A Microtonal Saxophonist

I recently came across a saxophonist by the name of Bhob Rainey. I was doing my monthly Google search for a saxophonist whose working in the medium of micro-tonality. No one in particular, just a like-minded person. And it was a pleasant surprise when his name came up. Even better, he actually considers himself a "micro-tonal saxophonist." I thought, how cool!

I downloaded his solo soprano saxophone CD, 6 Standing Desert. It's an interesting and short recording, slightly less than 20 minutes in length. Mr. Rainey is part of the Boston Microtonal Society, a select group of musicians in the Boston area, all of whom work in the realm of micro-tonality.

I like his sonic approach to the instrument. Many musicians can get too caught up in line and lick playing on the soprano. But I like his "noise" approach. He has a very good understanding of how to use multiphonics, harmonically and textually. He gave me some ideas.

I'm looking forward to hearing more from him. I could always use a good partner to play quartertones and multiphonics with. But then again, can't everybody?


Here's a sample of some of Bhob's playing. Pretty wild stuff!

The Lower Register

I've spent the past few weeks transcribing and practicing Steve Lacy tunes. I must say, it's been an enlightening experience. Many of Lacy's tunes require you utilize the lower register on the soprano, which is the most neglected part of the instrument.

Players tend to play the soprano in the middle and high registers, but it's down low that it really has it's body. This is where you tap into the instrument's boldness, it's masculinity. This is where the soprano becomes the little guy with the intimidating presence, able to hold his own with men twice his strength or size.

Check out the tune "Underline" on the Steve Lacy CD Snips-Live at Environ. It's just two short motifs, but it really forces you to hone in on your breath control and low note fingerings.

One of the most distinctive things about playing is probably my ability to play in the altissimo register with ease. But now I'm hoping add a lower and deeper dimension to my sound palette.

It's like they say, "Real change, happens from the bottom up."

Shedding Lacy

After months of deliberation, I finally settled on the music of Steve Lacy to be the focus of my new solo CD. Having spent so many years listening to his solo works, now it's nice to transcribe his tunes and practice playing them.

Today, I transcribed the tune "Art" off of his CD 5 X MONK5 X LACY. It's a slow ballad in Ab minor. Since Lacy is a minimalist, capturing the vibe of tunes is all about paying attention the subtleties, like the vibrato, dynamics and various articulations. It's been a great challenge and lots of fun.

Tomorrow, I'm going transcribe his tune "Pearl Street," off of his CD, SNIPS. It's amazingly beautiful!

Anybody who serious about the soprano, I highly recommend learning Steve Lacy compositions.

Micro- Reeds by Roberto's Winds

I've been playing Roberto's Winds Reeds on soprano for about two years. I've been going back and forth between two different strengths: 3 Medium and the 3 1/2 Soft. For some reason 3 Hard doesn't work for me. Also, which one of the two I play depends on how much I'm playing at the time. Of course, if I'm performing regularly I need the harder reed.

One of the reasons I want to write about this is because a lot of players double on soprano, meaning there are times you're playing a lot and times you're playing it very little. One thing that's good to remember about the soprano is that the same size reed is not going to work every time. You are going to need to make some adjustments as you become more familiar, or less familiar for the matter.

The velocity at which the air moves through the mouthpiece is a very delicate matter. Airflow is like the violinist's bow. Manipulating it is an art from within itself.

This is one of the reasons I recommend Roberto's Winds Reeds. He makes them in micro-sizes. Meaning you can play strengths between 3 and 3 1/2. You can play 3 Soft, 3 Medium, 3 Hard, then 3 1/2. It's really convenient. You can really adjust to how your chops are feeling without going through the treacherous mouthpiece-changing ritual.

Of course, you want to use these different sizes with discretion, but it's great to have options.

The Bad Plus and my new CD

It's been a while since my last post. I've been busy writing lesson plans, instead of blogs. But I did a really cool solo saxophone gig a few weeks ago at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC. I opened up for the The Bad Plus. They were celebrating 10 years together, and their new release Never Stop.

They were definitely an appreciative audience. It gave me a lot of confidence and encouragement to keep doing what I'm doing. Solo saxophone is not an easy path to pursue. So whenever I can get support, I'm very grateful.

For my third solo saxophone CD, which I'm looking to record sometime in December, I'll be exploring the music of Duke Ellington and Steve Lacy. I'm playing with the title The Lacy Ellington Suite. We'll see...

I'll keep you posted.

Layers of Sound: "The Sonic Onion"

Many feel that once they can play the soprano in tune, then it's "mission accomplished." But I'm sorry to say: This is only half the battle!

Players have this misconception because they don't play the instrument enough to know that there are several layers to the instrument's sound. It's like an onion. The more you peel it, the more layers that surface to be peeled.

To get to this point takes years of practice.

Here are some layers I have discovered, along with ways to nurture them--and not necessarily in this order:

Layer 1: Playing in tune. Tuning the octaves is good check your pitch. It's almost like tuning a piano.

Layer 2: Producing a tone rich with overtones. This is where the book "Top Tones for Saxophone: The Fourth Octave" comes in handy.

Layer 3: Being able to play with a sub-tone. Listen to Steve Lacy and Lucky Thompson for this. They are great teachers for how to utilize the low register of the instrument.

Layer 4: Playing dynamics levels from pianissimo to forte. Practicing classical etudes is great for this. I like the ones by Marcel Mule.

Layer 5: Speeding up and slowing down the airflow by changing the position of the tongue.

Layer 6: The altissimo register

Layer 7: Multi-phonics

Layer 8: Microtones

And as I continue to peel this sonic onion, I'm sure more layers to conquer will surface.

But don't let these things overwhelm you. Just take it one layer at a time!

Taking The Soprano Path: The Road Less Traveled

Jane Ira Bloom

One of my favorite quotes comes from soprano saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom who said, "The soprano gives you the freedom of being under influenced."

She is a great example of this.

Jane is probably one the few players who lives in New York who doesn't sound like she does. Meaning her playing is absent of all of the sometimes cliche (ish) harmonic and rhythmic complexities that are prevalent in many New York players.

I'm almost certain that it's because she only plays the soprano.

The Four Brothers

Having been a soprano player from the beginning of her professional career, Jane probably didn't have the opportunity, and I imagine, nor the desire, to play hundreds or thousands of gigs as a side person, always learning other people's music.  And she probably didn't have the opportunity to form that saxophone bond that alto and tenor players seem to have, where they're constantly exchanging ideas, which can sometimes result in them sounding very similar.

After having decided to make the soprano my main instrument of focus, I often found myself in similar situations of isolation. Though lonely at times, it's was extremely liberating in that I felt totally free to do my own thing. Since there was no one else around,  I didn't have that hovering fear of always being judged.

Ironically, though, once you do get the courage to travel your own path, it too, can become congested with people following you--Coltrane and Bird being two of the more common examples. Which is fine. because now, you're leading the way.

Take the first step!