What do comedian Tracy Morgan and I have in common? Yes, I did flirt with doing stand-up comedy in an earlier life. Enough said about that. But that's not it. Believe or not, we share a similar idea on how to push the sonic boundaries on the saxophone.
Trumpeter Bruce Harris actually brought this to my attention. About a year ago I posted something on Facebook showcasing a new idea I was working on (at least I thought so at the time) involving using a toy kazoo in place of the saxophone's mouthpiece. Apparently, Tracy Morgan had the same idea for a bit on the 1990s sitcom Martin, where he played a character named Hustle Marsalis, Wynton and Branford's baby brother, but with different fathers.
Pretty funny stuff! Check it out.
My use of the kazoo is certainly more artsy and hopefully does not conjure up as much laughter. This is from a concert for Pioneer Jazz Shares at the Wistariahurst Museum in Holyoke, MA.
I call this "Sax-o-kazoo-o-phone."
Lesson: You can learn something about music and creativity from almost anybody. Even a stand up comedian!
Sam Newsome
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