Masters of Extended Techniques

Here's are two masters of extended techniques on the soprano. Lol Coxhill (on the left) who has a slower, more patient style, while John Butcher (on the right) is little more in you face. They compliment each other very well. I find it fascinating that two players can be totally in their own worlds, but yet, totally together.

I often go to these guys when I'm looking for some cool, new sounds!

Soprano Saxophone Extended Techniques

I came across this site some time ago when I was heavily investigating multiphonics. This mystery man does a great job of categorizing them according to levels of difficulty. Let me know if any of you have some success with them. Often times multiphonics can be very horn and set-up specific. Check it out! www.uauaua.net Let me know what you think.

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.