use the Reed Geek. How do you use it?
First, I like to resurface the back of my reed in order to make sure its
completely flat. In the front of the reed I can shave the sides down and
carefully shave right down past the end of the tip. Basically it does what a
reed knife does but I like the feel of it, compared to my knife. It is about 2
inches long, the width of a normal pencil, with 4 knife edges, and the end has
some tiny corners that can shape the smallest area.
You also use the RR 200 Glass Reed Resurfacer. How do you use it?
Its like a piece of sandpaper that has a very very fine sandpaper quality
to it. You can polish your reed on the back with it or shave it down lightly.
I use it a lot to hold my reed for resurfacing. When you have a bassoon reed
you place a plaque inside before you work on the tip. The RR 200 Glass Reed
Resurfacer device is handy with its little glass tray, which is about three
inches by two inches. It is the perfect size to handle baritone reeds as I work
on them, as well as polish the bottom.
Youve played around the world in various climates. Do you have any kind of
a special process you go through in order to make sure you always have reeds
that are available and ready to play no matter the humidity or temperature?
I dont do anything special. I just practice and see what it feels like. My
thought process is, Okay, this is how its feeling today, I will have to just
Saxophone Today
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blishe
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To the
Music for the classical saxophone
. 3 3 >
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Paul Cohen - Proprietor

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420 Lantana Avenue
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Un Abrazo Para Sharon [A Hug for Sharon]
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53
work with what Ive got. The hardest reeds to work with are
the double reeds, the bassoon. Compared to working with
bassoon reeds, all of the other instrument reeds I play on
are a piece of cake and I dont worry about them too much.
Maybe its because Im mostly playing baritone. The smaller
horns are fussier than the big horns with regard to this
issue, but baritone reeds will kind of work no matter what
you do, at least thats how I feel.
Your performance abilities are astounding on clarinet,
and I love your recording of the Voyage Pentatonal. Some
saxophonists have told me when they want to practice their
saxophone technique they go to the clarinet and practice on
that instrument because the technique on clarinet has to be
more precise than on the saxophone. Do you do this as well?
I dont do that but I know the reason everyone suggests
saxophonists start on clarinet is because you cant get
away with mistakes on the clarinet, such as having a bad
embouchure, having your fingers not be lined up correctly,
etc. Those kinds of problems really show up on clarinet.
I do my work on saxophone and when I play on clarinet I
try to be as precise on that instrument as I can be. I did it
backwards, but I do understand how clarinet is the way to
start because you cant hide your mistakes.
Truthfully, I hid everything by starting on baritone. I did
not do anything right. I didnt even learn how to correctly
tongue the baritone saxophone until seven years after
college. At that point I finally understood what people had
been trying to tell me. I did not play clarinet early, and that
might have helped me learn to tongue, but if I had gone
that route I also dont think I would have ended up with the
sound I have on baritone. By starting and doing everything
wrong I just developed what I could do to make it work.
Later on I found out what was right and that helped me
be a better teacher in order to help others figure out what
theyre doing wrong. In the end, what I use for practicing is
whatever instrument is in my hand at the time.
You have played on a lot of studio sessions on a lot recordings
in a wide variety of countless genres. In fact, you are the
consummate studio musician. For someone who is getting
their first opportunity to do a studio gig, what advice do you
have for them?
Have great reeds and a good warm-up. When recording
with various chamber groups over the years, it was all about
the rehearsal preparation, and then being able to let go and
perform in the moment. We had to do every movement in one
take, no splicing in the early days; or else it was live to tape,
no splicing for that either. In L.A., sometimes you might not
even know what genre you will be playing. You pick the reed
and mouthpiece combinations that will give you the best
sound for what youre doing in your own work.
Once youre in the room, you do the style with the way
you create your sound with your body. As we know, there
are a lot of people who say so-and-so was a great imitator
of Charlie Parker, or some other player. You can learn to
develop a sound like a different person and create it. Then
when you learn to create your own sound that will come
through no matter what equipment youre using. So when
you have a recording session you need to pick your best stuff
and be free to play.
54
When I interviewed saxophonist George Shelby he told a

story about being in his backyard doing some yard work
when he got a call to be in the studio in one hour for a session
with Barry Manilow. How do you practice in order to be
ready at a moments notice?
I practice or play every day. I try to keep my horns
in shape, and always have my best reeds ready to go.
Sometimes Ive had to play an instrument I wasnt expecting
to play, and I hadnt played it very much in the days leading
up to the session, but when you have a really good reed, or
preferably three or four, that saves your bacon.
Many times studio sessions are sightreading sessions. In fact,
a lot of professional work is showing up and sightreading the
music down at the gig. Those who work are those who can
sightread music at a high level. What advice do you have for
young saxophonists when it comes to developing sightreading
abilities?
We do a lot of that in the lessons I teach my students.
We always do five to ten minutes of sight-reading time in
every lesson because students dont usually do it on their
own. I think students feel intimidated by sight-reading
because theyre not always sure if theyre playing something
correctly, if their rhythms are right, if theyve got it the way
its supposed to sound, etc.
I have a great book, Joe Violas Rhythm Studies, and it
has crazy duets that look so simple, but Ive stymied every
student with this book because what the exercises look like
and what they sound like are two different things, especially
in jazz. You have to know whats coming from experience,
and interpret it correctly. People tend to learn to interpret
classical music right from the beginning. If you see a quarter
note you tongue and you play the length of the beat, etc. But
in jazz it is often the opposite. In lessons I have students
play both classical and jazz with me, almost every lesson.
You were on tour with the Danovitch Quartet a lot. When on
the road, how and where do you practice in order to make
sure you dont end up with something musicians call roadchops?
That was always a real challenge. Many times we didnt
get into the hotel until often very late at night, 10:30 or 11
PM. I would turn the TV on very low, and then I would start
what I called whisper practicing, and I would play softer
than the TV. I could play for an hour or two, and nobody
could really hear it. Of course I wasnt developing tone, but
it was absolutely necessary for all that tonguing we used to
do with all of the crazy pieces in the Danovitch book. I had
to practice at least an hour every day while on tour or it
wouldnt come out. When youre touring you want your best
stuff to come out every time you play, new country new city,
it didnt matter, you wanted to sound your best, and that
meant having to practice, all of us, in our rooms every day. I
noticed the others didnt do nighttime practicing, but I could
not miss a day due to travel, so I made it work for me by
doing whisper practicing.
A lot of musicians have fallen victim to over-excess on tours.
What advice do you have for musicians who find themselves
on tour in order to survive the road experience?
Our tours were usually on the short side, two to three
July/August 2014
weeks. Any longer than that Im sure that there is a

different level of tour life one would have to deal with. The
biggest thing is to make sure you stay healthy and focused.
I have seen, in many of the other kinds of jobs Ive done,
people going out and partying, then the next day they were
not able to function very well. I was always more straight
ahead than that. I made sure I slept, ate well and practiced
because you cant take off when on tour. With the Danovitch
Quartet I found the program so exacting I had to be only
focused on that. Once in a while wed have an afternoon off,
but all we did was go out to eat. I didnt go hiking, rent a
boat or car, I did nothing but stay focused on what I needed
to do.
Frankly, I found the concert took everything out of me so
I had to stay focused on the playing. I also did tours with
Johnny Mathis in Eastern Canada, and a tour with others
like Liberace, but they were always on the short side. I was
never a person who was in a show and doing a six-month
tour. I think playing longer tours is a different experience.
Playing in an orchestra is not something many saxophonists
have the opportunity to do, but occasionally they are given
the occasion to do this. Youve played in a wide variety of
orchestral settings including with the marvelous Montreal
Symphony. What advice do you have for saxophonists, in
order to be successful, should they be given the opportunity to
play with a symphony orchestra?
I feel like a broken record, but you have to be prepared,
have your best reeds, close your mouth, open your ears,
things like this are important in order to be focused on
the job at hand. Take the experience youve had over the
years and put it into play. You dont get an orchestra job
overnight. You have to develop your way of being and thats
what you take to the gig. As a baritone saxophonist with a
symphony I performed An American In Paris. I was playing
in sax quartets all the time and that made me prepared
to play and tune in a manner consistent with classical
ensembles.
I also learned to have precise articulations that were not
jazz oriented. I did hear some of the saxophonists perform
with jazz articulations and it was a harder experience for
them. They werent used to a precise downbeat, they didnt
have precise tonguing for entrances, and they sweated out
the experience much more than I did because I already had
that training.
As a clinician, youve given concerts and masterclasses
throughout the world. When youre going to work with groups
of musicians for a limited engagement type of situation, is
there an overriding concept you like to emphasize during
your time with them?
With students I find one needs to focus on tone, sound and
air support. Ive seen this in my teaching of masterclasses
and Ive seen it when others do masterclasses. I was just at
the International Double Reed Society convention, and the
year before I went to the clarinet symposium in L.A., and all
the teachers had the same thing in mind, even for the very
top students. The clinicians all worked on tone projection.
Even in the clinics with the greatest university players,
young performers get a little nervous and hold back a little.
The clinicians all had the performers sing out more and give
Saxophone Today
direction to their line of music. This is the one thing that

I also notice whether Im giving the masterclass myself or
watching others give them.
As a college teacher, what is the one aspect of saxophone
performance you feel high school saxophonists should work
on more before coming to college?
I dont know about other places, but I swear the biggest
complaint for community colleges here is that it is impossible
to get the students to play scales. Somehow they were never
taught how important it is to play these when they first
started out on the instrument. So unfortunately, for my
students, I will take 45 minutes out of their hour lesson to
work the scales they didnt work on at home. I will sit there
with the metronome and work with them on precision and
tuning, and we will go over every note in painful detail. I
know it drives them crazy but I need them to understand
how to practice these things when theyre on their own.
I will often take several lessons to go over this, point by
point. They dont seem to understand the how of practicing,
and scalular practice seems to be the biggest part theyve
missed. They have either not bothered to learn their scales or
previous teachers have let them slide by without doing them.
Students all need a little help with their studies, and it is our
job to make sure they understand how to reap the benefits of
their practice sessions.
Nancy Newmans Selected Discography
With The Gerald Danovitch Saxophone Quartet

Celebration: One Hundred and Fifty Years
Of The Saxophone
GDSQ with guest artist Eugene Rousseau
(McGill University Records, 1991)
Free Trade
GDSQ & the New York Saxophone Quartet
(CBC JazzImage, 1989)
Patriquin Earthpeace One
GDSQ guest artists (A Tempo, 1988)
Gerald Danovitch Saxophone Quartet
(CBC Records, 1987)
Jones Three Preludes And A Fugue
GDSQ guest artists (1986)
Sketches Esquisses
GDSQ (McGill University Records, 1985)
With Others
With John Daversa
Junk Wagon (BFM, 2011)
With Clare Fischer
Continuum (CD Baby, 2011)
With Shelly Berg
Chop Monster Jr. (Alfred Jazz, 2003)
With Ed Shaughnessy
Time, Taste, Technique & Timbre, Big Band Drumming (Hal
Leonard, 2004)
Nancy Newmans Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/nancy.newman.5891
Nancy Newman & Julia Nolan Duo
http://www153.pair.com/bensav/Interpretes/NewmanNola.html
Gerald Danovitch Saxophone Quartet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Danovitch_Saxophone_
Quartet
55
Selling Your Music Online

Selling Music Online, Part II - TuneCore
By David Babich
Aggregator, Part II
TuneCore
Click Blue Text To View Webpages
his is the second article in a series covering how

to sell your music on the internet. My first article
covered an aggregator, CDBaby, and this article
introduces one of their rivals, TuneCore. In case you missed
my first article, an aggregator is basically a collector
and distributor (seller) CDs and/or digital music files to
consumers via popular oneline retailers, like iTunes. And
as everyone knows, iTunes only sells music as digital
downloads, no CDs.
All Apple aggregators (like TuneCore) make sure
your digital music is compatible for selling online,
whether CDs, digital music downloads (either or both in
some cases) In this process an aggregator (like TuneCore)
will assign UPC/ISRC information, manufacture CDs and
will list your music for sale (CDs and digital music files)
on iTunes, Amazon MP3, Facebook, Google Play, Spotify,
Shazam, Rhapsody, Xbox Music, among several others, most
of which will take a percentage cut of your sales.
Its important to understand that iTunes and
Amazon MP3 require that you go through an aggregator
because they wont deal directly with an individual artist.
And you may run across issues requiring a certain number
of tunes to qualify for selling music online. Plus each
aggregator has different pricing so its important to consider
their rates.
TuneCore is a big name aggregator with whom iTunes
collaborates, and TuneCore is the focus of this article.
Visiting TuneCores website they allow you to set up a free
account using your name, country, email, and password for
TuneCore (click agree box, click create free account and
your good to go).
TuneCores pricing is different than CDBaby. For an
album (CD) of digital music files TuneCore charges $29.99
for the first year and then $49.99 each following year until
you close your account. With TuneCore you pay all the
money up front once a year, every year.
Single distribution (one tune) via TuneCore is $9.99 for
the first year and then $9.99 each following year. TuneCore
doesnt take a percentage cut of every digital music sale
because you pay them a lump sum every year you have an
account with them. iTunes will take their 30% of sales as a
commission, leaving you with about $.69 from a $.99 sale.
After you set up an account with TuneCore the
process is comparable to uploading digital music at
CDBaby. Uploads should be in a .wav format. If the song
isnt in a .wav format they show you how to convert it. When
uploading the cover image, it should be square (1600 x 1600
56
pixels), a jpeg or GIF image file. The jpeg image in particular

should be a high resolution image (and 1600 X 1600 pixels
is a high resolution .jpeg. GIF files default to a particular
resolution so there isnt much control Gifs, other than have
a super poor image to start with (which is not good). Its best
to refer to TuneCores image requirements and follow their
guidelines.
After your music is uploaded and reviewed by
TuneCore, they distribute your music to iTunes, Amazon
MP3, Spotify, Rdio, Google Play, xbox music, Rhapsody, and
many more.
Artists keep the rights to their original music, however
TuneCore does offer publishing contracts in which an artist
gives up the rights to their music in exchange for a wellorchestrated system of royalty collections from usage rights
to plain sales of digital music worldwide. Which way you
should go is a decision only you, the artist, can make.
As stated earlier, TuneCore has a simple process
for creating an account and entering album information
and individual tracks information. These setup screens are
similar to an online stores shipping info page where you
enter information into specific blocks. Uploading tracks
and album art is just like browsing for an attachment to
include in an email, which essentially means clicking on an
image file on your computer hard drive to upload it into the
TuneCore Price
$29.99/album in 1st year

$49.99/album in subsequent
years
$9.99/single per year
TuneCore UPC/ISRC
fee
Free
Money paid to you
TuneCore does NOT take a cut

of music sales but iTunes and
others will.
CD production at
TuneCore
Duplicates CDs/DVDs with

many packaging options and
sells them to you to distribute.
Number of $.99 singles

you must sell to break
even on an album fee
About 44 in first year,

About 73 in subsequent years
July/August 2014
TuneCore system.
Its a good thing if you name your artwork file (CD cover)
perhaps the same as the title of your CD. Next come the
digital music files on your computer, and double-clicking on
them individually will make them upload to your TuneCore
account. For TuneCores in depth style and uploading guide
(a printable PDF file), click here.
After you meet all the requirements with TuneCore
(digital music files and artwork uploaded as well) TuneCore
will send your music out to the various digital music
retailers and your music will be available at those sites
within a few days. TuneCore also provides trending reports
from iTunes which detail your music sales activity.
If you decide to cancel your account they issue take
down notices to the various music retailers and your music
will be removed within 30 days. Even though you can set
your own digital selling price, lets assume a single track
from an album sells for $.99 on iTunes. With TuneCore,
youd have to sell about 44 tracks on iTunes to make your
money back in the first year and then 73 tracks/year
afterwards to break even with TuneCores album pricing (44
x $.69 = $30.36 and 73 x $.69 = $50.37).
TuneCore also has a disc (CD) manufacturing
service with 7+ production options and categories. They
will replicate CDs and DVDs, print insert pages, and make
multiple types of CD/DVD packaging including jewel cases,
DVD cases, jackets and wallet cases. For instance, 300 CDs
with color printing; in a jewel case with white tray; a 4 panel
folder (album cover, notes, etc.); shrink wrapped; and UPC
barcode will cost $875.30 including shipping. This comes
out to $2.91 per CD. TuneCore then sends the 300 CDs with
packaging to the artist to distribute.
One final and perhaps the most important thing:
before planning a new CD recording session, be sure to
clear legal obstacles prior to recording, such as obtaining
able
Avail
a mechanical recording license from the publisher of copy

righted tune, or check with the Henry Fox Agency for
mechanical licenses. Other copyright, trademark and legal
issues to consider are your groups name, the CD name,
cover artwork that should be your own creation to avoid
issues there, and make sure your fellow musicians are okay
with being recorded for distribution purposes.
TuneCore and CDBaby essentially do the same
thing when it comes to digital music distribution. The big
difference between the two companies is in pricing and CD
manufacturing/distribution. Stay tuned for my next article,
Selling Music on Amazon, which will cover topics outside of
digital music sales.
Click Blue Links To View Webpages
TuneCores Style Guide
(Multi-Page Printable PDF File)
http://www.tunecore.com/images/products/TuneCore_
Style_Guide.pdf
Convert An Audio File To .wav File

http://help.tunecore.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/15/
session/L3RpbWUvMTM4MTM2NTg0Mi9zaWQvSWJ5
bFZvQ2w%3D
Basics Of Copyright
http://www.tunecore.com/guides/basics_of_copyright
Other Apple iTunes Aggregators

https://itunesconnect.apple.com/WebObjects/
iTunesConnect.woa/wa/displayAggregators?ccTypeId=3
Now!
Back Issues Of Saxophone Today
JanuaryFebruary 2014 Issue
MarchApril 2014 Issue
MayJune 2014 Issue
Click Here To Order
Saxophone Today
57
Shunkffle O Blues
Composed By Skip Spratt For Saxophone Today

Blues: Blues
Style
Play-Along
A Play-AlongShunkffle
Duet InO Blues
Style
ForDuet
2 Altos
Or 2 Tenors
Mouthpiece Skip Used On Alto

The NY USA Meyer Hard Rubber 6M measures about .077 and is original
from the 60s. I dont believe it has been worked on.
Mouthpiece Skip Used On Tenor
The Early Babbitt Super Tone Master Otto Link USA is a 7* that measures
about .103. This was opened up to an 8 by Theo Wanne and then brought back
to about a 7* by Steve Cutcher of Philadelphia.
The mouthpieces I typically choose to play in live situations have always been
pieces with larger baffles or have been modified Meyers and Links with baffles
added. It is a pleasure to play mouthpieces like those above (without large
baffles) when playing a more traditional style such as bebop.
Skip Spratts Reeds
Ive used the same go to reed Ive used since 1987 - Vandoren Java 3 on both
mouthpieces. Back then I bought a Guardala Studio Alto and a Guardala MB 1
direct from Dave Guardala I asked him what reeds he suggested for those pieces
and he said, Java 3. Ive used them ever since. Tried just about everything
else along the way and have changed mouthpieces but have stuck with Java 3
(original green box).
PLAYING THIS DUET PLAY-ALONG
Next Up Funk sheet music
With mp3 Sound File
This duet is for 2 altos or 2 tenors using the same sheet music in Saxophone
Today for either combination. Everybody reads the Saxophone Today sheet
music in G on their horn.
The mp3 for alto plays in Bb concert. The mp3 for tenor plays in F concert.
Pan left or right (stereo) with speakers, to play-along with Sax 1 or Sax
2 part. You choose.
For Skip Spratts Live Spoken Introduction Guide Click Link Below:
http://www.saxophonetoday.com/v/vspfiles/mp3files/ShunkffleOBluesIntro.mp3
GUIDELINES FOR DOWNLOADING SKIPS PLAY-ALONG SOUND FILES
These .mp3 Sound Files Are Playable With Apple Quicktime Or Windows Media Player
Windows Or Mac Desktop Or Laptop Computer
We recommed using the zip mp3 sound file (download to hard drive) version to easily download and save to
your desktop or laptop computer. Youll have three choices (Open, Save, Save As). For Mac OS X 10 and above
or Windows Vista, 7, 8 & Windows 8 Tablets its simple. Click Save and the mp3 will be sent to your download
folder to open. Click Save As to direct the file to any folder on your hard drive.
For the iPad 4, Android Tablet, iPhone, or Android phone
requireing a Live Feed, simply click the live un-zipped mp3 file to download and play.
Note: Live Feed also works for Windows or Mac desktop & laptop computers.
Alto Saxophone Play-Along For iPad (Mac & Windows too) Live Feed
http://www.saxophonetoday.com/v/vspfiles/mp3files/ShunkffleOBluesAlto192.mp3
Tenor Saxophone Play-Along For iPad (Mac & Windows too) Live Feed
http://www.saxophonetoday.com/v/vspfiles/mp3files/ShunkffleOBluesTenor192.mp3
Alto Saxophone Play-Along Zipped File (download to hard drive)
http://www.saxophonetoday.com/v/vspfiles/mp3files/ShunkffleOBluesAlto192.zip
Tenor Saxophone Play-Along Zipped File (download to hard drive)
http://www.saxophonetoday.com/v/vspfiles/mp3files/ShunkffleOBluesTenor192.zip
Free Stuffit Expander (if needed to un-zip zipped files)

For Mac (free download)
http://www.stuffit.com/mac-expander-v2.html?utm_expid=63775807-12.LCa1CZ2lR1yi5WStGbW2BA.1
For Windows (free download)
http://www.stuffit.com/win-expander.html
58
July/August 2014
Skip Spratt
Shunkffle O Blues 2014 by Spankys Publishing, All Rights Reserved, Used By Permission
Saxophone Today
59
Shunkffle O Blues, page 2
60
July/August 2014
Saxophone
To d a y
CD Reviews
Frank By
Bongiorno
Reviews
CD Reviews
Frank Bongiorno
& Billy Kerr
Frank Bongiorno Review

CARILLON
Dicke Luft Saxophone Quartet
Dick de Graaf (tenor saxophone), Arno Bornkamp (soprano
saxophone), Werner Janssen (alto saxophone),
Nils van Haften (baritone saxophone)
Dick de Graafs Website
http://www.dickdegraaf.com
Carillon Is Available From
Amazon, and CDBaby
axophone quartet, Dicke Luft, is a recently formed

saxophone quartet led by Dick de Graaf, and is
composed of members from the Clazz Ensemble,
a Dutch ensemble of twelve jazz, as well as, classical
musicians. A long-time veteran of the Dutch jazz scene, de
Graaf has performed throughout the world as a solo artist
and with various big bands, such as John Claytons Tribute
Big Band, Jeff Reynolds Maiden Voyage Big Band and in
the Frank Grasso Big Band, as well as alongside jazz artists
such as Kenny Wheeler, Tom Harrell, Benny Golson, and
Billy Hart, among others.
Since his debut recording in 1986, de Graaf has recorded
numerous CDs as a bandleader, composer, as well as
arranger, and has run the gamut of influences in his music
from Jim Hendrix (The Burning of the Midnight Lamp: Dick
de Graaf plays Jimi Hendrix) to multicultural music (Four
Winds). His most recent projects continue in this vein with
his Trio Nuevo: Jazz Meets Tango (2006-2009), acoustic Dick
de Graaf Quartet (2007-2009), quartet CRY BABY! (20092010), solo improvisations with Bachs cello suites (started in
2010), and his trio project Out Of The Blues: Celebrating the
Music Of Oliver Nelson (2012-2013).
Carillon is a set of twelve short movements inspired by
a concept (i.e., a piece for each hour of the clock) from an
essay, Tone Clock, written by Peter Schat. The pieces on
this CD (named after various watch makers) are Onsa,
Seiko, Mondaine, Ancre, Pontiac, Swatch, Heuer, Emporio
Armani, Dicke Pitter, D.H. Quartz, Junghans, and Omega.
Each piece allows for solos by members of the quartet, and
possesses a unique stylistic characteristic.
Opening with Onsa, the quartet immediately establishes
Saxophone Today
a well-blended sound and overall ensemble balance.

Balance and blend in the quartet seems to be driven by
an individual, as well as an ensemble awareness of a
wide range of dynamics and how to project the dynamics
tastefully for any given situation within the music. Solos by
each member of the ensemble can be heard throughout the
CD, as de Graaf has written opportunities for the musicians
to improvise by weaving the soloist in and out of the
arrangement and of the texture.
De Graaf was able to brand each piece with a unique
musical stamp of sound, texture, and/or style. Onsas driving
rhythm leads to Seikos pointed dissonances and ostinato
for solos, while Pontiac is driven by the sounds and rhythms
generated by the baritone saxophone, with interjecting,
punctuated chord accents by the ensemble. Swatch is a
mutli-styled piece with a strong opening before moving to a
mysterious sounding middle section with a quasi stop-time
for the alto, then soprano saxophone solos. Emporio Armani
also has several moods, from its introspective slower moving
sections, to an almost euphoric mood during the baritone
saxophone solo. On the other end, Heur is based upon a
variation of a recurring theme anchoring the composition
and the soloist throughout.
Dick de Graaf has written an intriguing set of pieces with
unique stylistic traits that not only showcases the best of
each quartet member, but also provides an imaginative
tapestry of sound for the listener to enjoy. Add to this the
high level of artistry and musicianship each member of the
quartet brings to the table, and you have a recording that
has much to offer.
FOR US, THE LIVING
Andrew Hadro
Andrew Hadro (baritone saxophone), Daniel Foose (double
bass), Carmen Staaf (grand piano), Matt Wilson (drums)
Andrew Hadros Website
http://www.andrewhadro.com
For Us, The Living Is Available From
iTunes, Amazon and CD Baby
61
or Us, The Living is the debut solo recording of

baritone saxophonist Andrew Hadro. While dedicated
to the jazz musicians who came before him, the
CD focuses on new music, and in particular, compositions
written by composers and musicians of the day. With the
supporting cast of a rhythm section led be veteran drummer
Matt Wilson, the CD explores the various color and textures
found in the new music of todays jazz musician/composers.
Born in Mexico City, Hadros family moved about a bit
before settling in the Chicago Area. His early significant
studies were on flute, but he soon focused his attention to
baritone saxophone, especially during his years in high
school at the well-known New Trier High School. Upon
graduating he moved to New York and attended the New
School for Jazz and Contemporary music. He later went
on to perform as a sideman with various jazz groups and
leaders, such as the Duke Ellington Orchestra, James
Moody, the Bjorkestra, Tony Malaby, Chico Hamilton,
among others, and currently performs with his own group,
the Andrew Hadro Quartet, as well as touring with Junior
Mances quintet. Hadro teaches at the Litchfield Jazz
Camp and teaches lessons at the Lucy Moses School. He
is currently the curator of JazzBariSax.com, a website
dedicated to the baritone saxophone.
For Us, The Living is Hadros dedication to the jazz giants
before him and a celebration of the jazz giants to come.
The title is apropos, as it is taken from Abraham Lincolns
Gettysburg Address, where Lincoln encouraged Americans
to pay tribute to the fallen, but also to look forward to the
future.
Of the ten compositions on the CD, Hadro wrote six. The
CD opens with an anthem-like piece, Allegrecia. From a
subtle, understated opening, it builds to a fanfare climax,
before resolving after a driving section led by pianist Staaf.
Hadros improvisatory energy and Wilsons cymbal work
provide a sturdy foundation, and is the perfect vehicle for
the compositions development and momentum throughout.
Forever, All Ways begins with an introductory flute solo,
and then swings into a bouncy six feel, la Spain. Driving,
festive, and animated accurately describes Hadros Bright
Eyes, with Staaf and Wilson once again propelling the group,
and it sounds like they are having fun doing so.
The title cut, For Us, The Living, is an upbeat Latin groove
with as much propulsion as the other compositions, but with
a gentler lilt to it. Hadros Wading the Sea, begins almost
nautical sounding with the textures and rhythmic sounds
produced by the group as it moves from serene to slightly
tempestuous at times before settling. Hurricane Sandy is
a minor blues riff that features Hadro playing with only
drums, and affording him the opportunity to experiment
with extended techniques and sounds on the baritone
saxophone while Wilson lays down a sturdy foundation
underneath.
The remaining tunes on the CD, Give by Julian Shore, Sea
of Tranquility by Maria Schneider, Paola by Ryan Anselmi,
and Cotton by James Davis, all fit within the context and
plan established by Hadro and his tunes. From the gentle
balladic opening of Give and Sea of Tranquility, to the
groove of Paola, and almost gospel like flavor of Cotton, each
composition on this CD has a natural growth and resolution
that allows the listener to be attracted, involved in the music
62
as it unfolds, and then relax when its over.

Hadros debut CD is not only intriguing, but also performed
with conviction and fortitude of musical style and musical
choices made. The result is authentic, listenable, and a very
nice musical change of pace for the discriminating listener.
BOLERO
Ellipsos Quartet
Paul-Fathi Lacombe (soprano saxophone), Julien Brchet
(altosaxophone), Sylvain Jarry (tenor saxophone),
Nicolas Herrout (baritone saxophone)
Bolero Is Available From
iTunes and Amazon
olero is a recording of French music arranged, as well

as written for the saxophone quartet, and performed
on this CD by the Ellipsos Quartet. The Ellipsos
Quartet met during their studies at the Conservatoire
Suprieur de Musique de Paris, and subsequently formed in
Nantes in 2004. The groups repertoire ranges from earlier
works written or arranged for the saxophone, through to the
most contemporary of works for the saxophone. The quartet
remains active on the international scene as performers and
clinicians, and holds a saxophone camp each year. Bolero
is the latest recording by the quartet, and follows two other
acclaimed recordings, Medina and Peer Gynt.
Over half of the music recorded on this CD is the music
of Maurice Ravel. While Ravel incorporated saxophone in
two of the most oft played, and popular orchestral pieces,
Bolero and his arrangement of Pictures at an Exhibition, he
did not compose pieces for the saxophone quartet. However,
the arrangements and performances of Ravels Pavane pour
une Infante Dfuncte, Le Tombeau de Couperin, and Bolero
not only depict the many colors of his music robustly and
vibrantly, but also allow the beauty and elegance of his
themes to soar and shine brightly.
Pavane is performed delicately and with extreme control
of dynamics in all registers of the saxophone. Originally
written for piano, and later orchestrated by Ravel in 1919,
the arrangement of Le Tombeau de Couperin on this CD also
includes the Toccata, which Ravel chose not to orchestrate
in his orchestral arrangement. Regardless, the music and
performance on the CD are breathtaking, from the animated
opening Prelude to its boisterous concluding Toccata.
The quartets sonorous sound and meticulous technique
breathes life into this piece with musical balance, vigor and
excitement. The title cut, Bolero, has been reduced down
from thirty-six orchestral parts to four saxophones and snare
drum. While Ravels orchestral colors are not as prevalent,
the reduction is quite convincing and the performance is
believable because the arrangement, as well as performers,
accentuate the range of colors and dynamic contrasts that
function as the foundation of this piece.
Original works for saxophone quartet by Piern, Escaich,
and Franaix are the remaining pieces of the CD. Pierns
Introduction et Variations sur une was written late in the
composers career after he had already established himself
as a composer and conductor. The quartets attention to
balance and blend allows the rich harmony to be sonorous
and the contrapuntal passages to be matched and even
July/August 2014
Billy Kerr Reviews
among the voices. The two pieces by Escaich are the newer
works on the CD. Le Bal is the most recent of the two (the
other piece being Tango Virtuoso), and was performed by
the Quatuor Jean-Yves Fourmeau in 2003 for the World
Saxophone Congress held in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The
piece often moves from veiled, subdued sections to sections
stout with sound and dynamics, while at times extending the
range and technical demands of the instrument. Ellipsos is
up to the challenge and offers a convincing rendition of the
piece, in all aspects.
Although written approximately the same time as Pierns
piece, Franaixs Petit Quatour was written early in his
career when he was an up-and-coming young composer.
The three movements range in mood from humoresque to
solemn, and back to humorous. The ensembles restraint and
overall control allows the piece to project just the right mood,
without sounding strained or forced.
The pieces on the CD and the performances are certainly
first-class in every way possible. Great music performed
by excellent musicians transcends typical parameters and
becomes monumental, and this recording succeeds in doing
just that.
Billy Kerr Review
REEDS RAMBLE
Criss Cross Jazz 1364
Seamus Blake/Criss Cheek
Seamus Blake (tenor saxophone), Criss Cheek (tenor and
soprano saxophones), Ethan Iverson (piano),
Matt Penman (bass), Jochen Rueckert (drums)
Seamus Blakes Website
www.seamusblake.com
Criss Cheeks Website
www.crisscheek.net
Criss Cross Jazz Website
www.crisscrossjazz.com
Reeds Ramble Is Available From
Amazon, iTunes, & allmusic.com
eamus Blake and Criss Cheek first met as students
at the Berklee College of Music in Boston over twenty
years ago, and in the intervening years, both have
been staunch keepers of the jazz tenor saxophone flame.
Besides their experiences together in school ensembles
including Herb Pomeroys big band, the two saxophonists
were band mates in The Bloomdadies, a groove oriented
group with electric bass and two drummers. Blake and
Cheek meet as co-leaders for the first time since then with
this recording, paying homage to Bloomdadies as well as
other two tenor bands, like Al & Zoot, Lockjaw & Johnny
Saxophone Today
Griffin and Stitt & Ammons.

The music is an eclectic collection of tunes spanning the
worlds of Pop and jazz, and one original by each of the two
leaders. The two decided to try to find music that was not
intrinsically associated with jazz, but would work well in
this format. The CD opener, Na Carreira by Chico Buarque,
was chosen by Cheek who says, On the original recording
there are two voices that traded phrases and sang in
unison at points, the very same technique used by the two
tenors here. As you listen to the track (and the entire CD, for
that matter), the two horns play with seemingly one voice.
Not unlike listening to the previously mentioned Al & Zoot
duo, without a scorecard, its difficult to know who is playing
at any given time. Blake and Cheek share similarities in
timbre, phrasing and time feel as well as harmonic mastery.
Blake has an amazing ability to navigate the altissimo range
and has a bit more snap, crackle and pop when he plays
fast runs. The solos here, starting with Cheek, are melodic
and inventive.
1974 Blues, by Eddie Harris, Blakes first selection for
the date is a quirky, straight-eighth tune, in 7/4. After the
mostly unison presentation of the melody, Blake comes in
screamin in the altissimo register, and proceeds to profess
the blues and every other language you can think of, in a
tour-de-force solo venture. Cheek is next up gettin funky,
starting at the other end of the horn. While laying down real
blues lines, he manages to be melodic, sounding very much
like Warne Marsh. Obviously, both these guys were absent
the day the word went out that playing in seven could be
uncomfortable; they take to it like ducks to water.
Holodeck Waltz, by Jim Beard, finds the two horns trading
notes, once again, on the pointalistic melody, this time with
Cheek on soprano. The calm, reserved nature of the tune
is invaded by Blakes high-intensity, no holds barred solo,
once again using the entire range of the horn as his pallet.
Cheeks solo starts on the more melodic side but quickly
moves toward high energy, all the while displaying a lovely,
controlled soprano sound.
De Dah, by pianist Elmo Hope, is a medium tempo tune
recorded by Clifford Brown. Normally people play on
Rhythm changes, but we decided to play on the changes
of the actual head, which are a bit thicker, says Blake.
The cats play two choruses each, Cheek, first up favoring
the lower end of the horn, plays a nice swinging, layback,
melodic solo. Blake plays with a bit more rhythmic
insistence, playing at the top end of the range; nobody, by
the way, has any trouble with the harmony.
Two more tunes of particular interest are I Surrender
63
Dear, by Harry Barris and Gordon Clifford and All About

Me, penned by Blake. Surrender is based on Thelonious
Monks unaccompanied version from the Brilliant Corners
album. Here, Cheek transcribed the performance and
assigned some of the lines to the tenors. As before, the
tenors trade bits of the melody back and forth and then play
Monks left hand stuff while the piano plays the melody of
the bridge. The real attraction on this cut is the one chorus
piano solo by Iverson after the statement of the melody. His
solo starts out melodically, but by the bridge, deteriorates
into a wild Monkesque caricature, sounding like the maestro
in either one of his more or less lucid moments; I cant tell
which. Blake plays a chorus of his own before the return
of the bridge and out. Me, based on the changes of All of
Me, and dedicated to the Facebook generation, begins in
an up-tempo Latin groove. The tenors play the demanding
unison line making way for good solos by Penman on bass
and Iverson on piano. The tenors play several high-powered
choruses beginning with Blake, eventually trading eights
with Ruechert. This cut promises to leave a smile on your
face for three days.
Its great to hear a couple of guys in their early 40s who
can play in the idiom of today and who are willing and able
to keep the time-honored jazz tradition alive; Blake, and
Cheek do it in spades, check them out.
Billy Kerr Review
LIFELINE
Jazzheads JH1208
The Bill Kirchner Nonet
Bill Kirchner (composer-arranger, conductor), Dick Oatts
(soprano and alto saxophones, flute, alto flute, clarinet,
piccolo), Ralph Lalama (tenor saxophone, flute, alto
flute, clarinet), Kenny Berger (baritone saxophone, bass
clarinet, flute), Bud Burridge and Andy Gravish (trumpet,
flugelhorn), Douglas Purviance (bass trombone), Carlton
Holmes (piano), Chip Jackson (bass), Ron Vincent, (drums)
Bill Kirchners Website
www.jazzsuite.com
Jazzheads Website
www.jazzheads.com
Lifeline Is Available Only As A Download From:
Amazon, iTunes, & allmusic.com
axophonist Bill Kirchner wears many hats in the

world of music. As a composer/arranger he has written
for his Nonet and Quartet for nearly thirty years, as
an educator, he has been on the faculty of The New School
for Jazz and Contemporary Music since 1991. In addition,
Kirchner hosts his own jazz radio program on WBGO-FM in
New Jersey and has written many articles on jazz and is the
editor of The Oxford Companion to Jazz.
Lifeline, recorded live at The New School on November
13, 2001, marks the Nonets fifth recording since 1982.
The music, all arranged by Kirchner, is a mixture of jazz
compositions by others, a little known standard by Cole
Porter and several pieces by the leader.
The CD opener, Fancy Dance, by Joe Sample is a nice,
medium-tempo swinger, with the melody played by flugels
and flutes in octaves and a simple counter line played by
bass trombone. Bassist Chip Jackson is in for the first solo,
64
showing everything and more that can be done on a bass by

a highly skilled operator, followed by an excellent trumpet
solo by Andy Gravish. Kenny Berger turns the heat up
a notch on the baritone, showing the influence of Pepper
Adams. Although Berger is not as well known as other NY
baritone players, he is one of the best practitioners on that
horn anywhere. Brother Brown, a bright tempo Brazilian
tune by Marshall Hawkins is next and features another
member of the saxophone section, Ralph Lalama on tenor.
A longstanding member of the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra,
Lalamas melodic, energetic lines sail through the changes
with ease.
Cole Porters Dream Dancing, written for a 1941 film
titled Youll Never Get Rich, is for me, the money tune
on the recording. Taken in a medium-up tempo two, the
statement of the melody is shared by Bud Burridge on
flugelhorn and Doug Purviance on bass trombone, followed
by several tasty, harmon muted choruses by Gravish. Next
up in the batters box is Dick Oatts on alto, delivering one
of the most inventive solos of the date. The first chorus is
just alto and bass, with Oatts layering one jagged line on
top of another. He rarely resolves tones were you think they
should go, but youre always pleased with his solutions. Once
the rest of the rhythm section comes in, the intensity just
keeps building; his great time feel and unique sound make
for a sensational solo. Carlton Holmes rounds out the solo
activities before the band brings the chart home.
The title tune is actually a three-part suite, appropriately
titled Lifeline Suite. The first movement, Holding Patterns,
consists of three contrapuntal lines for the horns while
the rhythm section has no written music, but are merely
instructed to listen and respond. The effect is that of
controlled chaos, and according to Kirchner, sounds
remarkably different every time. The second movement, Try
To Understand, is a ballad whose rather intricate melody
is played by unison alto flutes and sounds like it should
be a central theme in a film. The tune has been recorded
before by the composer on his quartet CD, Everything I
Love, with lyrics by bassists/singer Jay Leonhart and sung
by Jackie Cain. Incidentally, this lovely arrangement has
all the earmarks of one of Kirchners mentors, the great Bob
Brookmeyer. The final movement, For Judy, written for
Kirchners wife, begins with a series of slowly arpeggiated
piano chords and Oatts improvising slow, carefully chosen
responses on alto. When the rest of the rhythm section
enters at tempo de burno, Oatts is off and running on the
modal harmony. While there is no real melodic line, the
piece is a study in controlled freedom, ending with a single
arpeggio from the piano.
The final tune of the concert and CD, is Denny Zeitlins
lovely piece, Quiet Now. The one chorus arrangement, set as
a tone poem, uses dense harmony taken from the composers
own written out piano voicings.
Due to a serious illness over twenty years ago, Kirchner was
forced to curtail most of his performing activities and instead
has redirected his musical focus elsewhere. Part of that
focus has been directed at composing/arranging, and leading
this terrific Nonet. Since he is obviously at the top of his
game with respect to the previously mentioned items, I look
forward more great music from Kirchner and the band.
July/August 2014
Billy Kerr Review

SIXTEEN SUNSETS
Outline Records OTL 141
Jane Ira Bloom
Jane Ira Bloom (soprano saxophone),
Dominic Fallacaro (piano),
Cameron Brown (bass), Matt Wilson (drums)
Jane Ira Blooms Website
www.janeirabloom.com
Out-line Records Website
www.cellarlive.com
Sixteen Sunsets Is Available From:
Amazon, iTunes, & allMusic.com.
Arrangements Of
Nighthawk Tunes
From Greg Yasinitsky & Nighthawk

The Pianoless Jazz Band
For 2 Saxophones Drums & Bass
(Piano leadsheet included)
Available Exclusively
From Saxophone Today
EACH ARRANGEMENT
All sheet music parts come in one PDF file, which includesa full
score, saxophone parts, bass part, drum part, and an optional piano
part.The accompanying play-along sound file is anmp3 music file
(256 bitrate for a high quality sound)!
oprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom has been a

mainstay on the international jazz scene for more
than thirty years, delving primarily into original
music covering many genres, including electronic and the
avant-garde. The recipient of many awards and media
profiles, Bloom is the first musician ever commissioned
by the NASA Art Program, and if thats not enough,
was also honored by having an asteroid named in her
honor by the International Astronomical Union (asteroid
6083janeirabloom). She holds BA and Masters degrees from
Yale University, and studied with legendary saxophone
teacher, Joe Viola.
Sixteen Sunsets departs from Blooms usual fare, in that
the program consists of standards and ballads with the
edition of six originals by the leader. Her approach to the
ballads is very personal and melodic as is the case with CD
opener, For All We Know. Bloom has always had her own
sound, but added to that you hear a sense of melancholy in
her playing, which is also evident in her own composition,
What She Wanted. Other tunes receiving similar treatment
are I Loves You Porgy, Darn That Dream and The Way You
Look Tonight (a duet with piano), But Not For Me and My
Ship (performed a cappella).
Blooms compositions, Ice Dancing (for Torvill & Dean),
and Primary Colors, take you to melodic places you dont
expect to visit. The former is a bolero with a haunting,
winding melody, over a pad of modal harmony. The latter,
beginning with a rubato statement of the melody, by soprano
and piano, moves into a moderate samba. Here the melody
is straightforward while the harmony moves through several
keys at unexpected times.
Bloom pays tribute to Billie Holiday with the well-known
Good Morning Heartache, and the lesser-known Left Alone,
written by Lady Day and Mal Waldron. Nice solos by
Fallacaro and Brown on piano and bass respectively followed
by the leader herself.
Blooms composition, Bird Experiencing Light, a rubato
tone poem, closes the CD. Soprano and piano are the main
contributors here; soprano playing the lovely melody and
piano providing the lush harmony, while the bass and drums
add splashes of color.
Jane Ira Bloom has always possessed an original voice; that
voice is present here whether she is playing her own or the
music of others. You can hear it all in this presentation.
PLAY-ALONG MP3 TUNES (How The Play-Along Works)

Each Nighthawk play-along .mp3 tune begins with a count-off by
Greg, and by adjusting your left-right stereo balance control either
way one saxophone part is cut out or diminished enough for you to
play along with the other saxophone part. And vice versa.

Whether you use just the sheet music for your band, the playalong for personal enjoyment or teaching a student, or even use
the play-along on a gig with just you playing saxophone backed by
Nighthawk, it all works. Enjoy!

ABOUT THE TUNES

By Chance (composed arranged by Greg Yasinitsky)
By Chance, scored for two tenor saxophones, bass and drums, is
a beautiful, lyrical ballad with expressive, distinctive changes. For
the bassist and drummer, only a concert lead sheet is included to
encourage creative accompaniment from those players.
Extra Slick (composed arranged by Greg Yasinitsky)
Extra Slick, scored for tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, bass
and drums, is a contrafact (new melody) written to changes of What
is This Thing Called Love utilizing melodic minor modes throughout
the head. The tune has a cool jazz vibe to it and the arrangement
includes a soli passage played in unison by the saxophones and
bass. Included is an optional piano part.
Hangtown Fry (composed arranged by Greg Yasinitsky)
Hangtown Fry, scored for two tenor saxophones, bass and drums,
is a hard-swinging, funky shuffle. The tune includes rhythm section
breaks, a fun blowing section and an ensemble, drum exchange.
Included is an optional piano part.
Nighthawk (composed arranged by Greg Yasinitsky) is scored for
two tenor saxophones, bass and drums, was the first tune composed
especially for our group. It alternates between a funky hip hop groove
(funk shuffle) and a swinging bridge with bebop changes. This one is
a lot of fun!
PLAY-ALONG MP3 TUNES (How The Play-Along Works)

Each Nighthawk play-along .mp3 tune begins with a count-off
by Greg, and by adjusting your left-right stereo balance control either
way one saxophone part is cut out or diminished enough for you to
play along with the other saxophone part. And vice versa.

Whether you use just the sheet music for your band, the playalong for personal enjoyment or teaching a student, or even use
the play-along on a gig with just you playing saxophone backed by
Nighthawk, it all works. Enjoy!
Click Here To Order
Saxophone Today
65
Saxophone
Saxophone Products And News
Click Blue Links Below To View Web Pages
DANSR Launches
New Website
April 2014, Chicago, IL To kick off a year-long

celebration of its tenth anniversary, DANSR, Inc. is pleased
to announce the launch of the all-new DANSR.com.
Designed in partnership with the award-winning Todd
Allen Design, the new site will be a portal for musicians,
industry professionals, teachers, students, parents
everyone wanting the latest information on DANSR and its
brands, Vandoren and Denis Wick. The new site features
easier-than-ever access to product information, artist bios,
videos, and more.
Our dealers and artists have been offering suggestions
all along and weve been listening, offered Vandoren
Brand Manager Andy Blanco. The new site is mobilefriendly, easy to navigate, and visually stunning. Plus,
the new interface will make the popular WAVE Vandoren
e-newsletter much easier to read.
To view the new site and for more information on
DANSR, Inc., visit www.DANSR.com.

Contact for further information:
Andy Blanco
312-475-0464, ext. 202
andyb@dansr.com
www.DANSR.com
66
Just a Little off the Top:

Vandoren Cuts In With An
All-New Line
Of Reed Trimmers
April 2014, Chicago, IL Vandoren adds another tool in

the arsenal of the woodwind player with an all-new line of
high-precision reed trimmers for clarinet and alto saxophone.
This new line of trimmers offers an unprecedented level
of performance. The new trimmer is the first to exactly
replicate the tip contours of various reed cuts designed by
Vandoren. Trimmers will be available in seven models: five
for B-flat clarinet and two for alto saxophone.
There is a level of subtlety here that has never been
offered before, offered Andy Blanco of Dansr, Inc. With the
tip-specific contours and precision cuts, players can expand
the usable life of their reeds exponentially. Reeds that are
too soft or have worn out tips gain new life in a way never
previously experienced.
The incremental guides and self-sharpening scissor type
blade provide the player with precision while still being easy
to use.
For more information on the Vandoren Reed Trimmers and
the entire line of Vandoren products, contact DANSR, Inc. at
information@dansr.com or 888-707-4455.
July/August 2014

Andy Blanco
312-475-0464, ext. 202
andyb@dansr.com
www.DANSR.com
Jam Of The Week

Gains Momentum
April 2014, Chicago, IL Jam of the Week, the exciting

and rapidly growing Facebook group founded by Denis Wick
Performing Artist Farnell Newton, has recently reached
16,000 members. In Jam of the Week, a jazz standard (or
short list of standards) is announced at the beginning of the
week. All members are invited to perform a solo over one
chorus and upload the video to the Facebook group. Within
the group, members are encouraged to view and comment on
each others videos, as well as give constructive criticism if
the performer wants it.
On the topic of the groups purpose, Newton offered, I
wanted to provide a space where all musical skill levels are
welcome to share, network, and connect on a deeper level
than regular everyday social media usage. What Newton
says began as a challenge to his friends on Instagram soon
found a home on Facebook, and has seen nothing but steady
growth since then.
DANSR is pleased to announce its own partnership with
Jam of the Week. Jam of the Week has created such a
constructive and positive space for musicians of all levels to
socialize and help each other grow. Being part of something
like that is an opportunity we would never want to miss,
stated DANSR President Michael Skinner.
For more information on Jam of the Week visit the newlylaunched website http://www.jotweek.com/.
Andy Blanco
312-475-0464, ext. 202
andyb@dansr.com
www.DANSR.com
2014
Saxophone Today
VandoJam At NAMM
Videos Are Now Online
January 2014, Anaheim, CA This past January at The
NAMM Show in Anaheim, CA, the VandoJam at NAMM
was streamed online through banddirector.com. The service
meant that people who werent at The NAMM Show didnt
have to miss out on an evening of fantastic jazz.
Those videos have been uploaded onto banddirector.com
and are available to stream online. If you missed the live
stream of the VandoJam at NAMM or were at the Jam and
wish to hear it again, you can now watch all three hours
at your leisure. See the three featured performers, Jerry
Vivino, Ralph Bowen and Eric Marienthal, with special
appearances by a host of other artists, including Billy Kerr,
Kim Richmond, Michael Lington, Jay Mason, DANSRs own
Michael Skinner, and many more.
The video stream of the VandoJam is our way of reaching
out to Vandoren fans and jazz enthusiasts who couldnt be
at the show with us and including them in the memorable
night of music making that occurred there, offered
Vandoren Brand Manager Andy Blanco. In the interest of
fostering the Vandoren community, we hope to offer this
service again at future NAMM VandoJams.
To view the videos of the NAMM VandoJam, visit http://
www.banddirector.com/article/pg-jazz-band/vandojam2014?productguide=523. For more information on upcoming
VandoJams and other Vandoren events, contact DANSR,
Inc. at information@dansr.com or 888-707-4455.
Andy Blanco
312-475-0464, ext. 202
andyb@dansr.com
www.DANSR.com
Sax Man
Dan Morettis
Recording Career
Turns 25
April 2014, Chicago, IL Vandoren Artist Dan Moretti
is celebrating 25 years of recorded music. Since his 1988
release Point of Entry, the award-winning saxophonist/
composer/arranger has explored numerous musical genres,
including pop jazz, Latin, funk, and others. He has also
written for and performed with a wide variety of artists
including Robert Plant, George Duke, and many more. Dan
is a full time Professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston
and has been on the faculty since 1996
He celebrated this milestone with a performance at
Chans in Woonsocket, RI on April 12. Patrons were not
only treated to an evening of some of the best live jazz
the Eastern Seaboard has to offer, but also received a
compilation CD containing some of Dans career highlights.
On his association with Vandoren, Dan offers, I have been
67
using Vandoren products on my horns for over 20 years and

in that time I have to say that the quality and consistency
has always been unsurpassed. Currently, Dan uses Java
Red reeds, V16 mouthpieces, and Optimum ligatures.
Eddie Daniels
Dan Moretti
For more information on Dan Moretti, visit
http://www.sonicbids.com/band/danmoretti/. For more
information on the Vandoren Artist Program in the U.S.,
visit dansr.com/vandoren/artists or contact
information@dansr.com or 312-475-0464.
Andy Blanco
312-475-0464, ext. 202
andyb@dansr.com
www.DANSR.com
New SDT
Tenor Saxophone
From Sax Dakota
http://www.saxdakota.com/
PETER LAPLACA
fax: 1-847-382-4626
Toll Free: 1-877-541-4017
Cell: 1-847-302-6616
e mail: pjlabiz2@aol.com
Introduction & Appearance

Pete LaPlaca and his staff at Sax Dakota have been
producing excellent instruments for some time now and this
is quite apparent with the new SDT-XR-92 tenor saxophone.
I was made aware of Sax Dakota by Melvin Llord at
www.mysaxtalk.com. He put me in contact with Pete who,
after hearing me play, asked me if I would be interested in
trying out a Sax Dakota horn and possibly endorsing them. I
tried the horn and I was really happy with it. So, I purchased
my SDT-XG-606 and I have been playing it ever since, that
was in May of 2012. The SDT-XR-92 is Sax Dakotas newest
68
addition
to their
already
excellent line of professional
saxophones; it is unlike any
of their previous models.
The standard for Sax Dakota
has been plated brass horns.
However, this new model is
comprised of a completely
unlacquered bronze brass alloy.
The hand engraving and the
unlacquered bronze brass of the
SDT-XR-92 give it an attractive
vintage look. It is a really
cool looking horn. I received
the SDT-XR-92 on trial from
Pete in order to spend some
time playing it, and to give my
thoughts on the horn. After
playing it, I can say that this
new model is an excellent
instrument. I spent time on
longtones, overtones, scales,
technique exercises, tunes,
improvisation, transcribed
solos, everything I could think
of in order to put the horn
through the paces so to speak.
I really wanted to see what it
could do.
Sound, Response &
Intonation
First of all, I found it to
be very free blowing (a trait
I prefer) which made it very
comfortable to play. The intonation
is very good throughout the range of
the horn from low B - flat through the
altissimo register and the tone was consistant as well. One
of the best chararacteristics I have noticed with Sax Dakota
horns is that the sound is very focused and centered and this
horn was no exception. Another great aspect of this horn
is the response. As I played it, I found that it did exactly
what I wanted when I wanted it to happen. I did not have to
make drastic adjustments or fight with the horn in order
to get everything to sound clearly. In addition, I was able
to play very soft subtones all the way down to low B - flat.
Everything spoke very well.
Keywork & Ergonomics
As is the case with everything Sax Dakota makes, the
keywork and action are excellent. For starters, the key
work is very ergonomic. This provides for comfortable
hand placment and efficency of motion which makes it
easier for the player reduce tension. Furthermore, the
action is amazing. There is no play or wasted motion in the
mechanism.
July/August 2014
New SDT Tenor Saxophone From Sax Dakota
http://www.saxdakota.com/products.html
Comparison With Other Professional Model Horns

I spent some time recording myself playing it side by side
with my Sax Dakota SDT-XG-606, my Selmer Mark VI, my
Keilwerth SX90-R, and my friends Selmer Reference 54. To
keep things consistant, I used the set up I always use: a #9
facing Drake Tenor Contemporary I mouthpiece with Rigotti
Gold #3 medium reeds. After comparing these horns I can
say that they are all excellent horns and, for the most part,
the differences in tone were quite subtle. The brightest and
most focused was the Sax Dakota SDT-XG-606 while the
Reference 54 was the darkest and most spread. I did notice
that there was quite a large amount of resistance with the
Reference 54; all of the other horns were very free blowing.
The SDT-XR-92 was very similar to the Mark VI and the
Keilwerth. All three of them had a very balanced and well
rounded tone.
Saxophone Today
Conclusion
I can say without a doubt that Sax Dakotas new SDTXR-92 model tenor saxophone is an excellent horn. It has
every characteristic the professional player is looking for:
the tone is great, the response in impeccable, the action
is excellent, and overall it is very comfortable to play.
In addition to all of that, the hand engraving and raw
bronze brass give it a unique look. This is a high quality
professional horn that can easily hold its own with any horn
on the market.
This horn is an exemplary example of the very high level
of quality and craftsmanship Pete and his staff at Sax
Dakota put into all of their horns which are why I not only
recommend them without hesitation but I also play and
endorse them.
Christopher D. Mickel, D.M.A.
Sax Dakota performing artist
Teacher and Senior Forum Moderator as:
www.mysaxtalk.com
www.chrismickel.com
69
National Music Museum Celebrates The Saxes

With World-Class Summer Exhibition
photo by Tony Jones
Vermillion, South Dakota (May 23Sept. 2, 2014) The

National Music Museum (NMM) in Vermillion, South
Dakota, is joining the worldwide celebration of the 200th
birthday of the great Belgian musical-instrument inventor
Adolphe Sax (1814-1894), with a limited-time exhibition of
some of the finest Sax instruments (made by his hand or in
his workshop). Sax, who invented far more than his famous
namesake saxophone, made an indelible impact on almost
all modern musical genres with his creations. Celebrating
the Saxes opens at the National Music Museum on Friday,
May 23, and closes after Labor Day, September 2, 2014.
This privileged look into the NMMs Adolphe Sax collection
would be a draw alone. But the Museums world-class
instrument holdings extend also to the other brilliant
craftsmen of the Sax family: Adolphes father, CharlesJoseph (1790-1865) and Adolphes son, Adolphe-Edouard
(1859-1945). Says NMM curator Deborah Check Reeves:
The NMMs exhibit is everything you wanted to know
about Sax (but were afraid to ask). Its got major sax
appeal. Its a battle of the Saxes.
The dynasty of Sax artisans reigned in Brussels and
Paris from the early 1800s to early 1900s. Their collective
contribution to the evolution of music is extraordinary.
Their work also represents an historical era, the Industrial
Revolution, with the introduction of modern instrument
70
production, complex metalworking methods, and valve

technologies. And the sheer artistic beauty of their objects
makes this show a must-see.
Museum visitors will see Adolphe Saxs popular saxhorn
and the short-lived saxotromba, as well as masterworks
like his soprano ophicleide, a grand-parade trumpet, a valve
trombone in B-flat with six independent valves, a trumpet in
F with six independent valves, and a petit saxhorn (soprano
flugelhorn).
One of the highlights of the NMMs permanent collections
is an Adolphe Sax bass saxophone one of only five bass
saxophones that the master made and which was part of his
personal collection.
Celebrating the Saxes will chronicle the feats and
fortunes of the Sax family. When Antoine-Joseph, Adolphe,
was still quite young, he began accompanying his father,
Charles-Joseph, to his instrument workshop in Brussels.
NMM visitors will see a cornet pistons and a keyed bugle
in B-flat by Charles-Joseph.
By 24, Adolphe Sax had patented a new design for the bass
clarinet. By 29, he had opened his own workshop in Paris
and was engineering instruments that would bring him
broad acclaim. But renown and success were accompanied by
controversy, rival lawsuits and patent challenges. In spite of
his achievements, Sax died bankrupt and destitute.
July/August 2014
Adolphes youngest son, Adolphe-Edouard carried on the

musical legacy and took over his fathers workshop. Visitors
to the NMM exhibition will see a soprano saxophone and
a flugelhorn (contralto saxhorn) by Adolphe-Edouard. In
1928, the Sax dynasty came to an end with the sale of
Adolphe-Edouards business to Henri Selmer.
Visitors to Celebrating the Saxes can take advantage
of the National Music Museums extended summer hours.
From May through August, the NMM is open Mondays,
Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays from 9:00am
to 5:00pm; Thursdays and Fridays, 9:00am to 8:00pm;
and Sundays, 1:00-5:00pm. The Museum is located in
Vermillion, on the campus of the University of South
Dakota. Admission is free on Fridays. More information at
nmmusd.org.
Sax Instruments From The National Music Museums

Celebrating The Saxes Exhibit, May 23Sept. 2, 2014
photo by Tony Jones
About The National Music Museum

The National Music Museum, located on the campus of
the University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota,
is the worlds finest collection of musical instruments, with
15,000 items in its holdings and 1,200 on public display.
Through careful acquisitions on the international market
and a network of music-loving benefactors, the NMM
owns and exhibits some of the most historically significant
musical instruments in existence. The National Music
Museum Inc., was founded in 1973 and is a non-profit
entity, in partnership with USD.
Patricia Bornhofen, Ph.D.
Manager of Communications
414 E. Clark St
Vermillion, South Dakota57069
Cell: (608) 772-5563
Tel: (605) 605/677-3971
Fax: (605) 677-6995
Web: http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/
NationalMusicMuseumUSA
email: Patricia.Bornhofen@usd.edu
Checklist of Saxophones Made by

Adolphe (Antoine-Joseph)
and Adolphe Edouard Sax
in Paris
http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/Saxophone/AdolpheSax/
SaxSaxophoneChecklist.html
Alto Saxophone by Adolphe Sax, Paris, 1860

http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/Exhibitions/BeethovenBerlioz/
BBSaxsaxophone.html
Quartet of Saxophones by Adolphe Sax

http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/cutler6.html
Saxophone Today
NMM 4076. Soprano saxophone in B-flat

by Adolphe Sax, Paris, 1858
http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/Saxophone/AdolpheSax/4076sopra
no/4076SaxSoprano.html
NMM 4038. Alto saxophone in E-flat

http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/Saxophone/
AdolpheSax/4038alto/4038SaxAlto.html
NMM 4039. Tenor saxophone in B-flat

by Adolphe Sax, Paris, 1861-1862
http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/Saxophone/AdolpheSax/4039tenor/
4039SaxTenor.html
NMM 4040. Baritone saxophone in E-flat

http://orgs.usd.edu/nmm/Saxophone/AdolpheSax/4040barito
ne/4040SaxBaritone.html
71
JodyJazz President Jody Espina

Presents At TEDx Savannah
and closed his presentation with impressive
Savannah, GA Jody Espina, President of
demonstrations of his instrumental prowess
JodyJazz Inc, was one of the featured
which brought the attending crowd to its feet.
speakers at the recent TEDx event
The speech was both terrifying and
in Savannah, GA. TED (Technology,
exhilarating. Its humbling to be included in a
Entertainment, Design) is a global set of
forum that has featured CEOs from the worlds
conferences owned by the private nonprofit
foremost companies as well as some of the worlds
Sapling Foundation, under the slogan ideas
top thinkers. Said Espina.
worth spreading. TED events are held
www.jodyjazz.com
The TEDx Savannah event was hosted by
throughout North America, Europe and Asia
The Creative Coast, a non-profit organization that works
and address a wide range of topics within the research and
in partnership with the Savannah Economic Development
practice of science and culture. Past presenters include Bill
Authority and the City of Savannah, to nurture and assist
Clinton, Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Malcolm Gladwell, and
members of the local community engaged in creative or
many Nobel Prize winners.
innovative endeavors.
TEDx is a program of local, independent TED-like events
JodyJazz
that bring people together in the spirit of TEDs mission,
1335 Lynah Ave, Suite 112
ideas worth spreading. The program is designed to give
Savannah, GA 31408
communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity
Phone: 912-964-4705
to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences at the
Toll Free: 866-563-9529
local level. To date, more than 5,000 TEDx events have been
Fax: 912-233-4991
held, and selected talks from these events also appear on
Contact: Colin Schofield
TED.com.
Phone: 912-964-4705
One of only 16 speakers chosen for the TEDx Savannah
E-mail: Colin@JodyJazz.com
event, Espina commented, I was very honored to be chosen
to speak about how acting creatively without fear led to me
Click Blue Link Below To View Jodys Video Presentation
founding and building JodyJazz. Combining elements of
both his personal and business philosophies, Espina
Creative Confidence | Jody Espina |
described his journey from musician and teacher to founder
TEDxCreativeCoast
and President of JodyJazz Inc, one of the worlds leading
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bwe6vNSaxophone mouthpiece manufacturers.
qZjE&list=PLLCl0ui2-7mRAXgZXdWPp0J4Nj153fVo1&ind
Also a world-class saxophone player, Espina began
ex=16
72
July/August 2014
2014
Taichung International Jazz Saxophone Competition

Open To All Jazz Saxophone Players
Application Deadline: August 15, 2014
First place: medal and US $30,000
he first place in Taiwan to manufacture

saxophones is none other than the Houli
District of Taichung City, which, apart from
serving as an important hub of musical instrument
manufacture, has adopted the philosophy of the
cultural and creative industry in recent years so as
to help musical instrument manufacture become a
domestically renowned industry and bring about the
flourishing development of peripheral tourism.
Since 2012, the Taichung City government
has organized the Taichung International Jazz
Saxophone Competition every year in the hope that,
by holding an international contest, musicians from
around the world gather in Taichung to learn from
each other and exchange ideas so as to make the
competition well-known at home and abroad with
a view to encouraging music loving and learning
in Taiwan, promoting jazz music and the musical
instrument manufacture industry, and expanding
the continuity effect of an international competition.
2014 Taichung Jazz Saxophone Competition Website
Organizer: Cultural Affairs Bureau, Taichung City
Taichung City Government Cultural Affairs Bureau
Government
http://eng.taichung.gov.tw/ct.aspx?xItem=13983&ctNode=2608&mp=18
Coordinator: Liluo International
Co-organizers: Fullon Hotel Yamay, Houli District
Final Round
Office of Taichung City,
This round will be held at the Fullon Hotel (88, Fullon
Taichung City Houli Culture &Musical Instruments
Rd., Houli District, Taichung City) on October 17 (Friday),
Association, Houli Sax Playhouse Caf, and Chang Lien
2014. The results will be announced on the site shortly after
Cheng Saxophone Museum
competition.
Open To All Jazz Saxophone Players
This competition is open to all jazz saxophone players,
regardless of age or nationality. Application Deadline:
August 15, 2014 (Postal submissions must be postmarked by
this date). Application Fee: NT$ 1,000 (or 35 US dollars)
Preliminary Round
In principle, 40 contestants will be selected based on the
DVD performances provided by all of the contestants so
that the selected can enter the semi-final round. The results
of the preliminary round will be posted on the activity
official website on September 1 (Monday), and the selected
contestants will also be notified separately. Contestants
should pay attention to the information posted on the
activity official website frequently so as to ensure their
rights.
Semi-final Round
This round will be held at the Fullon Hotel (88, Fullon Rd.,
Houli District, Taichung City) on October 15 (Wednesday),
2014. The short-listed contestants will be announced on the
site (10 contestants in principle) and drawing lots to decide
the contest order will be conducted (The organizer will draw
lots for those who are not present).
Adjustment & Practice
October 16 (Thursday), 2014. The venue will be arranged
in the future.
Saxophone Today
Awards Ceremony & Performance

The awards ceremony and performance will take place at
the opening concert of the 2014 Taichung Jazz Festival at
18:00, October 18, 2014(18:00-20:00 TWT).
Competition Format
Jazz saxophone solo performance (In the semifinal and
final, the organizer will provide an on-site accompaniment
band with the lineup of a pianist, a jazz drummer and a
double bassist. The contestants can also use their own
accompaniment band in competition).
COMPETITION REPERTOIRE
Preliminary Round
A video-recorded performance of one elective jazz piece,
performing time not longer than five minutes.
Semi-Final Round
Assigned Piece
Please select one piece to perform from the following list
(on-site playing will not exceed five minutes).
Repertoire Notes (sheet music of staff notation and
numbered musical notation can be downloaded at the official
website of this activity).
The Tunes
Nows The Time
73
I Got Rhythm
Body And Soul
My Funny Valentine
Nothings Gonna Change My Love For You
June Jessamine
Final Round
(1) The contestants in the final round should only use one
of the saxophones provided by the organizer to perform and
select a saxophone based on the order of marks in the semifinal round. However, contestants should use their own
mouthpiece.
(2) Please select one musical piece for each of the three
styles listed below.
The contestants will play a total of three pieces on the site.
The three musical pieces may have different lengths of time,
but a contestants playing time should not exceed 20 minutes
in total.
a. Swing style (allegretto or faster)
b. Adagio (ballade)
c. Another style (eg. Bossa Nova, Funk, etc.)
Saxophone Teaching
And Learning Methods
With Miles Osland
5 Great Videos + Free 11-Page
PDF Guide Book!
Competition Order
a. The playing order of contestants in the semi-final round
will be decided based on the order of the arrival of the
application form, and will be announced on the activity
official website.
b. The playing order in the final round will be decided by the
contestants drawing lots. If a contestant is not present, the
organizer will draw lots for him or her. The absentee should
not protest against this.
Grading Criteria
Performance Skill 35%; Improvised Interpretation 30%;
General Musicality 25%; On-stage Etiquette 10%
Prizes & Rewards
First place: medal and US $30,000
Second place: medal and US $5,000
Third place: medal and US $3,000
The first three winners will be presented with a medal
with Taichung City mayors name on it and the saxophone
they chose to use in the final round. (No matter how many
saxophones each winner uses in the final round, only one
will be given as a reward).
Consulting Hotline: +886-4-2313-4000*20 (Mr. Chen
(9:00~18:00, Monday through Friday)
email: jeffery@ze.com.tw
For a complete 11 page PDF of this event, directly
from China, covering all the details of this
competition, including the application form, please
click this blue link:
http://www.saxophonetoday.Com/v/vspfiles/
PDFfiles/Taichung2014JazzSaxophoneCompetition.
pdf
74
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Great playing tips for even amateur saxophonists!
Each video is approximately 16+ minutes in length!
Perfect for high school and college age students!
11-page PDF guide book of all topicsto plan a class!
Easy to understand language/teaching techniques!
Advanced tips for professional players!
Superb video teaching by Miles Osland,

(educator & virtuoso saxophonist)
to improve your saxophone playing!
| Playable with Apple Quicktime! |
Available Exclusively At
July/August 2014
Greg Fishmans Demo Video Of The

New Hip Licks Tenor/Alto iPad app
The New Hip Licks iPad App Is Available For

Alto And Tenor Saxophone At The iTunes Store.
Tenor Hip Licks iPad App Alto Hip Licks iPad App
www.gregfishmanjazzstudios.com
Saxophone Today
75

Billy Kerr: Saxophone Today

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BE BOLD BE HEARD GET SERIOUS

Inter view By Thomas Erdmann

axophonist and multi-woodwind artist Billy Kerr is

The Vandoren products are all amazingly

even doubling. You have to

A number of people Ive interviewed have said the same thing,

What happens is that you learn

because I want the conductor

My first two influences on the tenor were

Many times when youre in the studio or on a gig or on a

nerve racking, but still if youve

What I find in a lot of writing I see is

One of the things that is so impressive about your playing,

but wasnt particularly good on it

By virtue of the fact that I was

pick three notes and then start to

When did you start composing?

ideas a bit, but it was not until I was

those notes for soprano saxophone players unless you know

writing. If everyone is playing a melody, the arrangement

Billy Kerrs Website

was Annie and I was in it with Frank Wess. Frank used to

father used to say, Get your degree and have something

Billy Kerrs Selected Discography

For SATB Saxophone Quartet

Carl Schimmels Music

first met Carl Schimmel while he was a doctoral

combines intensity of expression with a structural rigor that

and at other venues throughout North America, Europe,

A video of the Iridium Quartet performing sections IV and

A live concert recording of the entire work can be found at

adds, there are 33 little canons (most are just snippets)in

Saxophone Artist Ruth Glanville

Playing a C.G. Conn New Wonder Saxophone

he Elkhart Press expressed the unanimous sentiment of the enthused

Conn New Wonder Alto Series I Saxophone

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hicago area saxophonist, composer and educator

A watershed moment for me as a young improviser was my

Larry Teal: There Will Never Be Another You

arry Teal (1905-1984) is in many ways the father of

a faculty emeritus of the University of Michigan. Her

Solos For The Alto/Tenor Saxophone Player With

n addition to the Larry Teal: There Will Never Be