A Little (or a LOT) About Streaming & Copyright
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Streaming music is garbage. It is, and I’m not sorry to say it. Now, let’s deal with the problem.
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Mozel tov, It's An Aulochrome!
/Not sure if anyone's seen this, but it's kind of like the Siamese twins of saxophone:
It's called the Aulochrome, and it's the newest edition to the saxophone family. From what I can hear and tell from the videos I've seen, it's 2 Soprano saxes fused together with a single line of alternate key work allowing each hand to play different notes at the same time between the two horns. Not only is the body 2 in 1, but the mouthpiece(s) follows suit. These two fused mouthpieces each have a dedicated reed and share one "double ligature" designed by Francois Louis that wraps around both mouthpieces. From what Joe says in the video, you can achieve any interval between the two Sopranos depending on the fingerings you use. Originally conceived for a classical piece premiered by Fabrizio Cassol, Joe is the first to record a jazz record using this horn.
The way the intervals work is each "key" is actually split into two halves. Top half of the key corresponds to the left horn, bottom half to the right. Fingering a low D in unison would be the normal fingering on saxophone with both halves covered. Now, by releasing the bottom half of the D key, the left horn plays a D while the right horn plays an E or an interval of a Major 2nd (whole step). Each horn has a dedicated octave key as well so you can make either one of these notes jump to the next octave forming a dominant 7th (E1-D2) or major 9th (D1-E2). The third video of Lovano's custom case gives you a better look at the mechanics of the horn.
Cool concept and I think you'll dig the videos, but I do have one critique to make. Have the people involved in this not heard of a chorus pedal and a harmonizer with a detune function? I mean no offense to anyone that was a part of this project and I do understand that working with a harmonizer still wouldn't let you truly improvise with harmony, BUT, it seems like we're exacerbating the acoustic realm and ignoring the realm of electronics that already achieves the same sounds that Lovano is getting on the Aulochrome. I know I'm a gear head, and you guys can probably tell my love of effects, but after listening to the videos all I can think of is going onto GuitarCenter.com, purchasing a chorus pedal, and having it sent to Lovano with a gift receipt :-) That being said, this would be an incredible horn to actually play. The possibilities are incredible, especially with a level of proficiency; Saxophonists could finally play as part of the rhythm section. All in all, very cool, fairly new saxophone toy that we can all drool over. Mozel tov Saxes!!
Link from the Francois Louis site for Aulochrome.com
Videos
Lesson with Jerry Bergonzi
/Hi guys! I found a great series of videos that Rico Reeds has put out on YouTube of Jerry Bergonzi. He's got some great advice and some really cool techniques to improve your saxophone tone, articulation, & embouchure. This is a set of 14 videos courtesy of Rico Reeds. They have even more videos on their YouTube channel, some of which you'll see pop up here. #1. Jerry Bergonzi's intro
#2. Jerry Bergonzi explains how to develop a concept of sound
#3. Jerry's comments on Vibrato. I also have a cool post with an exercise that Branford Marsalis uses.
#4. Neck & mouthpiece test for a full sound. Tenor = Concert E, Alto = Concert Ab
#5. Breathing. Personally, I think this video should go first. No matter what instrument you play, breathing is THE MOST IMPORTANT ASPECT. I agree with his insights about the "yogic breath" (Liebman talks about this in his DVD "The Complete Guide to Saxophone Sound Production"). BUT, in my personal opinion, beware of what muscles you're using to move air from your lungs and through the horn. Some people tend to push too hard with their abdomen and create tension in their throat and hands. You're body naturally moves air in and out of your lungs, so just allow it do what it does: BREATHE. Check out this cool book titled The Science of Breath by Yogi Ramacharaka. This was recommended to Bobby Shew by Jon Faddis and it's what Shew recommends to any trumpet players trying to improve their range.
#6. Jerry talks about relaxing your throat for a good saxophone tone. He says a little bit about what I wrote for video #5.
#7. Articulation Pt. 1 - After attending Jerry Bergonzi's masterclass at Tenor Madness in Iowa, I can tell you that Jerry actually has a fairly strange concept of articulation. When he's playing fast lines, he says he 'half tongues'. Although his technique isn't as common among sax players, he makes some very good points about articulation and freeing up his tongue to do as many different things as possible. His colleague at New England Conservatory and Saxophone legend George Garzone has an opinion completely opposite Bergonzi. He did a masterclass at Lamont School of Music and explained that he almost NEVER articulates and teaches his students the same.
#8. Articulation Pt. 2
#9. Breaking in reeds - Another tip that might help people out there is putting a date on your reeds. As soon as I decide to use a reed in my rotation I put that day's date across the back part of the cane. This lets me know how/if my reeds are holding up, am I going to have to change soon, are my reeds not lasting very long which could hint at a possible change in size, type, or brand, etc.
#10. Reeds & Embouchure - Explanation of his "non-embouchure embouchure"
#11. Reed Adjustment & the Relationship to Your Equipment
#12. Plug for Rico Reeds and their Reedvitalizer. I actually started using these early to mid 2008 and I hated them. But, I kept using them just to see how they would affect my reeds in the long run. I have to say after using them now for a couple of years, they are an invaluable tool. I just use one 73% humidity pouch in a tupperware container for all of my instruments' reeds. These really do keep your reeds sounding and playing consistent.
#13. The Joy of Playing
#14. Jerry talking about his concept behind saxophone embouchure. There are Italian subtitles to this that cover some of the video screen, but it's still a great tutorial on saxophone embouchure.
Joshua Redman - Compass
/Just checked out this official video by Nonesuch records interviewing Joshua Redman about his newest album, Compass. This is a really cool look into Redman's early childhood and the concept behind this latest record.
Get Joshua Redman's new album "Compass" from Amazon.com
Featured Artist - Now vs. Now
/I first caught the trio version of this group at Dazzle in Denver, CO. They have since just come out with their debut album "Now vs. Now". The group was started and is lead by pianist Jason Lindner and includes Panagiotis Andreou (bass and vocals) and phenomenal drummer out of NY, Mark Guiliana. They quote their sound as being "garage jazz", what it is is FREAKING AWESOME. They are joined by a host of other musicians, but most notably by trumpet player Avishai Cohen (not the same as the bass player) and emcee/spoken-word-artist Baba Israel. The first project I heard of Jason Lindner's was his big band album, Jason Lindner Big Band: Live at the Jazz Gallery which, for anyone interested in contemporary jazz arranging, is a must have. I was unprepared to say the least when I showed up to hear this group at Dazzle. I walked in, shoving past the giant red curtain that separates what feels like a jazz heaven from the rest of the world. Everyone was sitting, just looking exhausted after the first set; I discovered why during the second. This group takes you on a musical journey like no other. This had to be one of the top 15 shows that I've seen to date. Their debut album has a host of guests including Avishai and Baba, but also Anat Cohen, Kurt Rosenwinkel, Yosvany Terry, and Meshell Ndegeocello.
